Jim Copp

Copp and Brown

Jim Copp met the artist Ed Brown at a society party in Los Angeles and the two men began a lifelong friendship. Brown, a graduate of the University of South Carolina, was a linguist and graphic designer, and Copp shared with him an idea for a children's album that would incorporate Copp's own numerous musical talents with Brown's talent for design. For this first record, Copp played all of the instruments, performed all of the voices and contributed some of the artwork while Brown handled the album's overall design and marketing. The album Jim Copp Tales featured a picture wheel that listeners could turn to see Copp's own doodles that illustrated each story. Copp used the nickname "Jim" instead of his cabaret name, in case the project fell flat, but the album did well. The record received wide exposure on radio and TV, as well as bids for exclusive distribution by a department store chains I. Magnin, Neiman-Marcus, Bloomingdale's and FAO Schwarz. Copp and Brown soon traveled the U.S., touring to retail outlets with their luggage stuffed with records.