Spade Cooley: A Novel

About the Book

In the 1940s and ’50s Spade Cooley, the King of Western Swing, played to sellout crowds at the Santa Monica Ballroom. He charmed audiences with his fine fiddling, self-deprecating manner, and bounce-all-over-the-stage exuberance. Adapting his ballroom show for live television, The Spade Cooley Show, began broadcasting in 1948 and made Cooley the top local television entertainer for several years. He married one of his band singers, Ella Mae Evans. Their fifteen-year marriage was plagued with Cooley’s drunk and jealous rage and ended with Cooley beating his wife to death. The front-page trial ended with Cooley’s conviction.

About the Author

Ellen Melinkoff has been a full-time freelance writer for more than twenty years. She has written for the Los Angeles Times, Sunset, and other magazines, and Web sites. She is also the author of four nonfiction books, including What We Wore: An Offbeat Social History of Women’s Clothing, 1950–1980. She lives in Los Angeles.