Johnny Copeland

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Biography

Considering the amount of time he spent steadily rolling from gig to gig, Johnny “Clyde” Copeland’s rise to prominence in the blues world in the early ’90s wasn’t all that surprising. A contract with the PolyGram/Verve label put his ’90s recordings into the hands of thousands of blues lovers around the world. It’s not that Copeland’s talent changed all that much since he recorded for Rounder Records in the 1980s; it’s just that major companies began to see the potential of great, hardworking blues musicians like Copeland. Unfortunately, Copeland was forced to slow down in 1995-96 by heart-related complications, yet he continued to perform shows until his death in July of 1997.

Johnny Copeland was born March 27, 1937, in Haynesville, LA, about 15 miles south of Magnolia, AR (formerly Texarkana, a hotbed of blues activity in the 1920s and ’30s). The son of sharecroppers, his father died when he was very young, but Copeland was given his father’s guitar. His first gig was with his friend Joe “Guitar” Hughes. Soon after, Hughes “took sick” for a week and the young Copeland discovered he could be a front man and deliver vocals as well as anyone else around Houston at that time.

His music, by his own reasoning, fell somewhere between the funky R&B of New Orleans and the swing and jump blues of Kansas City. After his family (sans his father) moved to Houston, Copeland was exposed, as a teen, to musicians from both cities. While he was becoming interested in music, he also pursued boxing, mostly as an avocation, and it is from his days as a boxer that he got his nickname “Clyde.”
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  • jazzthieve

    Spotify playlist: Blues: Chicago Blues, Delta Blues, Electric Blues, Jump Blues, Piedmont Blues

    3 Apr 7:23pm Reply

  • FirmeZechs

    Johnny Copeland Pure Blues... I discovered Johnny through SRV from the Montreux 85 performance an the Fact that Johnny Sounded Great an held his own on the same stage with SRV shows his Amazing talent. Incredible Voice An Guitar Skill. I'm a huge fan of his now an love his Music. I added The vid of Cut Off My Right Arm as its a must watch. R.I.P. Johnny "Clyde" Copeland.

    7 Mar 2010 Reply

  • robsham

    first blues gig i ever went to was to see johnny clyde copeland at the haunt in ithaca, new york, july 1994 - a life-changing event. thanks, johnny. keep hold of that black cat bone!

    23 Jun 2009 Reply

  • Hollgam

    cool

    25 Jul 2008 Reply

  • bluezzbytes

    groovin'

    16 Jul 2008 Reply

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