- Johnny Copeland
Johnny Copeland (born
27 March 1937 , Haynesville,Louisiana - died3 July 1997 ,Harlem , New York [ [http://wc09.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=JOHNNY|COPELAND&sql=11:kvfexqr5ldfe~T1 All Music Guide biography - accessed December 2007] ] ) was an Americanblues guitarist andsinger .Career
While he was becoming interested in
music , Copeland also pursuedboxing , mostly as anavocation , and it is from his days as a boxer that he got his nickname "Clyde." [ [http://wc09.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=JOHNNY|COPELAND&sql=11:kvfexqr5ldfe~T1 All Music Guide] ] Also as a teenager influenced byT-Bone Walker he formed the "Dukes of Rhythm" in Houston,Texas , and made his recording debut in 1956, signing withDuke Records the following year. In his early years he played with such acts as Sonny Boy Williamson,Big Mama Thornton andFreddie King . Although his early records met with little commercial success, he became a popular touring act over the next two decades.Driven by
disco to rethink his future, he moved to New York in 1979cite book
first= Tony
last= Russell
year= 1997
title= The Blues - From Robert Johnson toRobert Cray
edition=
publisher=Carlton Books Limited
location= Dubai
pages= p. 182
id= ISBN 1-85868-255-X] and played extensively in the eastern cities. In 1981 he was signed byRounder Records , releasing a string of critically acclaimedalbum s including "Copeland Special" (1981) and "Bringing It All Back Home" (1985), and touring widely. Copeland appeared at the 1983Long Beach Blues Festival , and the 1988San Francisco Blues Festival . He won a Grammy in 1987 for best traditional blues album for the "Showdown " album, recorded withRobert Cray andAlbert Collins .Copeland also played at the 1985 Montreaux Jazz Featival as a special guest with
Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble.His later years were dogged by ill health due to a congential heart defect. He died, aged 60, from complications during heart surgery for a heart transplanted six months earlier. [ [http://users.efortress.com/doc-rock/1996.html Dead Rock Stars Club website] ] Copeland was a resident of Teaneck,
New Jersey . [Strauss, Neil. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0CE2D61330F937A35754C0A961958260 "Johnny Copeland, 60, Who Sang Texas Blues and Played Guitar"] , "The New York Times ",June 4 ,1997 . AccessedNovember 4 ,2007 . "Johnny Copeland, one of the foremost Texas blues singers and guitarists of the 70's and 80's, died yesterday at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan. He was 60 and lived in Teaneck, N.J."]His daughter Shemekia established a successful career as a singer.He is also survived by wife Ethel Lee Copeland son Dawrence Clyde Copeland Sr., daughter Sharee Copeland grandson, Dawrence Clyde Copeland Jr. granddaughters ,Sarai Ariyan Copeland, 4 and Domonique Denise Copeland,7
Recommended recordings
*"Texas Twister"; "When the Rain Starts Fallin"' (Rounder)
*"Catch Up with the Blues"; "Jungle Swing" (Verve Records )ee also
*
List of blues musicians
*List of Electric blues musicians
*List of Texas blues musicians
*List of people from Teaneck, New Jersey References
External links
* [http://www.johnnycopeland.com/ Official memorial website]
* [http://www.cascadeblues.org/History/JohnnyCopeland.htm More information]
* [http://wc09.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=JOHNNY|COPELAND&sql=11:kvfexqr5ldfe~T1 Copeland biography] atAllmusic website
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