Cowboy Copas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Lloyd Estel Copas (1913-07-15)July 15, 1913 Blue Creek, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | March 5, 1963(1963-03-05) (aged 49) Camden, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Genres | Country,honky-tonk |
| Occupations | Singer, songwriter, musician |
| Instrument | Guitar |
| Years active | 1925–1963 |
| Labels | King Records Dot Records Starday Records |
Lloyd Estel Copas (July 15, 1913 – March 5, 1963), known by his stage nameCowboy Copas, was an Americancountry music singer. He was popular from the 1940s until his death in the1963 plane crash that also killed country starsPatsy Cline andHawkshaw Hawkins.[1] Copas was a member of theGrand Ole Opry.[2]
Copas was born in 1913 inBlue Creek, Ohio, United States.[3] He began performing locally at age 14, and appeared onWLW-AM andWKRC-AM inCincinnati during the 1930s. In 1940, he moved toKnoxville, Tennessee, where he performed onWNOX-AM with his band, the Gold Star Rangers.
In 1943, Copas achieved national fame when he replacedEddy Arnold as a vocalist in thePee Wee King band, and began performing on theGrand Ole Opry.[1] His first solo single, "Filipino Baby", released byKing Records in 1946, hit number four on theBillboard country chart, and sparked the most successful period of his career.[1]
While continuing to appear on the Opry, Copas recorded several other hits during the late 1940s and early 1950s, including "Signed Sealed and Delivered", "The Tennessee Waltz", "Tennessee Moon", "Breeze", "I'm Waltzing with Tears in My Eyes", "Candy Kisses", "Hangman's Boogie", and "The Strange Little Girl".[1] Copas' 1952 single, "'Tis Sweet to Be Remembered", reached number eight on theBillboard country chart, but it was his final top-40 hit for eight years.
Although Copas did not maintain his popularity of the late 1940s through the next decade, he continued to perform regularly at the Grand Ole Opry, and appeared on ABC-TV'sOzark Jubilee. After a lackluster partnership withDot Records, Copas surged to the top of the charts again in 1960 with the biggest hit of his career, "Alabam", which remained number one for three months.[1] Other major hits during his successful period withStarday Records in the early 1960s, including "Flat Top" and a remake of "Signed, Sealed And Delivered", held promising implications for the future of his career.[1]
On March 3, 1963, Copas,Patsy Cline,Hawkshaw Hawkins, and others performed at a benefit concert at theSoldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall inKansas City, Kansas, for the family ofdisc jockey Cactus Jack Call, who had died the previous December in an automobile accident.
On March 5, they left for Nashville in aPiper Comanche piloted by Copas' son-in-law (and Cline's manager), Randy Hughes. After stopping to refuel inDyersburg, Tennessee, the craft took off at 6:07 pmCT. The plane flew into severe weather and crashed at 6:29 pm in a forest nearCamden, Tennessee, 90 miles from their destination, with no survivors.[4] A stone marker, dedicated on July 6, 1996, marks the location of the crash.
Copas was buried atForest Lawn Memorial Gardens inGoodlettsville, Tennessee, in "Music Row" with Hawkins and other country music stars.
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US [5] | ||
| 1946 | "Filipino Baby" | 4 | — |
| 1948 | "Signed Sealed and Delivered" | 2 | — |
| "Tennessee Waltz" | 3 | — | |
| "Tennessee Moon" | 7 | — | |
| "Breeze" | 12 | — | |
| 1949 | "I'm Waltzing with Tears in My Eyes" | 12 | — |
| "Candy Kisses" | 5 | — | |
| "Hangman's Boogie" | 14 | — | |
| 1951 | "The Strange Little Girl" | 5 | — |
| 1952 | "'Tis Sweet to Be Remembered" | 8 | — |
| 1960 | "Alabam" | 1 | 63 |
| 1961 | "Flat Top" | 9 | — |
| "Sunny Tennessee" | 12 | — | |
| "Signed Sealed and Delivered"(re-recording) | 10 | — | |
| 1963 | "Goodbye Kisses" | 12 | — |
