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Cooper Brothers

Ottawa brothers Richard and Brian Cooper started their career on the momentum of Beatlemania and played eastern Canada in such outfits as What The Cat Dragged In. They decided to form their own band in 1971 following Richard’s suspension from the University of Ottawa for spending too much time on the road instead of working on his Masters’ Degree in English Literature.

By 1974 the brothers had their own band and released 3 unsuccessful singles under the production guidance of Les Emmerson (Five Man Electrical Band). Richard Cooper felt the material, all cover tunes, wasn’t where they should be focusing and decided to start writing original material. The Cooper Brothers had a minor hit with the first release, “Finally (With You), on their new label Polydor.

As a newly expanded seven piece, manager Alan Katz landed them a distribution deal in the US with Capricorn Records. By the summer of 1978 they finally had their first legitimate hit with “Rock And Roll Cowboys” and the follow-up, “The Dream Never Dies” which became a hit for US country singer Bill Anderson.

“The Dream Never Dies”, “Show Some Emotion” and “I’ll Know Her When I See Her” all charted on Billboard’s Hot 100. With the folding of Capricorn Records in 1980 the band floundered without a record deal but brought Les Emmerson in as a member and produced one more album – ‘Learning To Live With It’ before the brothers parted ways by the mid-’80’s.

Brian Cooper and Terry King flirted briefly with a trio of sorts featuring Les Emmerson in the 1990’s; Terry King has since passed away.

with notes from Jamie McErlean and Brad Stone.

  • Richard Cooper (vocals, guitar)
  • Brian Cooper (vocals, bass)
  • Don Bregg (lead vocals)
  • Terry King (vocals, steel guitar)
  • Darryl Alguire (guitar)
  • Al Serwa (keyboards)
  • Glenn Bell (drums)
  • Charles Robertson III (vocals, reeds; replaced Bregg)
  • Les Emmerson (vocals, guitar)

Discography

Singles
1974 Finally (With You) (Polydor)

1974 Miss Lonely Heart (Polydor)

1975 From Day To Day (Polydor)

1978 Rock And Roll Cowboys (Capricorn)

1978 The Dream Never Dies (Capricorn)

1979 Away From You (Capricorn)

1979 I’ll Know Her When I See Her (Capricorn)

1979 Show Some Emotion (Capricorn)

Albums
1978 Cooper Brothers (Polydor/Capricorn)

1979 Pitfalls Of The Ballroom (Polydor/Capricorn)

1981 Learning To Live With It (Salt Records)

2006 Cooper Brothers – Best of. (Pacemaker Entertainment)

“from The Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedia written by Jaimie Vernon”