The Dark Side of the West Coast Swing Scene: Spade Cooley

Starting in the 1930s during the Great Depression, people left the Southwest to find work in California. This migration continued into World War II as defense plants opened across the state. The migrants brought their love for Western swing with them, and Los Angeles quickly became a major market for the music. In 1943, after his discharge from the Army, Bob Wills relocated to Southern California and reformed the Texas Playboys to reach this new audience. He found a fierce rival waiting for him.

Donnell Clyde "Spade" Cooley was an ambitious fiddler from Oklahoma. He secured a steady gig at the Venice Pier Ballroom and began building a large band. Cooley wanted his group to sound like a Hollywood orchestra. He hired traditional string players, but he also added a harp and a full brass section.

Cooley drew large crowds. He later moved his operation to the Santa Monica Pier, packing dancers onto the floor every weekend. He branded himself the "King of Western Swing." Cooley outmaneuvered his rivals by moving into television. In 1948, he began hosting a popular weekly broadcast on KTLA in Los Angeles. The Spade Cooley Show featured prominent guest stars, turning Cooley into a Hollywood celebrity.

However, his professional and financial life soon began to decline. His television show ended in the mid-1950s. He poured his remaining money into an Antelope Valley recreation development called Water Wonderland. The project failed and severely depleted his finances.

Cooley also had a long, documented history of domestic violence. Court records outline a pattern of extreme jealousy, repeated beatings, and death threats against his second wife, Ella Mae Evans, dating back to 1946.

In April 1961, years of sustained abuse culminated in murder. Cooley beat Ella Mae to death at their home in front of their fourteen-year-old daughter, Melody, who later testified against him. The murder shocked the public. A jury convicted Cooley of first-degree murder, and a judge sentenced him to life in prison. He served his sentence at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville.

In August 1969, the state approved his parole, which was scheduled to take effect in February 1970. In November 1969, approximately three months before his release, the prison granted him a 72-hour furlough to play a charity concert at the Edgewater Hyatt House Hotel in Oakland.

Cooley performed a set of his old hits and received a standing ovation. During the intermission, he suffered a fatal heart attack backstage and died. Today, the history of his musical success is permanently overshadowed by the brutal murder of his wife and the decades of abuse she endured.

References

• Haslam, Gerald W. Workin' Man Blues: Country Music in California. University of California Press, 1999.

• Malone, Bill C., and Tracey E. W. Laird. Country Music, U.S.A. University of Texas Press, 2018.

• People v. Cooley (1962). 211 Cal.App.2d 173. Justia US Law.

• San Francisco Bay Area Television Archive. Spade Cooley's Last Performance (1969). San Francisco State University.

• Townsend, Charles. San Antonio Rose: The Life and Music of Bob Wills. University of Illinois Press, 1976.