Spade Cooley, King of Western Swing and Murderer

While the tales of country music's bad boys are legendary, from Hank Williams Sr. to Jerry Lee Lewis to Johnny Paycheck, they pale next to rocky life of the long forgotten forties and fifties "King of Western Swing" Spade Cooley.

Spade Cooley was the star of California's country music scene, spurring on the likes of later Bakersfield stars like Buck Owens and Merle Haggard.

Western Swing

Born in Oklahoma, Donnell Cooley earned his nickname after drawing three spade straight flushes in a poker game. Inspired by the success of Western Swing innovators like Bob Wills and Milton Brown, Cooley left Oklahoma and went to California to start a band.

After beginning his career as a movie stunt double for cowboy star Roy Rogers, he sat in with Rogers' band and others like Tex Williams. Soon he formed his own band and they became the regular headliners at Venice Beach's Pier Ballroom.

Television Star

In 1948, Spade Cooley became one of the first country music performers to launch a television variety series. It became popular, and continued to be broadcast from Los Angeles station KTLA for eleven years.

Unlike many other country stars, Cooley amassed millions of dollars and wisely invested it in real estate. When Western Swing gave way to rock and roll, he was financially set.

Ella Mae Cooley

His undoing, however, was alcohol and an unbridled jealousy of his young beautiful wife, Ella Mae. Although he kept her isolated and a virtual prisoner at his remote mansion built in the Mojave Desert, he still suspected her of having affairs. He even accused her of sleeping with his friend Roy Rogers.

The alcohol began to take its toll on him. Seeing the success of Disneyland, Cooley embarked on a quixotic mission to build his own theme park - in the Mojave Desert. He soon began accusing his wife of engaging in a "free-love sex cult" with his financial partners in the theme park.

In 1961, when his wife threatened to leave him, Spade Cooley exploded, beating her to death in front of his 14-year-old daughter.

Aftermath

When Cooley was given the sentence of life imprisonment for first degree murder, he had a non-fatal heart attack in the courtroom.

In 1969, Cooley, a model prisoner, was granted a three-day furlough to perform at a police benefit in Oakland. After his performance, he collapsed backstage. This time he died of a heart attack.

SOURCES:

http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/celebrity/spade_cooley/index.html

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0177622/bio

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:50d2vwvva9xk~T1

"Honky Tonk Heaven", Johnny Marr, Metroactive, URL: (http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/08.22.96/c&w-music-9634.html)

"California Country", Chet Flippo, LA Weekly, URL: (http://www.laweekly.com/art+books/books/california-country/6155/)