Johnny Copeland

Given his constant movement between one performance and the next, Johnny "Clyde" Copeland attaining visibility in blues circles during the early 1990s came as little shock. An agreement with PolyGram/Verve placed his decade recordings with blues enthusiasts worldwide. Copeland's abilities had stayed largely steady since his Rounder Records work in the 1980s; what shifted was that major labels started recognizing the promise of tireless, skilled blues performers like him. Cardiac troubles compelled a reduced schedule in 1995-1996, though he kept appearing onstage until his death in July 1997.

Born March 27, 1937, in Haynesville, Louisiana, roughly fifteen miles south of Magnolia, Arkansas (once known as Texarkana, a center of blues activity throughout the 1920s and 1930s), Copeland grew up as the child of sharecroppers. His father passed away while he was still young, leaving him the man's guitar. The first professional engagement came alongside his friend Joe "Guitar" Hughes. When Hughes fell ill for a week, the young musician found he could serve as frontman and deliver vocals on par with any singer then active in Houston.

By his own description, his sound occupied a space between New Orleans-style funky R&B and the swing-and-jump approach of Kansas City. After the family, minus his father, settled in Houston, a teenage Copeland encountered players from both locales. At the same time he trained as a boxer, an activity that supplied his nickname "Clyde."

Copeland and Hughes came under the influence of T-Bone Walker, whom Copeland first witnessed at age thirteen. During his teenage years he performed at venues such as Shady's Playhouse, Houston's premier blues club and gathering spot for most of the city's leading bluesmen throughout the 1950s, as well as the Eldorado Ballroom. Together they assembled the Dukes of Rhythm, which served as the house band at Shady's Playhouse. He later toured with Albert Collins, another T-Bone Walker follower, throughout the 1950s and shared stages with Sonny Boy Williamson II, Big Mama Thornton, and Freddie King. Recording began in 1958 with "Rock 'n' Roll Lily" for Mercury; he moved among Houston labels such as All Boy and Golden Eagle, scoring regional hits with "Please Let Me Know" and "Down on Bending Knees," then recorded for Wand and Atlantic in New York. In 1965 he issued a version of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" on Wand, demonstrating early awareness of pop-market possibilities.

Following extensive work across the Texas-Louisiana-Arkansas circuit, he moved to New York City in 1974 amid the height of the disco era. The relocation proved advantageous, granting ready access to clubs in Washington, D.C., New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Boston that still welcomed blues musicians. Meanwhile Houston's club scene suffered, partly from the mid-1970s oil-related downturn. Copeland took daytime employment at a Brew 'n' Burger restaurant in New York while performing at night in Harlem and Greenwich Village venues that embraced his style.

Seven albums appeared on Rounder Records beginning in 1981: Copeland Special, Make My Home Where I Hang My Hat, Texas Twister, Bringing It All Back Home, When the Rain Starts a Fallin', Ain't Nothing But a Party (a live set nominated for a Grammy), and Boom Boom. He earned a Grammy in 1986 for his contribution to the Alligator album Showdown! alongside Robert Cray and the late Albert Collins. Although his powerful voice, forceful guitar work, and commanding stage presence drew notice, his skill as a songwriter received less attention. Later PolyGram/Verve/Gitanes releases such as Flyin' High (1992) and Catch Up with the Blues showcased that talent on tracks including "Circumstances" and "Life's Rainbow (Nature Song)."

Because his parents separated when he was six months old and he saw his father only rarely before the man's death, Copeland remained unaware of an inherited congenital heart defect. The condition surfaced during a typically demanding tour in late 1994, requiring hospitalization in Colorado. After diagnosis he endured repeated surgeries and lengthy hospital stays over the following years. By early 1997 he awaited a transplant at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City, where he was fitted with an L-VAD device then newly available for such defects. Appearances on CNN and ABC-TV's Good Morning America that year, wearing the device, helped publicize the innovation.

He maintained a full schedule of energetic performances despite ongoing medical challenges. After twenty months on the L-VAD, longer than any prior patient, he received a heart transplant on January 1, 1997. The organ functioned well for several months, permitting continued touring, until a defective valve required additional surgery. Copeland died from surgical complications on July 3, 1997.