Peter Cooper

There are two Peter Coopers on this page: 1) Peter Cooper was five-years-old when he caught his first Kristofferson show in Charlotte, NC, not too far from Cooper's hometown of Spartanburg, SC. Something about the experience must have stuck, and from there it was on to Bobby Bare, Bob Dylan, Mickey Newbury, Emmylou Harris, Guy Clark, Eric Taylor and others who manage emotional literacy without ever seeming unduly literary. That's a tough trick to learn and Cooper's debut album, "Mission Door", is proof that he studied well.

1) Peter Cooper was five-years-old when he caught his first Kristofferson show in Charlotte, NC, not too far from Cooper's hometown of Spartanburg, SC. Something about the experience must have stuck, and from there it was on to Bobby Bare, Bob Dylan, Mickey Newbury, Emmylou Harris, Guy Clark, Eric Taylor and others who manage emotional literacy without ever seeming unduly literary. That's a tough trick to learn and Cooper's debut album, "Mission Door", is proof that he studied well.

It was Todd Snider who pushed Cooper to record his first batch of songs. They'd met while Cooper was interviewing him for a story. They co-wrote the song "Thin Wild Mercury," included on Snider's "The Devil You Know" album and named one of USA Today's "Songs of the Week," as well as one of MOJO magazine's "Songs of the Month" (As it turns out, MOJO is a monthly). Cooper also played bass and sang on "The Devil You Know," produced Snider's "Peace, Love and Anarchy" album and played bass sang harmonies for Snider on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "The Late Show with David Letterman."

In 2006, Snider began pushing Cooper to do a full-length album, something the journalist/musician had put off for years. The two called many of their favorite musicians to record, and the result was 'Mission Door'. Lloyd Green's steel guitar is the album's instrumental centerpiece, but a bevy of greats were there to paint around him. Jason Ringenberg of Jason and the Scorchers played harmonica, Bill Lloyd, known for his work with Foster & Lloyd and as a hit country songwriter, played electric guitar and sang harmonies. Jen Gunderman, formerly of The Jayhawks and currently of Last Train Home, pitched in on piano, Wurlitzer and accordion. Dave Roe, who has toured in the bands of Johnny Cash and Dwight Yoakam, laid down acoustic and electric bass lines, and ace percussionists Pat McInerney and Paul Griffith completed the rhythm section. On a version of the Eric Taylor-penned ?Mission Door,? Snider, Nanci Griffith and Fayssoux McLean (who provided harmony vocals on some of Emmylou Harris's finest albums) all took verses.

?I had some stories to tell, and I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to tell them with the help of the greatest pedal steel player in the world,? Cooper said. ?I hope people get a smile or two out of it.?

http://www.petercoopermusic.com/

2:)Peter Cooper is the principal oboist for the Colorado Symphony.