This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
This article may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject, potentially preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral. Please help improve it by replacing them with more appropriate citations to reliable, independent, third-party sources.(March 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article.(February 2021)
(Learn how and when to remove this message)
Wilma Lee Cooper
Birth name
Wilma Lee Leary or Willma Leigh Leary
Also known as
Wilma Cooper
Born
(1921-02-07)February 7, 1921 Valley Head, West Virginia, U.S.
Died
September 13, 2011(2011-09-13) (aged 90) Sweetwater, Tennessee, U.S.[citation needed]
Genres
Country
Occupation(s)
Musician, guitarist, singer
Instruments
Guitar
Years active
1938–2001
Labels
Library of Congress, Hickory
Musical artist
Wilma Lee Leary (February 7, 1921 – September 13, 2011), known professionally as Wilma Lee Cooper, was an American country music entertainer. She was a guitarist, banjo player and vocalist, and was given the title of “First Lady of Bluegrass” by the Smithsonian Institution in 1974.[1] In 1994 She was awarded the Distinguished Achievement Award from the IBMA.[2] She was posthumously inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2023.[3]
^Russell, Tony (September 27, 2011). "Wilma Lee Cooper obituary". The Guardian. ProQuest 896861309.
^Vandermeer, Philip (2014). "Pretty Good for a Girl: Women in Bluegrass by Murphy Hicks Henry". Notes. 71 (1): 95–97. doi:10.1353/not.2014.0111. S2CID 162303960.
^"SEE THE FULL LIST OF 2023 IBMA AWARDS NOMINEES AND BLUEGRASS MUSIC HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES". July 19, 2022.
high school, Cooper was a member of the Leary Family Singers. In 1939, he married WilmaLee Leary. They became WilmaLee and Stoney Cooper, one of the...
(1989–1992), Toby Keith and Shania Twain (1993), Don McLean (2001–2023), Lee Ann Womack (2004), Porter Wagoner (2006), Steve Wariner (2006–2007), Lynda...
Patsy Montana, on her 1978 album, I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart. WilmaLeeCooper and the Clinch Mountain Clan, on her 1979 album, A Daisy a Day. Glen...
"This Ole House" (sometimes spelled "This Old House") is an American popular song written by Stuart Hamblen, and published in 1954. Rosemary Clooney's...
31, 2023). "Luke Combs and Wife Nicole Welcome Second Baby Boy, Son Beau Lee: 'Couldn't Love You More'". People. Retrieved August 31, 2023. Long, Danielle...
Grand Ole Opry in 1955 and encouraged her to study acting. She studied with Lee Strasberg and Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the...
attempted to sign with Curb Records. Monk had also submitted the song to Lee Greenwood at that time, although he declined it. Both Darrell Clanton and...
Comeaux Kendal Conrad Anna Coogan Elizabeth Cook Kristy Lee Cook Rita Coolidge WilmaLeeCooper Helen Cornelius Joanna Cotten Anna Craig Melodie Crittenden...
Carter Cash Roy Clark Zeke Clements Patsy Cline Jerry Clower Stoney CooperWilmaLeeCooper Cowboy Copas Charlie Daniels Skeeter Davis The Delmore Brothers...
to Dorothy Ann (née Bristol) (b. 1936), a beauty salon owner, and Richard Lee "Dick" Shelton (1940–2012), a car salesman. Shelton began singing at an early...
Carter Cash Roy Clark Zeke Clements Patsy Cline Jerry Clower Stoney CooperWilmaLeeCooper Cowboy Copas Charlie Daniels Skeeter Davis The Delmore Brothers...
other country singers. He served in this capacity for Conway Twitty and Lee Greenwood, in addition to providing backing vocals on Rosanne Cash's 1985...
Music Hall of Fame. Connie Smith was born Constance June Meador to parents Wilma and Hobart Meador in Elkhart, Indiana. Her parents were originally from...
July 2, 1993) Herman Webb (September 3, 1934 – July 28, 2018) Willie "Jay" Lee Webb (February 12, 1937 – July 31, 1996) Donald Ray Webb (April 2, 1941 –...
Carter Cash Roy Clark Zeke Clements Patsy Cline Jerry Clower Stoney CooperWilmaLeeCooper Cowboy Copas Charlie Daniels Skeeter Davis The Delmore Brothers...
Carter Cash Roy Clark Zeke Clements Patsy Cline Jerry Clower Stoney CooperWilmaLeeCooper Cowboy Copas Charlie Daniels Skeeter Davis The Delmore Brothers...
Carter Cash Roy Clark Zeke Clements Patsy Cline Jerry Clower Stoney CooperWilmaLeeCooper Cowboy Copas Charlie Daniels Skeeter Davis The Delmore Brothers...
Carter Cash Roy Clark Zeke Clements Patsy Cline Jerry Clower Stoney CooperWilmaLeeCooper Cowboy Copas Charlie Daniels Skeeter Davis The Delmore Brothers...
Carter Cash Roy Clark Zeke Clements Patsy Cline Jerry Clower Stoney CooperWilmaLeeCooper Cowboy Copas Charlie Daniels Skeeter Davis The Delmore Brothers...
Carter Cash Roy Clark Zeke Clements Patsy Cline Jerry Clower Stoney CooperWilmaLeeCooper Cowboy Copas Charlie Daniels Skeeter Davis The Delmore Brothers...
from "Brenda" to another name. The conflict was due to the fact that Brenda Lee was already signed to Decca at the time. Shortly thereafter, Lynn drove past...
(born 1945) Kolby Cooper (born 1999) Lenny Cooper Stoney Cooper (1918–1977) WilmaLeeCooper (1921–2011) John Corbett (born 1961) Corbin/Hanner Easton...
Billy Edd Wheeler Bill Withers Class of 2008 Ann Baker Stoney CooperWilmaLeeCooper Phyllis Curtin Robert Drasnin The Lilly Brothers & Don Stover Charlie...
George Riddle and The Jones Boys, Billy Walker, Dottie West, WilmaLee and Stoney Cooper, George McCormick, the Clinch Mountain Boys as well as Cowboy...
of Paycheck's life and rise to fame during the Outlaw country movement. Cooper, Daniel. (1998). The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor...
Class of '55 album that also featured Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and Jerry Lee Lewis. At the end of the session, Perkins presented Stuart with his guitar...
Global Information
