Donnell Clyde 'Spade' Cooley (December 17, 1910- November 23, 1969) was an American western swing musician known for stomping his second wife, Ella Mae Evans, to death in front of their daughter.[1] December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... -1... November 23 is the 327th day of the year (328th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 38 days remaining. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... Western swing, also known as Country Swing, is dance music with an up-tempo beat and a decidedly Southwestern US regional flavor. ...

Cooley made many b-westerns, usually playing bit parts, and starred in his own syndicated television show from 1949 until 1959. John Gilmore has written an indepth portrait of Spade Cooley's life and tragic end in Shame on You, a segment of Gilmore's nonfiction work, L.A. Despair. Cooley is also a recurring character in James Ellroy's fiction. 1949 (MCMXLIX) is a common year starting on Saturday. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Photo of James Ellroy by Robert Birnbaum James Ellroy (born Lee Earle Ellroy on March 4, 1948 in Los Angeles, California) is one of the worlds best-selling crime writers and essayists with a unique telegraphic writing style, which omits words other writers would consider necessary. ...

He would often bill himself as the 'king of western swing'. His sound was closer to conventional dance-oriented pop orchestras than that of Bob Wills or others in the genre, which accounts for his work having been more popular with mainstream audiences during his 1940s and 1950s heyday, but at the same time not having enjoyed the continuing popularity of Wills. James Robert (Bob) Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American country musician and songwriter. ... // Events and trends World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atomic bomb. ... // Events and trends This map shows two essential global spheres during the Cold War in 1959. ...

He died of a heart attack while on temporary release from prison, where he had been serving time for the murder of his wife. The state of California had given him the temporary release in order to play a benefit concert for the Deputy Sheriffs Association of Alameda County at the Paramount Theater in Oakland. Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 3rd 410,000 km² 402. ... A benefit concert is a concert featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate humanitarian crisis. ... Oakland, founded in 1852, is a major city on the east side (also called East Bay) of San Francisco Bay in Northern California in the United States. ...

It has been reported that Dennis Quaid plans to make a bio-pic about Cooley. Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954) is an American actor. ...

External links

• A Swing King Reemerges, LA Times article
• Find-A-Grave profile for Spade Cooley
• Spade Cooley at The Internet Movie Database
• Shame on You
• http://www.geocities.com/shakin_stacks/spadecooley.txt

• http://www.bakersfield.com/static/FP/baksound/spade.htm

• http://www.countryworks.com/artist_full.asp?KEY=COOLEY

• http://www.surfnetinc.com/chuck/cooley.htm