The Cooper Brothers are a Canadian

southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar specula ...

band founded in Ottawa,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

by brothers Brian Cooper, Dick Cooper and their long-time friend Terry King. Starting in 1974, the band released several singles under the production guidance of

Les Emmerson Robert Leslie Emmerson (17 September 1944 – 10 December 2021) was a Canadian musician and singer. He was the lead vocalist and guitarist for the band Five Man Electrical Band, and their predecessor band The Staccatos. He also recorded as a s ...

(of the Canadian rock group

Five Man Electrical Band The Five Man Electrical Band (known as The Staccatos from 1963 to 1968) is a Canadian rock band from Ottawa, Ontario. They had many hits in Canada, including the top 10 entries "Half Past Midnight" (1967) (as The Staccatos), "Absolutely Right ...

). The group had some early regional success with the tracks “Finally (With You)” and “Miss Lonelyhearts” under the

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States ...

label. They had a breakthrough after collaborating with producer Gary Cape, charting in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Biography

The band first gained attention in the summer of 1978 when they signed with

Capricorn Records Capricorn Records was an independent record label founded by Phil Walden and Frank Fenter in 1969 in Macon, Georgia. Capricorn Records is often credited by music historians as creating the southern rock genre. History Label and studio foun ...

and producer Gary Cape. The label was producing several of the most popular southern-rock acts of the time including:

The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (founder, slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards, songwriting), as well as Dickey Betts (lead guita ...

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Wet Willie Wet Willie is an American band from Mobile, Alabama. Their best-known song, " Keep On Smilin'", reached No. 10 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in August 1974. Several other of the group's songs also appeared on the singles charts in the ...

, and Elvin Bishop. Over the next few years the Cooper Brothers released two albums, the self-titled, ''The Cooper Brothers'' and ''Pitfalls of the Ballroom''. Both albums sold well and the singles "The Dream Never Dies", "Show Some Emotion" and "I'll Know Her When I See Her", all charted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 2006, the band was signed to record label EMI Records. Among their many critical accolades, the Cooper Brothers were voted Best New Group in 1978, Best MOR Group in 1979 and Best Overall Group in 1980 by Canadian Contemporary Music Programmers. In 1980, "The Dream Never Dies" also earned an ASCAP Award as one of the most performed songs on U.S radio. The song has subsequently been recorded by several other artists including Bill Anderson and

Juice Newton Judith Kay "Juice" Newton (born February 18, 1952) is an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Newton has received five Grammy Award nominations in the Pop and Country Best Female Vocalist categorieswinning once in 1983as well ...

, and was also the title theme for a feature-length documentary on the Canadian National Ski Team. At the height of their career the band toured extensively throughout North America, opening for

The Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in 1970 in San Jose, California, known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies. Active for five decades, with their greatest success in the 1970s, ...

Black Oak Arkansas Black Oak Arkansas is an American Southern rock band named after the band's hometown of Black Oak, Arkansas. The band reached the height of its fame in the 1970charting ten albums according to Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Their style is punctuated ...

, Joe Cocker,

Charlie Daniels Charles Edward Daniels (October 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter. His music fused rock, country, blues and jazz, pioneering Southern rock. He was best known for his number-one country hit "The De ...

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and

Seals and Crofts Seals and Crofts was an American soft rock duo made up of James Eugene Seals (October 17, 1942 – June 6, 2022) and Darrell George "Dash" Crofts (born August 14, 1938) They are best known for their hits " Summer Breeze" (1972), " Diamond Girl ...

. In addition, the band worked with some of the most prolific musicians of the day including Chuck Leavell, who played on the Cooper Brothers’ track "Ridin High". Despite their success, the band faced a dramatic transformation in late 1980, when

folded. However, the band would once again go into the studio with Cape, but now joined by

. One more album was produced, ''Learning to Live with It,'' but it had little success. With Les Emmerson now lending his experience and expertise, the Cooper Brothers produced one last album, ''Reach for the Sky''. This last album went unreleased, and the band members parted ways shortly after, in 1983. Dick Cooper moved from music to a career as a screenwriter for children's TV programs like ''

You Can't Do That on Television ''You Can't Do That on Television'' is a Canadian sketch comedy television series that first aired locally in 1979 before airing in the United States in 1981. It featured pre-teen and teenage actors in a sketch comedy format similar to that of ...

