John Clyde Copeland (March 27, 1937 – July 3, 1997) was an American Texas blues guitarist and singer. In 1983, he was named Blues Entertainer of the Year by the Blues Foundation. He is the father of blues singer Shemekia Copeland. In 2017, Copeland was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

Career

Copeland was born in Haynesville, Louisiana. Influenced by T-Bone Walker, he formed the Dukes of Rhythm in

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, Texas, and made his recording debut in 1956, signing with Duke Records the following year. Although his early records met with little commercial success, he became a popular touring act over the next two decades. His early recording career embraced blues, soul and rock and roll. He recorded singles for Mercury, Golden Eagle and All Boy, amongst others. His first single was "Rock 'n' Roll Lily", and he later cut successes such as "Down on Bending Knees" and "Please Let Me Know". For the most part, his singles featured Copeland as a vocalist more than a guitar player. Driven by

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

to rethink his future, he moved to New York City in 1976, and played extensively in Eastern cities. In New York he met a young record producer named Dan Doyle who was instrumental in getting Copeland signed with

Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts, by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by A ...

. Doyle produced Copeland's initial Rounder releases including '' Copeland Special'' for which he won a W. C. Handy Award in 1981, and '' Bringin' It All Back Home'' (1985). Copeland also recorded with Albert Collins and Robert Cray, winning a Grammy in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

for Best Traditional Blues Album, for the album '' Showdown!''. Touring widely, Copeland appeared at the 1983 Long Beach Blues Festival and the 1988 San Francisco Blues Festival. Copeland also played at the 1985 Montreux Jazz Festival, as a guest with

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (also known as SRV; October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (band), Double Trouble. Although his ma ...

and his band Double Trouble. Vaughan and Copeland performed the Bob Geddins song "Tin Pan Alley" together on Vaughan's

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

''Blues at Sunrise''. He also played on the first edition of BRBF (Blues Peer Festival) later that year. His later years were dogged by ill health due to a congenital heart defect. He died, aged 60, in Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, in New York City, from complications of heart surgery for a heart transplanted six months earlier. Copeland was a resident of Teaneck, New Jersey. His daughter, Shemekia Copeland, established a successful career as a singer. He was also survived by his wife, son and two daughters. In 2017, Copeland was posthumously inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame.

Selected recordings

*1981: '' Copeland Special'' ( Rounder 2025) *1982: ''Make My Home Where I Hang My Hat'' (Rounder 2030) *1983: '' Texas Twister'' (Rounder 2040) *1985: '' Bringin' It All Back Home'' (Rounder 2050) *1988: ''Ain't Nothin' But A Party (Recorded Live)'' (Rounder 2055) *1989: ''Boom Boom'' (Rounder 2060) *1989: ''Soul Power'' ( P-Vine Records PCD-2506) *1989: ''Blues Power'' (P-Vine Records PCD-2509) *1992: '' Flyin' High'' ( Verve 517512) *1993: '' Catch Up with the Blues'' (Verve 521239) *1995: ''Jungle Swing'' (Verve 527466) *1995: ''Texas Party'' (Orbis BLU NC-056) *1998: '' The Crazy Cajun Recordings'' (Edsel EDCD-581) *1999: ''Honky Tonkin (Bullseye Blues/Rounder 9621) *2002: ''The Johnny Copeland Collection: Working Man's Blues'' (Fuel 2000/Varese 302 061 260) *2006: ''Fuel Presents An Introduction To Johnny Copeland'' (Fuel 2000/Varese 302 061 594)

References

External links

Official memorial website

* Copeland biographyat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Copeland, Johnny 1937 births 1997 deaths African-American guitarists American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singers Singers from New York City People from Haynesville, Louisiana Musicians from Teaneck, New Jersey Kent Records artists Grammy Award winners Texas blues musicians Singers from Louisiana 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Louisiana Guitarists from Texas Guitarists from New York City Rounder Records artists P-Vine Records artists American funk musicians American dance musicians Wand Records artists 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers

Career

Selected recordings

See also

References

External links