Download or read book Spade Cooley: A Novel written by Ellen Melinkoff and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2010-09-09 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.