Alan Copeland (born Allan Robert Copeland;"California, County Marriages, 1850-1953", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K8KY-2FY : Thu Oct 19 16:58:08 UTC 2023), Entry for Allan Robert Copeland and Dolores Mae Barty, 5 Nov 1948. October 6, 1926 – December 28, 2022), also known as Weaver Copeland, was an American singer, songwriter, composer, and conductor.

Life and career

Copeland was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

on October 6, 1926. Copeland was a member of The Modernaires, first from 1948 to 1956 and then from 1959 to the mid-1960s. He also worked as a songwriter in Los Angeles in the 1950s. He co-wrote the song " Make Love to Me", "Back Where I Belong", "Darling, Darling, Darling", "High Society", "Into the Shadows", "This Must Be the Place", "Too Young to Know", and "While the Vesper Bells Were Ringing". He also worked as a composer for television and did arrangement work for musicians such as

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

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, and

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

.Kembrew McLeod and Peter DiCola, ''Creative License: The Law and Culture of Digital Sampling''. Duke University Press, 2011, p. 173. He also provided lyrics for such jazz instrumentals as

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's " Nica's Dream" and

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's "Gaviota." Copeland led studio ensembles that released several albums in the 1960s. In 1968, he issued the single, "Mission: Impossible Theme / Norwegian Wood", interpolating the '' Theme from Mission: Impossible'' and the Beatles song " Norwegian Wood" in what might be termed a proto- mashup. It peaked at number 120 on the ''

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'' Bubbling Under chart and won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Contemporary Pop Performance by a Chorus. In 1980, in collaboration with his wife, fellow vocalist Mahmu Pearl, Copeland formed the band Feathers, which released at least three LPs and one CD compilation. In November 2007, Copeland published his autobiography, ''Jukebox Saturday Nights''.

Personal life and death

From November 5, 1948 until their divorce in January 1969, Copeland was married to Dolores Mae Barty, the sister of actor/activist

Billy Barty Billy Barty (born William John Bertanzetti; October 25, 1924 – December 23, 2000) was an American actor and activist. In adult life, he stood tall, due to cartilage–hair hypoplasia dwarfism. Because of his short stature, he was often cast i ...

. They had three children: Christine, Richard and Michael. Copeland was married to Joyce Abbott Ross—née Manor, aka Mahmu Pearl—from July 22, 1971 until her death on December 22, 2009.McCarthy, Guy (January 23, 2023; updated January 24)
"Alan 'Weaver' Copeland — vocalist, composer and Grammy-winning arranger — dies at 96"
''The Union Democrat''. Retrieved November 3, 2023. "Alan 'Weaver' Copeland, a longtime Cedar Ridge resident and a gifted vocalist, pianist, composer, and arranger for jazz giants like Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Frank Sinatra and other stars, died Dec. 28 at Sonora Senior Living at age 96, friends and family said." "Keith Evans, 58, a member of Now You Hazz Jazz who recorded a compact disc, 'Tranquillo Trio,' with Copeland, said Thursday in a phone interview. 'I used to go to his house at Cedar Ridge and care for him.' ..'I was with Weaver the moment he died at Sonora Senior Living off Highway 108,' Evans said. 'He’d been there I think for two months.' ..Copeland left Los Angeles in the 1980s and he’d been in Cedar Ridge for 40 years. Copeland’s late wife, Mahmu Pearl, died in 2009. Sheila Ross, Pearl’s daughter and Copeland’s stepdaughter, lives in Truckee." On December 28, 2022, at the age of 96, Copeland died at Sonora Senior Living in

Jamestown, California Jamestown is an unincorporated community in Tuolumne County, California, United States. Formerly a California Gold Rush town, Jamestown was designated a California Historical Landmark on March 16, 1949. It is the home of Railtown 1897 State H ...

, survived by his son Richard Copeland, daughter-in-law Linda, granddaughter Rachel and grandson Samuel. Also a stepdaughter, singer Sheila Ross.

Discography

*''No Sad Songs for Me'' (

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, 1957) *''Cool Country'' ( ABC, 1966) *''A Bubble Called You'' (ABC, 1967) *''If Love Comes With It'' ( A&M, 1969) *''Enchanting Woodwinds'', disc no. 6 of

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's 6- LP set, ''Music in the Night'' (

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

, 1974)Williams, Neville (July 1974)
"Variety Fare: Reviews of Other Recordings"
''Electronics Australia''. p. 93. Retrieved November 2, 2023.

Collaborative work

*With

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

: **'' Basie Swingin' Voices Singin''' (

ABC-Paramount ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! Records, Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquire ...

, 1966) *As member of The Modernaires. Recordings beginning in the 1950s, after spinning off from the

Glenn Miller Orchestra Glenn Miller and His Orchestra was an American swing dance band that was formed by Glenn Miller in 1938. Arranged around a clarinet and tenor saxophone playing melody, and three other saxophones playing harmony, the band became the most pop ...

Notes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Copeland, Alan 1926 births 2022 deaths Songwriters from California American conductors (music) American male conductors (music) American male composers American male singers American male songwriters Glenn Miller Orchestra members The Modernaires members