Spade Cooley, a seemingly genial man, was a prominent country western musician, an actor, and a convicted murderer. When you know the story behind the smile, Spade Cooley seems like one twisted soul. He was born in Oklahoma and raised in Oregon in an impoverished family. From an early age, he was a skilled violinist. In the 1930’s and 40’s as his music career was taking off he also had an acting career in Hollywood westerns such as Chatterbox, The Singing Sheriff, Outlaws of the Rockies and Texas Panhandle. His popular music career began in the early 1940s featuring Tex Williams’s vocals. The band’s biggest hit was “Shame on You.” Pretty ironic for the future murderer.
 

 
Spade Cooley married Ella Mae Evans, one of his backup singers, in 1945. In 1947 as TV became a thing he hosted his own entertainment variety show called The Hoffman Hayride with his western swing band. Cooley proclaimed himself the “King of Western Swing.”
 

 
Over time, the popularity of the show diminished and he went back to performing live shows and touring around the country. His alcoholism worsened and he decided to retire to the Mojave Desert where he bought a ranch and attempted to build a “Water Wonderland” resort. Spade Cooley began beating his wife and in 1961 she was hospitalized and claimed she was afraid if they released her, Cooley would kill her. Her fears were correct because on April 3, 1961 he beat and tortured his wife to death in front of their fourteen-year-old daughter.
 

 
Spade Cooley was arrested and the murder resulted in a sensational trial. It was the longest case in county history at the time and the Kern County courthouse was packed. Cooley’s daughter, Melody, testified against her father telling the courthouse about his awful abuse of her mother almost nightly. It took the jurors 19 hours to declare Spade Cooley guilty. Still, the people of Bakersfield acted like his conviction was a crime in itself. People wept and hugged “The King of Western Swing” before he was taken away. 
 

 
Spade Cooley was sentenced to life in prison and sent to jail in Vacaville, California. Since he was such a model prisoner, he was granted parole in 1969 to take place in 1970, with thanks to state governor, Ronald Reagan. They let Spade Cooley out on a three day furlough to play a benefit concert for the Alameda County’s Sheriff Department. On November 23, 1969 as he played to a crowd of 3,000 and his set was received by his fans with love and they gave him a standing ovation. He walked backstage and promptly fell dead of a heart attack. Cooley never found out that Reagan had decided to pardon his vicious murder.