'' and created his own teen drama series, ''Highschool Confidential'', while working at Ottawa television station

CJOH CJOH-DT (channel 13) is a television station in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. It is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media alongside Pembroke-licensed CTV 2 outlet CHRO-TV (channel 5). Both stations share ...

. In October 2006, the Cooper Brothers reunited to release a CD collection of their most popular tracks entitled, ''The Best of the Cooper Brothers'' under the Pacemaker label and the band performed for the first time on stage in over twenty years. The performance led to a number of sold-out live dates throughout Southern Ontario, including an

Ottawa Bluesfest Ottawa Bluesfest is an annual outdoor music festival that takes place each July in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. While the festival's lineup historically focused on blues music at its inception, it has increasingly showcased mainstream pop, h ...

concert with the band opening up for James Taylor in front of a crowd of over 25,000 people. The experience sparked Richard Cooper's muse again and he began writing songs. Before long, the brothers had enough material for a new album and approached respected musician/producer and old friend

Colin Linden Colin Kendall Linden (born 16 April 1960) is a Canadian guitarist, songwriter and record producer. Linden plays acoustic and electric guitar, specializing in slide guitar, country blues, and ragtime fingerpicking. He frequently collaborates with ...

. "When I heard the songs, I thought they sounded timeless. They were brimming with ideas. They weren't trivial and they were musically and lyrically so well thought out..." said Linden. In September 2009 with Colin at the helm, the brothers went to Masterlink Studio in Nashville to begin recording with session musicians including Audley Freed (

Black Crowes Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have ...

Jakob Dylan Jakob Luke Dylan (born December 9, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter. He rose to fame as the lead singer and primary songwriter for the rock band the Wallflowers. Born in New York City to musician Bob Dylan and model Sara Lownds, Dylan be ...

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) Dan Dugmore ( Linda Rostadt,

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) Kevin McKendree ( Brian Seltzer,

Lee Roy Parnell Lee Roy Parnell (born December 21, 1956) is an American country music and blues artist, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Active since 1990, he has recorded eight studio albums, and has charted more than twenty singles on the '' Billboard'' Hot ...

) Lynn Williams (

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Delbert McClinton Delbert McClinton (born November 4, 1940) is an American blues rock and electric blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, and pianist. From his first professional stage appearance in 1957 to his most recent national tour in 2018, ...

) and Steve Mackey (

Trisha Yearwood Patricia Lynn Yearwood (born September 19, 1964) is an American singer, actress, author and television personality. She rose to fame with her 1991 debut single " She's in Love with the Boy," which became a number one hit on the ''Billboard'' c ...

) " Nashville was so much fun," said Richard Cooper after the fall 2009 recording sessions. "Playing alongside musicians of that calibre was inspiring and Colin certainly managed to capture the vision I had for these songs... and then some." After additional recording back in Ottawa and Toronto, the CD was mixed in Los Angeles by John Whynot. In February 2010, a new Cooper Brothers album, ''In From the Cold'', was released, featuring 12 new songs. The album also featured a number of guest artists including Blue Rodeo's

Jim Cuddy James Gordon Cuddy, (born December 2, 1955) is a Canadian singer-songwriter primarily associated with the band Blue Rodeo. Early life and education Cuddy was born in Toronto, Ontario. His Mother Jean Cuddy was an English teacher at Monarch Par ...

, plus

and Chuck Leavell. In June 2013, the Cooper Brothers released ''Southbound''. The album was recorded at the

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's studio in Bath, Ontario and was produced by

Colin Cripps Colin Cripps (born January 26, 1961 in Hamilton, Ontario) is a Canadian musician and record producer. Career Colin Cripps is a Canadian guitarist and member of Blue Rodeo and the Jim Cuddy Band. He has been a member and producer of the bands ...

( Blue Rodeo,

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). The current live band line-up of Ed Bimm, Rob Holtz, Jeff Rogers, Darwin Demers, and John Steel all play and sing on every track. Other session musicians include Gary Craig (

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray was the fir ...

