Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper – Big Midnight Special

Wilma Lee Cooper called the distinctive blend of bluegrass, pre-bluegrass Appalachian music, and mainstream country that she and husband Stoney Cooper played “mountain music with a beat.” The “beat” came through on uptempo tunes reflecting the same rhythmic backbeat that Bill Monroe infused into bluegrass.

With a fan base in the south, midwest and northeast, a result of years on Wheeling’s WWVA “Jamboree”, the Coopers’ impeccable ear for material combined with intense, unvarnished vocals to create a riveting sound. Their ballads reflected the fire and passion of Roy Acuff, Wilma earning a reputation as his female counterpart. It’s no small irony that the often petty Acuff initially resisted their joining the Opry (they finally came on board in 1957).

The Coopers were no more bound by false strictures of purism than Monroe, which becomes clear on this four-disc collection of their 1947-1964 recordings for Rich-R-Tone, Columbia and Hickory, the Nashville label co-founded by Acuff and Fred Rose. Dobro and accordion graced the 1947 Rich-R-Tone sides, but at Columbia, despite occasional electric lead guitar, they remained solidly traditional, while at Hickory they blended their style with conventional honky-tonk.

Of three 1958-59 top-10 singles at Hickory, the best-known is the bass drum-driven “There’s A Big Wheel”; timing likely aided that brief run of hits. While the Nashville Sound widened country’s audience during that era, it also alienated millions of traditionalists who embraced acts such as the Coopers who kept the faith. They did just that, despite Stoney’s worsening heart condition, until he died in 1977. Wilma Lee carried on another 24 years until she could literally do it no more, suffering a stroke in mid-song while performing on the Opry in 2001. Virtually every tune here reflects that same tenacity.