Alan Copeland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Copeland was born in Los Angeles, California on October 6, 1926.[3]
Copeland was a member of The Modernaires, first from 1948 to 1956 and then from 1959 to the mid-1960s.[4] He also worked as a songwriter in Los Angeles in the 1950s. He co-wrote the song "Make Love to Me", "Back Where I Belong", "Darling, Darling, Darling", "High Society", "Into the Shadows", "This Must Be the Place", "Too Young to Know", and "While the Vesper Bells Were Ringing". He also worked as a composer for television and did arrangement work for musicians such as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Bing Crosby.[5] He also provided lyrics for such jazz instrumentals as Horace Silver's "Nica's Dream"[6] and Clare Fischer's "Gaviota."[7]
Copeland led studio ensembles that released several albums in the 1960s. In 1968, he issued the single, "Mission: Impossible Theme / Norwegian Wood", interpolating the Theme from Mission: Impossible and the Beatles song "Norwegian Wood" in what might be termed a proto-mashup.[a] It peaked at number 120 on the Billboard Bubbling Under chart and won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Pop Performance by a Chorus.[5] In 1980, in collaboration with his wife, fellow vocalist Mahmu Pearl, Copeland formed the band Feathers, which released at least three LPs and one CD compilation.[11]
In November 2007, Copeland published his autobiography, Jukebox Saturday Nights.[12]
Personal life and death
From November 5, 1948 until their divorce in January 1969, Copeland was married to Dolores Mae Barty,[1][13] the sister of actor/activist Billy Barty. They had three children: Christine, Richard and Michael.[14]
Copeland was married to Joyce Abbott Ross—née Manor, aka Mahmu Pearl—from July 22, 1971 until her death on December 22, 2009.[15][16][17]
On December 28, 2022, at the age of 96, Copeland died at Sonora Senior Living in Jamestown, California,[18][16][19] survived by his son Richard Copeland, daughter-in-law Linda, granddaughter Rachel and grandson Samuel. Also a stepdaughter, singer Sheila Ross.[16]
Discography
- No Sad Songs for Me (Coral, 1957)
- Cool Country (ABC, 1966)
- A Bubble Called You (ABC, 1967)
- If Love Comes With It (A&M, 1969)
- Enchanting Woodwinds, disc no. 6 of Reader's Digest Association's 6-LP set, Music in the Night (RCA, 1974)[20]
Collaborative work
- With Count Basie:
- As member of The Modernaires. Recordings beginning in the 1950s, after spinning off from the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
