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The Cooper Brothers

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This article is about the rock band. For the accounting company, see PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
The Cooper Brothers
OriginOttawa, Ontario, Canada
GenresCountry rock
Years active1974–present
LabelsCapricorn Records (1978-1980)
Salt Records (1980)
Pacemaker Entertainment (2006-present)
Gunshy Productions (2010-present)
MembersBrian Cooper
Dick Cooper
Rob Holtz
Darwin Demers
Jeff Rogers
John Steele[1]
Past membersTerry King
Allan Serwa
Charles Robertson III
Glenn Bell
Ed Bimm
Websitecooperbrothersband.com

The Cooper Brothers are a Canadian southern rock band founded in Ottawa, Ontario, by brothers Brian Cooper, Dick Cooper and their long-time friend Terry King.

Biography

Their first break same in 1973 when they released a single on the local Diana label.[2] It went nowhere.

The following year, the band released two more singles under the production guidance of Les Emmerson (of the Canadian rock group Five Man Electrical Band) for Polydor. “Finally (With You)” and “Miss Lonelyhearts”.[3] These saw some local action, but not enough to keep them signed to the label.

Their breakthough came when the teamed up with producer/manager Gary Cape and signed to Capricorn Records (home of the Allman Brothers) in 1978. This resulted in two albums, The Cooper Brothers and falls of the Ballroom. Both albums sold well and the singles "The Dream Never Dies", "Show Some Emotion" and "I'll Know Her When I See Her", charted on the Billboard Hot 100.[4]

In 2006, the band was signed to record label EMI Records.

Among their many critical accolades, the Cooper Brothers were voted Best New Group in 1978, Best MOR Group in 1979 and Best Overall Group in 1980 by Canadian Contemporary Music Programmers. In 1980, "The Dream Never Dies" also earned an ASCAP Award as one of the most performed songs on U.S radio. The song has subsequently been recorded by several other artists including Bill Anderson and Juice Newton, and was also the title theme for a feature-length documentary on the Canadian National Ski Team.

At the height of their career the band toured extensively throughout North America, opening for The Doobie Brothers, Black Oak Arkansas, Joe Cocker, Charlie Daniels, Atlanta Rhythm Section, McGuinn, Clark & Hillman and Seals and Crofts. In addition, the band worked with some of the most prolific musicians of the day including Chuck Leavell, who played on the Cooper Brothers’ track "Ridin High".

Despite their success, the band faced a dramatic transformation in late 1980, when Capricorn Records folded. However, the band would once again go into the studio with Cape, but now joined by Les Emmerson of Five Man Electrical Band. One more album was produced, Learning to Live with It, but it had little success. With Les Emmerson now lending his experience and expertise, the Cooper Brothers produced one last album, Reach for the Sky. This last album went unreleased, and the band members parted ways shortly after, in 1983. Dick Cooper moved from music to a career as a screenwriter for children's TV programs like You Can't Do That on Television and created his own teen drama series, Highschool Confidential, while working at Ottawa television station CJOH.

In October 2006, the Cooper Brothers reunited to release a CD collection of their most popular tracks entitled, The Best of the Cooper Brothers under the Pacemaker label and the band performed for the first time on stage in over twenty years. The performance led to a number of sold-out live dates throughout Southern Ontario, including an Ottawa Bluesfest concert with the band opening up for James Taylor in front of a crowd of over 25,000 people. The experience sparked Richard Cooper's muse again and he began writing songs. Before long, the brothers had enough material for a new album and approached respected musician/producer and old friend Colin Linden. "When I heard the songs, I thought they sounded timeless. They were brimming with ideas. They weren't trivial and they were musically and lyrically so well thought out..." said Linden.

