Many of our fallen stars were taken from us in their prime. Their music will live on as long as fans want to hear their songs.
 

This list is just some of the Fallen Stars that I have put together on one page. Some artists have web pages and some have none at all. For the artists without a web page, this will be their web site for future visitors.
We have been working on this project off and on since 1995. Please let us know if some of the web page links are not working.

Fallen Stars that will be highlighted on this page are:

 

PATSY CLINE - She died in a plane crash on 5 Mar 1963 along with Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins. She was one of the greatest female singers to ever sing a country tune. No one can improve on any of her songs.
 

COWBOY COPAS - He died in a plane crash on 5 Mar 1963 along with Patsy Cline and Hawkshaw Hawkins. He was a Grand Ole Opry favorite and had many popular tunes during his career.
See section 2 on this page for more on Cowboy Copas.

 

COWBOY COPAS

Cowboy Copas was a country singer,
One of the best in any town;
He was born in Ohio
And he began singing all around.

He got his big break ,
On Pee Wee King's show;
He sang his songs with his band,
He was at the top of the charts, we know.

He became a regular on the Grand Ole Opry,
A position most singers would love to have today;
He was at the top of his music world,
He had made it all his own way.

One tragic evening in an airplane crash
With Patsy Cline and Hawkshaw Hawkins too;
We lost one of country's best,
The complete country singer, through and through.

He will be truly missed,
Other singers will come and go;
One of the greatest thrills to have
Was to be at a Cowboy Copas Show.

Written By: Bill Flemming, 1998
Copyright © 1998 by Bill Flemming

Editor's Note: There are differences of opinion on the spelling of the Cowboy's name.
Whether we refer to him as Cowboy Copas or Cowboy Copus, we ALL know who he was! And he left us way too soon!
There has been a difference in opinion on Cowboy Copas' birth place as near Muskogee, OK or Blue Creek, Adams County, Ohio. From new sources, we have listed his birthplace as in Blue Creek, Adams County, Ohio. He still is listed on the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame as Lloyd "Cowboy" Copas.
 

HAWKSHAW HAWKINS - He died in a plane crash on 5 Mar 1963 along with Patsy Cline and Cowboy Copas. See his section on this page.
 

Hawkshaw Hawkins

BUDDY HOLLY - At the young age of 22,Buddy died in a plane crash on 3 Feb 1959 along with Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper). Buddy Holly was born on 7 Sep 1936 at Lubbock, Texas. His name was Charles Hardin Holly, but everyone called him Buddy. He was one of the early Rock and Roll Singers. Some of his greatest songs were "Peggy Sue", "That Will Be The Day", "Maybe Baby", and "Oh Boy". He had many hits in his short skyrocketing career. He was buried at the City of Lubbock Cemetery, Lubbock, Texas.
Other Sites to check out are:
 

RICK NELSON - He died in a plane crash near De Kalb, Texas on 31 Dec 1985 along with his fiancee, Helen Blair and five band members. He was only 45 years old. We grew up with Ricky with his family on television in the early days. Songs like "Poor Little Fool", "Travelin' Man," and "Hello, Mary Lou" were some of his biggest hits. Rick was buried at Forest Lawn (Hollywood Hills) in Los Angeles, California.
Other web pages to view are:

Rick Nelson
 

ELVIS PRESLEY - Elvis did not die in a plane or auto crash, but he did die way before his time at Graceland on 16 Aug 1977. He is probably the most remembered star of all time.
See more in next section.
 

JIM REEVES - He was born on 20 Aug 1923. He died in a plane crash in Tennessee on 31 Jul 1964. Gentleman Jim was one of the best male vocalist of his time. We still hear his songs on country radio stations every day. He was buried at the Jim Reeves Memorial Park, Galloway, Texas.
Please visit Jim Reeves' Official Web Site at:

Jim Reeves
 

J.P. RICHARDSON - He was born as Jiles Perry Richardson on 24 Oct 1930 at Sabine Pass, Texas. He became known as "The Big Bopper" when he worked as a disc jockey out of a Beaumont radio station. Some of his best known songs were "Chantilly Lace", "Big Bopper's Wedding", "Beggar To A King",and "The Purple People Eater Meets the Witch Doctor." He died in a plane crash in Iowa on 3 Feb 1959 along with Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens. He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Beaumont, Texas.
 

RITCHIE VALENS (VALENZUELA) - He was born as Richard Steve Valenzuela on 13 May 1941 at Los Angeles, California. He became famous with his 50's hit of "La Bamba" and became the first major spanish-american rock star. He died in a plane crash in Iowa on 3 Feb 1959 along with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper. He was buried at San Frenando Mission Cemetery, Mission Hills, California.
 

DOTTIE WEST - She was born Dorothy Marie Marsh on 11 Oct 1932 at McMinnville, Tennessee. She was raised up in a large family where country music was played every day. She graduated from college with a music degree. While she was there, she met and married Bill West, a steel guitar player and later he became her manager. Her first hit which she wrote was "Is This Me?" "Here Comes My Baby" was one of her biggest hits. She was the first female singer to win a Grammy Award. Dottie teamed up with Don Gibson and Kenny Rogers on some duet recordings. She is probably best known for her song "Country Sunshine" and made successful commercials for the Coca-Cola Company. Dottie was injured in an automobile crash and died on 4 Sep 1991. She was buried at the Mountain View Cemetery at McMinnville, Tennessee.

Dottie West/
 

Let us know what you think about about our Fallen Stars Page. If you have additional information you would like to share, I would be happy to expand the page.

Now see our Part 2 of the page!
 

After playing music in various clubs, Lloyd worked with Pee Wee King and his Golden West Cowboys.
 

During the World War II years, King Record Company was formed, and many of the country singers signed with them.
Besides Cowboy Copas, there were Moon Mulligan, Grandpa Jones, The Delmore Brothers, Hawkshaw Hawkins, T. Texas Tyler, Ferlin Husky, Webb Pierce, Reno and Smiley, The Stanley Brothers, Wayne Raney, and many others.
Cowboy Copas became a Grand Ole Opry favorite and had his own band named The Oklahoma Cowboys. One of his first major hits was "Filipino Baby." He stayed on the charts in the fifties with hits "Signed, Sealed and Delivered","Candy Kisses", "Tennessee Waltz", and "Alabam" was one of his bigger hits. Songs like "A Penny For Your Thoughts", There'll Come A Time Someday", and "Louisian" are still some of my favorites.
 

Cowboy Copas along with Patsy Cline,Hawkshaw Hawkins, and son-in-law Randy Hughes were killed in a plane crash on 5 March 1963. Three great stars were cut down in their prime! The ironic thing about the whole situation was that Cowboy Copas had a commercial airline ticket that he was going to use, but gave it to Billy Walker instead and took the private plane. Billy's father had suffered a heart attack and the plane change gave Billy the opportunity to get home faster.
 

Hawkshaw Hawkins career was going great until his tragic death on 5 March 1963 in a private plane crash along with Cowboy Copas, Patsy Cline, and Randy Hughes.
 

ELVIS PRESLEY: Born on 8 Jan 1935 at Tupalo, Mississippi.
Although he was not killed in a plane or auto crash, he still died a premature death on 16 Aug 1977 at age 42. He was buried on the Graceland grounds.
Some liked his early songs, "Heartbreak Hotel", "Love Me Tender", and "Jail House Rock". I personally liked his later music such as the songs that he sang on the first international television broadcast in Hawaii.
 

Some of his other web sites are:

Elvis Presley
Elvis Songs of the Fifties