Notable people · Musician · Country Singer
Cowboy Copas
Born Lloyd Copas in Blue Creek, Adams County, he became a Grand Ole Opry singer with hits in 1946 and 1960. He died on March 5, 1963, in the plane crash that also killed Patsy Cline and Hawkshaw Hawkins.
At a glance
- Born
- 1913
- Died
- 1963-03-05
- Known as
- Musician, Country Singer
- Organizations
- Grand Ole Opry
Life story
Lloyd Estel Copas was born in 1913 in Blue Creek, Adams County, Ohio. He started performing at 14 on Cincinnati radio stations.
In 1940 he moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, and in 1943 joined Pee Wee King's band, which brought national notice. 'Filipino Baby' reached No. 4 on the Billboard country chart in 1946. After a slump, a 1960 record became the biggest hit of his career and stayed at No. 1 for three months.
On March 5, 1963, he died near Camden, Tennessee, in a plane crash with Patsy Cline and Hawkshaw Hawkins. The plane, flown by Cline's manager Randy Hughes, had taken off from Dyersburg in bad weather. He is buried in the Music Row section of Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens in Goodlettsville.
Timeline
- 1913: Born in Blue Creek, Ohio (Blue Creek, OH) source
- 1927: Begins performing at about age 14 (approximate) (Cincinnati, OH) source
- 1940: Moves to Knoxville (Knoxville, TN) source
- 1943: Joins Pee Wee King's band source
- 1946: 'Filipino Baby' reaches No. 4 on Billboard country chart source
- 1960: Biggest hit returns him to the top source
- 1963-03-05: Dies in plane crash near Camden (Camden, TN) source
What Cowboy is known for
- Grand Ole Opry member
- Hit single 'Filipino Baby' (1946, No. 4 on Billboard country)
- Biggest hit in 1960 stayed No. 1 for three months
- Filipino Baby (1946)
Honors and things named for them
- Grand Ole Opry member
Ohio places
Where Cowboy Copas was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.
- Born: Blue Creek, Adams County ZIP 45616 · Adams County
- Worked: Cincinnati, Hamilton County ZIP 45202 · Cincinnati · Hamilton County
- Buried: Goodlettsville, Tennessee (Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens), Davidson (Tennessee) County
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.
- Wikipedia: Cowboy Copas birth Blue Creek; Cincinnati radio; Knoxville 1940; Pee Wee King 1943; hits; plane crash 1963; burial