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), Peter Fredette (

Kim Mitchell Joseph Kim Mitchell (born July 10, 1952) is a Canadian rock musician. He was the lead singer and guitarist for the band Max Webster before going on to a solo career. His 1984 single, " Go for Soda", was his only charted song on the US ''Billbo ...

), Topher Stott (Jarvis Church/ Jerome Godboo) and guitar whiz Carey Blackwell. The CD featured eleven new Richard Cooper penned tracks including the first single, "Southbound", a tongue-in-cheek look at the band's love/hate relationship with Canadian winters. Other notable songs on the CD are "Love's Been a Stranger", a duet featuring Brian and Juno Award winner, Kellylee Evans as well as "Maybe This is the Night" and "Bridges" - both songs featuring the harmonies that the band is noted for. ''Radio Silence'', the Cooper Brothers’ seventh studio album was released in 2017. Well known for their charitable work around the region, they received the Mayor's City Builder Award from Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson. This work included being founding members of Ringside for Youth, which raised $3.5M from 1993 to 2019. Bell (born 3 September 1954) died in his sleep on 16 February 2019, at age 64. His death was announced on the band's facebook page.

Album Discography

The Cooper Brothers - 1978 -
Capricorn Records Capricorn Records was an independent record label founded by Phil Walden and Frank Fenter in 1969 in Macon, Georgia. Capricorn Records is often credited by music historians as creating the southern rock genre. History Label and studio foun ...

Track listing

All selections written by Richard Cooper. Produced by Gary Cape. ;Side One # "Rock And Roll Cowboys" - 4:30 # "The Dream Never Dies" - 4:11 # "Melody's In My Mind" - 4:50 # "Old Angel Midnight" - 4:49 ;Side Two # "Life Names The Tune - We Dance" - 6:34 # "Away From You" - 6:27 # "Portrait" - 3:59 # "Crazy Sundays" - 3:57

Personnel

;The Cooper Brothers * Richard Cooper -

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

and acoustic guitars, lead vocals (8) * Terry King - steel guitar, lead vocals (4), vocal

arrangements In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

* Al Serwa - keyboards,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

* Brian Cooper - bass, lead vocals (3, 5, 7), vocal

* Glenn Bell - drums,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

* Darryl Alguire -

harmony vocals Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are simultaneously sung as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical c ...

;Additional Personnel * Topher Stott -

Percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

* John Saunders - banjo * Lenny Solomon - fiddle * Charles Robertson - flute * Al Briscoe - dobro * Keith Jollimore -

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

* Gloves McGuinty -

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

(8)

Pitfalls of the Ballroom - 1979 -
Capricorn Records Capricorn Records was an independent record label founded by Phil Walden and Frank Fenter in 1969 in Macon, Georgia. Capricorn Records is often credited by music historians as creating the southern rock genre. History Label and studio foun ...

Track listing

All selections written by Richard Cooper. Produced by Gary Cape. ;Side One # "Make The Last One A Fast One" - 3:30 # "I'll Know Her When I See Her" - 3:44 # "Show Some Emotion" - 3:51 # "Ridin' Hight" - 4:47 ;Side Two # "Is It The Dancer Or The Dance" - 5:07 # "Sweet Forgiver" - 4:17 # "Mustard The Dog" - 3:45 # "Heroes" - 4:46

Personnel

;The Cooper Brothers * Richard Cooper -

and acoustic guitars, lead vocals (8) * Terry King - steel guitar, lead vocals * Al Serwa - keyboards,

* Brian Cooper - bass, lead vocals, vocal

* Glenn Bell - drums,

* Darryl Alguire -

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

* Charles Robertson III - flute,

Learning To Live With It - 1982 - Salt Records

Track listing

All selections written by Richard Cooper. Produced by Gary Cape. ;Side One # " If My Heart Only Knew" - 4:28 # "Come Back Baby" - 3:02 # "You Live Just A Little" - 3:56 # "Poor Little Rich Girl"- 3:24 # "Dangerous Moon" - 3:31 ;Side Two # "What's In Your Heart That Matters" - 3:18 # "Trouble Written All Over You" - 3:41 # " Learning To Live With It" - 4:39 # "Rules Of The Road" - 3:06

