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Spade Cooley

Donnell Clyde "Spade" Cooley (December 17, 1910–November 23, 1969) was an American Western swing musician, big-band leader, actor, and television personality. In 1961, he was convicted of the murder of his second wife, Ella Mae Evans.

Birth and Death Data: Born Oklahoma (state of the United States of America), Died November 23, 1969 (Vacaville (city in Solano County, California, United States of America) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1940 - 1954

Roles Represented in DAHR: violin, leader, songwriter, composer, vocalist, arranger, other, lyricist

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 170 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor E0VB-3500 10-in. 1/3/1950 The old spinning wheel Spade Cooley Band Instrumental ensemble leader, other  
Victor E0VB-3501 10-in. 1/3/1950 Empty saddles Hal Derwin ; Spade Cooley Band Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble other  
Victor E0VB-3502 10-in. 1/3/1950 Lights out Ginny Jackson ; Spade Cooley Band Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble other  
Victor E0VB-3503 10-in. 1/3/1950 Wagon wheels Sons of the Pioneers ; Spade Cooley Band Male vocal group, with instrumental ensemble other  
Victor E0VB-3504 10-in. 1/3/1950 The last round-up Sons of the Pioneers ; Spade Cooley Band Male vocal group, with instrumental ensemble other  
Victor E0VB-3505 10-in. 1/3/1950 In the chapel in the moonlight Ginny Jackson ; Spade Cooley Band Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble other  
Victor E0VB-3605 10-in. 4/11/1950 Hillbilly fever Les Anderson ; Spade Cooley ; Ginny Jackson ; Spade Cooley Orchestra Female-male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble leader, instrumentalist, violin  
Victor E0VB-3606 10-in. 4/11/1950 Honky-tonkin' Spade Cooley ; Ginny Jackson ; Spade Cooley Orchestra Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble leader, instrumentalist, violin  
Victor E0VB-3647 10-in. 5/19/1950 Nine-tenths of the Tennessee River (are the tears that I shed over you) Ginny Jackson ; Spade Cooley and his Orchestra Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble leader, instrumentalist, violin  
Victor E0VB-3648 10-in. 5/19/1950 Longing Spade Cooley ; Ginny Jackson ; Spade Cooley Orchestra Female vocal solo, with vocal quartet and instrumental ensemble leader, instrumentalist, violin  
Victor E0VB-3649 10-in. 5/19/1950 Little Liza Lou Spade Cooley ; Hal Derwin ; Spade Cooley Orchestra Male vocal solo, with vocal quartet and instrumental ensemble leader, instrumentalist, violin  
Victor E0VB-3717 10-in. 7/14/1950 Mountain boys have fun with mountain girls Hal Derwin ; Ginny Jackson ; Spade Cooley and his Orchestra Female-male vocal duet with instrumental ensemble leader, instrumentalist, violin  
Victor E0VB-3718 10-in. 7/14/1950 Someone left the golden gate open Hal Derwin ; Spade Cooley and his Orchestra Male vocal solo with instrumental ensemble leader, instrumentalist, violin  
Victor E0VB-3726 10-in. 7/20/1950 I miss you already Ginny Jackson ; Spade Cooley and his Orchestra Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble leader, instrumentalist, violin  
Victor D5AB-0424 10-in. 6/19/1945 Shame on you Bill Boyd ; Cowboy Ramblers Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble composer  
Victor D5AB-1115 10-in. 8/10/1945 You can't break my heart (it's been broken before) Roy Rogers Male vocal solo, with orchestra songwriter  
Victor D6VB-2138 10-in. 9/4/1946 My Chickashay gal Country Washburne Orchestra ; Roy Rogers Male vocal solo, with string band songwriter  
Victor D7VB-0451 10-in. 1/31/1947 It's dark outside Spade Cooley Band Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble leader, instrumentalist, violin, songwriter  
Victor D7VB-0452 10-in. 1/31/1947 Who dug this hole I'm in Spade Cooley ; Spade Cooley Band Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble leader, instrumentalist, violin, songwriter  
Victor D7VB-0453 10-in. 1/31/1947 Minuet in swing Spade Cooley Band Instrumental ensemble, with soloists leader, composer, instrumentalist, violin  
Victor D7VB-0454 10-in. 1/31/1947 Texas playboy rag Spade Cooley ; Spade Cooley Band Instrumental ensemble, with soloists leader, instrumentalist, violin  
Victor D7VB-0475 10-in. 2/24/1947 Do ya or don'tcha Country Washburne Orchestra ; Roy Rogers ; Country Washburne Male vocal solo, with string band songwriter  
Victor D7VB-0524 10-in. 4/25/1947 Boggs boogie Spade Cooley ; Spade Cooley Band Instrumental ensemble leader, instrumentalist, violin, composer  
Victor D7VB-0525 10-in. 4/25/1947 Red hair and green eyes Spade Cooley ; Spade Cooley Band Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble leader, songwriter, instrumentalist, violin  
Victor D7VB-0526 10-in. 4/25/1947 All aboard for Oklahoma Spade Cooley ; Spade Cooley Band Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble leader, songwriter, instrumentalist, violin  
(Results 1-25 of 170 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Cooley, Spade," accessed December 26, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/202076.

Cooley, Spade. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 26, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/202076.

"Cooley, Spade." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 26 December 2025.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/202076

External Sources

Wikipedia: Spade Cooley

Discogs: Spade Cooley

Grove: Spade Cooley

IMDb: Spade Cooley

Linked Open Data Sources

LCNAR: Cooley, Spade, 1910-1969 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82096227

Wikidata: Spade Cooley - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q366469

VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/49412907

MusicBrainz: Spade Cooley - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/2c08026e-c7dc-4bca-b9f3-74bb3621b586

Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/95722 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/95722

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