On a Thursday evening quite a few years ago at the first site of Buddy Guy’s Legends blues club in Chicago’s South Loop stretch, I bore witness to Johnny Copeland showcasing an advanced seminar of how merely phoning-it-in on a slow mid-week club date was in no way part of his performance DNA.  Rather, for the maybe thirty or forty true blues fans attending, Copeland emptied his tank and that of his hailing fans, including yours truly, leaving everyone believing, minus any shadow of a doubt, that Copeland’s blues fervor was real and deeply entrenched.  One of my favorite “live” blues collections had always been Copeland’s Ain’t Nothin’ But A Party (Rounder Records C-2055 – on cassette), and its ferocity and passion was matched by Copeland on this night in Chicago.  Each bead of sweat on his face, and that which had absolutely soaked his shirt, were hard-earned, and the high appreciation of that evening’s show still robustly echoes in my mind all these years since.

Since I have not yet briefly provided an overview of Copeland’s life and career, now seems the right time to do so.

He came into the world as John Clyde Copeland in late March, 1937 in Haynesville, Louisiana, a town in Claiborne Parish in the far north central portion of the state, a locale that resides roughly 15 or 20 miles south of the former Texarkana, Arkansas (now Magnolia), a region that in the 1920s and 1930s was a true flashpoint of blues goings-on. 

Copeland’s parents were sharecroppers, and unfortunately, he lost his father when he was still quite a young boy.  His father was a guitar player, and when his father died, he was given the instrument.  How exactly Copeland acquired his initial curiosity and skills on the guitar, and who may have assisted his learning on the instrument (or if he was self-taught remains open to debate), but what is known that as a young teen he fell under the blues sway of guitar master T-Bone Walker.  In fact, Copeland had the opportunity at the age of 13 to see Walker perform, and surely that show had a tremendous influence on him and furthered his interest in blues guitar, and the blues in general. 

It was also during his early teen years that Copeland and his remaining family moved to Houston, Texas.  There, he met another like-minded blues guitar player, Joe “Guitar” Hughes.  Something of a mutual blues appreciation association was formed, and it was with Hughes that Copeland performed on his first show.  They continued their early blues apprenticeship together, performing on the vibrant Houston blues scene, including the renowned Shady’s Playhouse, then considered the city’s preeminent club, a venue where the best-of-the-best blues artists played when they were out to perform.  The band quickly became the house band at Shady’s Playhouse.  Another well-known site, The Eldorado Ballroom, also played host to Copeland and Hughes, who had by now named their group The Dukes Of Rhythm.   

An interesting event took place during Copeland’s time with Hughes that perhaps forever changed the course of his musical journey.  Hughes fell ill for a week or so, and due to this Copeland took over the fronting of The Dukes Of Rhythm.  Copeland found that he reveled in the spotlight, and also discovered confidence in his singing, and it stirred his desire to be out front of a band.

As an aside to Copeland’s musical education, he also stumbled upon boxing as a pursuit, and it was through this additional calling that he took his middle name Clyde as part of his permanent musical performing name.

After his tenure with Hughes and The Dukes Of Rhythm ran its course, Copeland aligned himself with fellow Texan Albert Collins and toured with him.  During this period, Copeland also had the opportunities to perform with some of the biggest names in the blues including Big Mama Thornton, the great vocalist, harmonica player, and drummer, the esteemed harmonica giant Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller), and “The Texas Cannonball” Freddie King, the guitar titan, to name but a few.

Now it was the late 1950s, and with both his brilliant guitar skill set fully formed and his vocal work confident, Copeland had his first opportunity to record.  In 1958, the Mercury label released “Rock And Roll Lily” / “It Don’t Bother You” (Mercury 71280X45).  Now he was a true bluesman with a record of his own.  As Copeland continued to tour, he recorded for a number of labels in the 1960s including Golden Eagle, All Boy, Bragg, Paradise, Suave Records, Wand, Boogaloo Records, and Atlantic.

Continuing the push of his gigging into the early 1970s, Copeland recorded for the Wet Soul, Kent, and TTC imprints.  Then, after his relentless years of touring throughout the Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana region, Copeland made a move northward and eastward to New York City.  This occurred in 1974, and the move could have proven unfortunate as he had firmly established a solid reputation down south, plus it was the pinnacle of the disco era, a time where a great many folks, especially Blacks, lost interest in the blues.

But the move proved a to be a solid decision for Copeland, as from his new home base he was in close proximity to blues venues not only in New York City, but also Boston, Massachusetts, the nation’s capital of Washington D.C., sites in New Jersey, plus those in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  He found that the eastern seaboard still had a thirst for the blues.  His brand of blues.

In other ways, it was fortuitous that he moved on from the Houston region.  A massive oil industry downturn hit the territory, and a great many individuals lost their jobs and, subsequently, their money to spend out in the clubs enjoying the blues dried up. 

In addition to playing his blues at night, Copeland had to supplement his income with a day job owing to the higher cost of living in New York City, so he took a position in an eatery.  In New York City, he was welcomed into Greenwich Village and Harlem to great enthusiasm for his high blues proficiencies.  His move to the eastern U.S. was fully realized.

While in New York City, Copeland recorded for the BR, Zepher Records, and Fire n’ Fury labels.

Copeland’s career was now on the upswing.  In 1980 he recorded a full-length LP, Copeland Special, for the Demon Records imprint, and then his recording career really took off with his Rounder Records alliance, one that saw him record seven collections through 1989.  Also, in 1985, he was featured on the Showdown! collection on Alligator Records with his one-time road boss Albert Collins and young blues lion Robert Cray, providing him yet more additional valuable blues scene awareness.  For his work on this collection, he won a Granny Award.

Relentless gigging and a loyal audience provided Copeland the opportunities for even more recording, with collections on the EMI, Polydor, Verve, AIM, and Gitanes Blues Productions labels seeing the light of day through 1995.

Copeland’s high-energy nature, thunderous voice, and Texas-style guitar leanings had led him down the road of a high-profile blues career.  However, there was a problem that would unfortunately derail it all.

Copeland was born with a hereditary heart problem.  And since his father had died early, he would have had no way to know.  While touring in 1994, Copeland found himself in a Colorado hospital where the diagnosis was not at all favorable; he had heart disease.  This undesirable diagnosis resulted in Copeland needing numerous hospital stays and procedures over the next few years, wracking up a sizeable amount of medical debt.

Copeland was placed onto the heart transplant list in 1997, and during the interim period he was fitted with a device named an L-VAD (a mechanical pump that helps blood flow) to hopefully keep him alive until a new heart could be found.

Remarkably, Copeland continued to put on his high-energy shows while fitted with the L-VAD, and after a long 20 months of being equipped with the device, he received a heart transplant.  And for a while, things worked out well for him.  He was touring, but in the Summer of 1997 a valve proved faulty within the heart and he again needed surgery.  Unfortunately, it was too much for Copeland, and he passed in early July, 1997.  At the time of his death, Copeland was a resident of New Jersey, but had passed in a New York City hospital.

At the time of his passing, Copeland was married with a son and two daughters, one of his daughters being current day Alligator Records recording artist Shemekia Copeland.

Copeland was rightfully inducted into The Blues Hall Of Fame in 2017 for his years of dedication to the blues, where his high effort philosophy, Texas guitar style, and commanding vocals made him an artist of great note on the scene. 

I am so glad I was able to behold Copeland’s great talents one night in Chicago so many years ago.