Best Of the Cooper Brothers - 2006 - Pacemaker Entertainment

Track listing

# Rock & Roll Cowboys # The Dream Never Dies # Know Her When I See Her # Show Some Emotion # Dangerous Moon # Life Names the Time # Icy Blue Eyes # Old Angel Midnight # Ridin High # No Love Lost # Voices (In the Night) # If My Heart Only Knew # Hard Ticket # Away from You

In From The Cold - 2010

Track listing

#Gunshy #'62 Fairlane #Jukebox (Featuring Delbert McClinton) #Hard Luck Girl (Featuring Jim Cuddy) #That’s What Makes Us Great #Never Cease To Amaze #Paradise Pie #Our Love Deserves Better #Love Of The Ages #Tear Down The Walls #The Way She Shines #Little Blue Church

Southbound - 2013

Track listing

#Southbound #The Last Time I Saw Georgia #Waiting for the Hammer to Fall #Love’s Been a Stranger #Bordertown #Bridges #Maybe This is the Night #Five Point Five #Club Shangri-La #Havana Nights #What I Leave Behind

Radio Silence - 2017

Track listing

#Radio Silence #Smuggler’s Moon #Straight Outta Nowhere #(There’s Gonna Be) Rain #I’m Not Afraid #End Of The Day #Mister One Percent #Government Town #Gone Are The Days #You Don’t Have To Worry #Follow Your Heart #Getting Away With It

45 Discography

The Cooper Brothers gallery

Image:CooperBrothersEarlyBand.jpg, The Original Cooper Brothers Image:Coops 2007.jpg, Image:BrianCooperBros.jpg, Image:CooperBrothers20101.jpg, Image:CooperBrothers20102jpg.jpg, Image:CooperBrothers20103.jpg, Image:CooperBrothers20104.jpg, Image:Brian Bluesfest.jpg, Image:Darwin civic center ottawa.jpg, Image:Cooper_Bros_0126.jpg, Image:Rob civic center ottawa.jpg,

Biography

Album Discography

The Cooper Brothers - 1978 -
Capricorn Records Capricorn Records was an independent record label founded by Phil Walden and Frank Fenter in 1969 in Macon, Georgia. Capricorn Records is often credited by music historians as creating the southern rock genre. History Label and studio foun ...

Track listing

Personnel

Pitfalls of the Ballroom - 1979 -
Capricorn Records Capricorn Records was an independent record label founded by Phil Walden and Frank Fenter in 1969 in Macon, Georgia. Capricorn Records is often credited by music historians as creating the southern rock genre. History Label and studio foun ...

Track listing

Personnel

Learning To Live With It - 1982 - Salt Records

Track listing

Best Of the Cooper Brothers - 2006 - Pacemaker Entertainment

Track listing

In From The Cold - 2010

Track listing

Southbound - 2013

Track listing

Radio Silence - 2017

Track listing

45 Discography

The Cooper Brothers gallery

References

External links

Biography

Album Discography

The Cooper Brothers - 1978 - Capricorn Records Capricorn Records was an independent record label founded by Phil Walden and Frank Fenter in 1969 in Macon, Georgia. Capricorn Records is often credited by music historians as creating the southern rock genre. History Label and studio foun ...

Track listing

Personnel

Pitfalls of the Ballroom - 1979 - Capricorn Records Capricorn Records was an independent record label founded by Phil Walden and Frank Fenter in 1969 in Macon, Georgia. Capricorn Records is often credited by music historians as creating the southern rock genre. History Label and studio foun ...

Track listing

Personnel

Learning To Live With It - 1982 - Salt Records

Track listing

Best Of the Cooper Brothers - 2006 - Pacemaker Entertainment

Track listing

In From The Cold - 2010

Track listing

Southbound - 2013

Track listing

Radio Silence - 2017

Track listing

45 Discography

The Cooper Brothers gallery

References

External links

The Cooper Brothers - 1978 -
Capricorn Records Capricorn Records was an independent record label founded by Phil Walden and Frank Fenter in 1969 in Macon, Georgia. Capricorn Records is often credited by music historians as creating the southern rock genre. History Label and studio foun ...

Pitfalls of the Ballroom - 1979 -
Capricorn Records Capricorn Records was an independent record label founded by Phil Walden and Frank Fenter in 1969 in Macon, Georgia. Capricorn Records is often credited by music historians as creating the southern rock genre. History Label and studio foun ...