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In effect, the chemistry was pretty much the same as with RCA Victor although the horns were less often present. Some of the early outings were billed as by 'Spade Cooley & His Fiddlin' Friends', but it was soon back to 'Spade Cooley & His Orchestra'. More vocalists appeared (like Betsy Gay or the excellent Phil Gray), but the first sessions still featured the talented Virginia 'Ginny' Jackson whose vocal in Hank Snow's 'The Rhumba Boogie' is a delight. The other side of that decidedly hot first Decca '45 was a cover of Billy Briggs's immortal 'Chew Tobacco Rag'. The guitar & steel guitar parts were super fine but who was that mysterious singer named 'Andy Klimax' ? Fortunately, collector/musicologist Jason Odd had the answer. It appears that he was none other than Del Porter AKA Delmar Smith Porter (04/13/1902-10/04/1977). A talented clarinetist, composer, arranger and singer, he exerted substantial influence on Spike Jones and had even been one of his famous City Slickers. He would sing again at Spade's next session.
Three more singles were recorded and released in 1951, the best being #46355 which coupled 'Down Yonder' (full of wonderful barrelhouse piano playing) and the galloping, jumping 'Horse Hair Boogie' where fiddle, guitar and steel guitar breaks abound.
Cameron Hill joined Jimmy Wyble on guitar for a while and Noel Boggs stayed on board most of the time but Joaquin Murphey later returned for a few sides at the end of Spade's tenure with the label. Hank Penny, who was one of Spade's closest friends, and Speedy West, who joined Spade's band briefly, explained to me that Cooley had a strong tendency to 'fire'em (when he was too drunk) then hire'em back' (when he had sobered up) !
Amazingly, only two singles appeared in 1952 but of course, Spade was so busy with his radio and TV shows, plus innumerable gigs at The Santa Monica Ballroom. One was composed of remakes of earlier hits ; both 
'Crazy 'Cause I Love You' and 'Swinging The Devil's Dream' had been waxed for Columbia in 1946. This time though, singer Tex Williams, who had long left Spade's band and started his own succesful career, was replaced by a certain 'Careless Love' on the former title. As usual, we'll leave it to Jason Odd to solve the mystery surrounding that name. 'Careless Love' is in fact, Freddie 'Careless' Love, the Sailor Singing Cowboy (what else ?!). Courtesy of Jason, you can enjoy (at right) a picture of a September 1953 invitation card to the Santa Monica Ballroom where Spade Cooley was giving a party in honor of Freddie's birthday.
The other '52 release ranks amongst Spade's best ever. 'Carmen's Boogie' is an irresistably swinging arrangement of 'The Habanera', a well-known part of Bizet's opera. The fiddling is brilliant but it's Noel Boggs who steals the show with a stupendous 'block chords' steel solo. The blending of the horns and fiddles at the end of the track is also very clever. As for 'One Sweet Letter From You', sung by Phil Gray, it's a very fine swinger with tasty big band arrangements. At that time, Spade's horn section usually included three trumpets, two trombones and five saxes.
Even more amazingly, 1953 yielded only two recording sessions which produced four singles of hoedowns and square dances. All were certainly well executed but I guess Charly Records were wise to select only the pleasant 'Nashville Special' from that batch.
The next visits to the recording studios took place in September 1954 for a couple of memorable sessions, mainly composed of instrumentals (without horns). The first session featured a mighty attractive mix, from the sweet and reflective 'Down By The Pecos', on through the charming, accordion-led 'Anita' and the stompin' 'Y'Hear' (one of Cooley's best in my opinion, with all band members allowed to cut loose !), to the funny 'The Cryin' Waltz' where the 'crying' vocals can only make one crack a smile ! The second date was just as good, especially thanks to the two songs which constituted single #29309. The lively instrumental, 'Break Up Down', featured another killer steel guitar solo from the incomparable Joaquin Murphey, while Betsy Gay took the vocal duties on 'You Clobbered Me' with aplomb.
And there you have it : apart from one last disc with Chuck Reed on vocals from a lone session in 1955, that's all Spade Cooley released while with Decca. A rather small - but still essential - dose of Western Swing. Happily, a healthy number of superb radio transcriptions from that period had been preserved and have now been released on CD. Obviously, the times were changing when Spade left the label ; however, it would have been hard to tell from simply looking at the record's labels, because the record company who used to describe Spade's music as 'Fox Trot' would soon apply the same terminology to Bill Haley's 'Rock Around The Clock' !
Although he gradually became a real estate developer, Spade stayed busy in the music field with his TV shows. In the October 1958 issue of 'Trail', for which the lovely Carolina Cotton had a column, she wrote that Spade had 'moved from the Riverside Rancho to Baldwin Park where he's remotin' his saturday night KTLA-TV hour straight from the ballroom. [] Spade says the yougsters around there are not only a wonderful audience, but they're some of the finest dancers he's seen in years.' The next year, there would be an album, 'Fidoodlin', on the Raynote label (SRN 5007 in stereo), later reissued by Roulette and much later, Murray Hill. The fourteen tracks had all been featured on his TV show throughout the years and Cooley was supported by a great band that included Joaquin Murphy, Roy Lanham, Fred Taggart and another superb take-off guitarist, Jimmy Luttrell.
It would be his last recording venture.
Here, for the first time, is Spade Cooley's complete DECCA sessionography and discography.
Personnel details and other data are missing, thus I encourage all interested readers
to e-mail me with their additions and corrections. Thanks beforehand !!
© Paul Vidal * Privas, France * 2000 - 2024
HOLLYWOOD L6138 Chew Tobacco Rag (Billy Briggs)* 46310 Note : Decca 46310 released on April 23, 1951. Both titles reissued on Charly CR 30239. |
HOLLYWOOD L6311 My Heart Is Broken In Three* 46376 Note : Decca 46339 issued on July 30,1951 ; Decca 46376 on November 5, 1951. 'Hitsitty Hotsitty' reissued on Charly CR 30239. |
HOLLYWOOD L6379 The Cowboy Waltz* 46376 Note : All three titles reissued on Charly CR 30239. |
HOLLYWOOD L6778 Crazy 'Cause I Love You (Spade
Cooley)* 28253 |
HOLLYWOOD Note : Decca 28344 put out on August 25, 1952. Both titles reissued on Charly CR 30239. |
HOLLYWOOD Note : 'Nashville Special' reissued on Charly CR 30239. |
HOLLYWOOD |
HOLLYWOOD |
HOLLYWOOD |
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Left, Spade Cooley's band with Mom Westerfield - a longtime fan.
Right, Spade Cooley's own boat. More Big V Jamboree exclusives !
