344: Spade Cooley

Once dubbed the ‘King of Western swing” Spade Cooley was a prominent Los Angeles musician and entertained thousands of American’s every week with his televised performances. From Roy Rogers to Frank Sinatra, he was in with Hollywood’s A-List and from the outside seemed to be living the highlife, but behind closed doors lies the tale of a monster who would stop at nothing to ensure his wife Ella May was living in constant turmoil. 

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Sources:

https://www.bakersfield.com/entertainment/handwritten-letter-from-spade-cooley-in-jail-to-his-son/image_bd1d6d70-cf2d-59f0-9849-4b0fd87ad69c.html 

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/surviving-the-dust-bowl-mass-exodus-plains/

https://www.bakersfield.com/entertainment/bakersfields-trial-of-the-century-the-talented-and-tormented-spade-cooley/article_e745f8a6-42c8-5da8-8c45-b5b78ce4beb8.html

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