“Top” Ten Music Aviation Tragedies: Cowboy Copas (#3)

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Sorry I didn’t update the travels yesterday. It was great, and I was pooped when I got in my room. I’m not planning on anything exciting today, so I can hopefully catch up with myLotting today. Here’s the next person on the list of the music tragedies, and a continuation of yesterday’s. #3: Cowboy Copas Yesterday I mentioned that Patsy Cline is the only of the three victims of country’s version of “the day the music died” who’s been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In my opinion, Cowboy Copas needs to be there, too. As Eddie Stubbs always said when he’d play a Cowboy Copas song, “He did a lot more in country music than just die in a plane crash with Patsy Cline.” Cope — as he was nicknamed (like “Cowboy” was his real name ) — had a career that went back to his teenage years. He had a number of radio shows around his native Ohio (yes, the “cowboy” was from Adams County, Ohio [where I’ve also been…in fact, I’ve been to his birthplace, his death site, and his grave]), but his “big break” came when he became the vocalist in Pee Wee King’s band after Eddy Arnold left. (Quick explanation: Pee Wee King’s Golden West Cowboys were sort of the country version of a big band, with a lot of great musicians and a singer.) That landed him in Cincinnati, with King Records, where he started his recording career. (Side note: Pee Wee King offered to sell Copas the songwriting rights/credits to “Tennessee Waltz” for $50, but Copas didn’t have the money at the time. Copas was the first person to record “Tennessee Waltz,” though.) So let’s finish the story of the crash. Yesterday I mentioned that Randy Hughes, the pilot, was Patsy Cline’s manager. He was also Cowboy Copas’ son-in-law. So the idea that he wouldn’t take the greatest of care in flying that plane with all the personal precious cargo he had on board is inexplicable. (Never mind just human life in general!!) But he was in a hurry. Their trip to Nashville had already been delayed by a day because the front that was bringing rain to Tennessee was over Kansas City, where the three singers on board (Hawkshaw Hawkins was earlier in the month) had performed a benefit concert for a DJ who’d died in a car wreck in January 1963. I’ll show you the crash site later. I stopped there when I started my vacation last week. It’s a very respectful place to honor three gigantic losses. Cowboy Copas Born Lloyd Estel Copas July 15, 1913 - March 5, 1963 (age 49) Place of crash: Camden, Tennessee Here’s Copas’ 1960 #1 hit “Alabam” (an accomplishment, given that there were only four songs to hit #1 that year!) (Linda? NO!!!):