In September 2009 with Colin at the helm, the brothers went to Masterlink Studio in Nashville to begin recording with session musicians including Audley Freed (Black Crowes, Jakob Dylan, Dixie Chicks) Dan Dugmore (Linda Rostadt, James Taylor) Kevin McKendree (Brian Seltzer, Lee Roy Parnell) Lynn Williams (John Hiatt, Delbert McClinton) and Steve Mackey (Trisha Yearwood) "Nashville was so much fun," said Richard Cooper after the fall 2009 recording sessions. "Playing alongside musicians of that calibre was inspiring and Colin certainly managed to capture the vision I had for these songs... and then some." After additional recording back in Ottawa and Toronto, the CD was mixed in Los Angeles by John Whynot.

In February 2010, a new Cooper Brothers album, In From the Cold, was released, featuring 12 new songs. The album also featured a number of guest artists including Blue Rodeo's Jim Cuddy, plus Delbert McClinton and Chuck Leavell.

In June 2013, the Cooper Brothers released Southbound. The album was recorded at the Tragically Hip's studio in Bath, Ontario and was produced by Colin Cripps (Blue Rodeo, Crash Vegas).

The current live band line-up of Ed Bimm, Rob Holtz, Jeff Rogers, Darwin Demers, and John Steel all play and sing on every track. Other session musicians include Gary Craig (Anne Murray/Tom Cochrane/Jann Arden), Peter Fredette (Kim Mitchell), Topher Stott (Jarvis Church/ Jerome Godboo) and guitar whiz Carey Blackwell. The CD featured eleven new Richard Cooper penned tracks including the first single, "Southbound", a tongue-in-cheek look at the band's love/hate relationship with Canadian winters. Other notable songs on the CD are "Love's Been a Stranger", a duet featuring Brian and Juno Award winner, Kellylee Evans as well as "Maybe This is the Night" and "Bridges" - both songs featuring the harmonies that the band is noted for.

Radio Silence, the Cooper Brothers’ seventh studio album was released in 2017.[5]

Well known for their charitable work around the region, they received the Mayor's City Builder Award[6] from Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson. This work included being founding members of Ringside for Youth, which raised $3.5M from 1993 to 2019.[7]

Bell (born 3 September 1954) died in his sleep on 16 February 2019, at age 64.[8] His death was announced on the band's facebook page.

Ed Bimm (born 9 July 1951) died October 6, 2019, at age 68.[9]

Album Discography

The Cooper Brothers - 1978 - Capricorn Records

Track listing

All selections written by Richard Cooper. Produced by Gary Cape.

Side One
  1. "Rock And Roll Cowboys" - 4:30
  2. "The Dream Never Dies" - 4:11
  3. "Melody's In My Mind" - 4:50
  4. "Old Angel Midnight" - 4:49
Side Two
  1. "Life Names The Tune - We Dance" - 6:34
  2. "Away From You" - 6:27
  3. "Portrait" - 3:59
  4. "Crazy Sundays" - 3:57

Personnel

The Cooper Brothers
Additional Personnel

Pitfalls of the Ballroom - 1979 - Capricorn Records

Track listing

All selections written by Richard Cooper. Produced by Gary Cape.

Side One
  1. "Make The Last One A Fast One" - 3:30
  2. "I'll Know Her When I See Her" - 3:44
  3. "Show Some Emotion" - 3:51
  4. "Ridin' Hight" - 4:47
Side Two
  1. "Is It The Dancer Or The Dance" - 5:07
  2. "Sweet Forgiver" - 4:17
  3. "Mustard The Dog" - 3:45
  4. "Heroes" - 4:46

Personnel

The Cooper Brothers[1]

Learning To Live With It - 1982 - Salt Records

Track listing

All selections written by Richard Cooper. Produced by Gary Cape.

Side One
  1. " If My Heart Only Knew" - 4:28
  2. "Come Back Baby" - 3:02
  3. "You Live Just A Little" - 3:56
  4. "Poor Little Rich Girl"- 3:24
  5. "Dangerous Moon" - 3:31
Side Two
  1. "What's In Your Heart That Matters" - 3:18
  2. "Trouble Written All Over You" - 3:41
  3. " Learning To Live With It" - 4:39
  4. "Rules Of The Road" - 3:06

Best Of the Cooper Brothers - 2006 - Pacemaker Entertainment

Track listing

  1. Rock & Roll Cowboys
  2. The Dream Never Dies
  3. Know Her When I See Her
  4. Show Some Emotion
  5. Dangerous Moon
  6. Life Names the Time
  7. Icy Blue Eyes
  8. Old Angel Midnight
  9. Ridin High
  10. No Love Lost
  11. Voices (In the Night)
  12. If My Heart Only Knew
  13. Hard Ticket
  14. Away from You

In From The Cold - 2010

Track listing

  1. Gunshy
  2. '62 Fairlane
  3. Jukebox (Featuring Delbert McClinton)
  4. Hard Luck Girl (Featuring Jim Cuddy)
  5. That’s What Makes Us Great
  6. Never Cease To Amaze
  7. Paradise Pie
  8. Our Love Deserves Better
  9. Love Of The Ages
  10. Tear Down The Walls
  11. The Way She Shines
  12. Little Blue Church

Southbound - 2013

Track listing

  1. Southbound
  2. The Last Time I Saw Georgia
  3. Waiting for the Hammer to Fall
  4. Love’s Been a Stranger
  5. Bordertown
  6. Bridges
  7. Maybe This is the Night
  8. Five Point Five
  9. Club Shangri-La
  10. Havana Nights
  11. What I Leave Behind

Radio Silence - 2017

Track listing

  1. Radio Silence
  2. Smuggler’s Moon
  3. Straight Outta Nowhere
  4. (There’s Gonna Be) Rain
  5. I’m Not Afraid
  6. End Of The Day
  7. Mister One Percent
  8. Government Town
  9. Gone Are The Days
  10. You Don’t Have To Worry
  11. Follow Your Heart
  12. Getting Away With It

45 Discography

45s[10]
Year Label Number A Side B Side
1973 Diana[11] DO-1008 From Day to Day What Can She Do?
1974 Polydor 2065-220 Finally (with you) Lovers
1978 Capricorn Records CPS-0315 Away From You Portrait
1978 Capricorn Records CPS-0303 Rock and Roll Cowboys Portrait
1978 Capricorn Records CPS-0308 The Dream Never Dies Crazy Sundays
1979 Capricorn Records CPS-0323 The Dream Never Dies Rock and Roll Cowboys
1979 Capricorn Records CPS-0325 I'll Know Her When I See Her Heroes
1979 Capricorn Records CPS-0330 Show Some Emotion Mustard The Dog
1982 Salt Records[12] SR-104 DJ If My Heart Only Know (DJ) If My Heart Only Know (LP)
  • The Original Cooper Brothers
    The Original Cooper Brothers
  • Civic Centre 1982
    Civic Centre 1982
  • Brian Cooper
    Brian Cooper
  • Dick Cooper
    Dick Cooper
  • Brian & Darwin
    Brian & Darwin
  • Jeff Rogers
    Jeff Rogers
  • Brian Cooper
    Brian Cooper
  • Darwin Demers
    Darwin Demers
  • Barrymore's 2008
    Barrymore's 2008
  • Rob Holtz
    Rob Holtz

References

  1. ^ a b "The Cooper Brothers — The Dream Never Dies". Cooperbrothersband.com. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  2. ^ https://www.discogs.com/label/258389-Diana-2
  3. ^ "Cooper Brothers at Jam!". Jam.canoe.ca. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 193.
  5. ^ "Radio Silence Released! — The Cooper Brothers". Cooperbrothersband.com. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  6. ^ "Richard and Brian Cooper (The Cooper Brothers) receive Mayor's City Builder Award". 24 April 2019.
  7. ^ "Final bell coming for Ringside for Youth".
  8. ^ "Glenn Stephen Bell 03-Sep-1954 - 16-Feb-2019". arbormemorial.ca. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  9. ^ "Edward Lawerance Bimm 09-Jul-1951 - 6-Oct-2019". ottawacitizen.remembering.ca. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  10. ^ "Cooper Brothers". Discogs.
  11. ^ "Diana (2)". Discogs.
  12. ^ "Salt Records (2)". Discogs.
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