MACEDON — After more than half a century of making music, Dana Cooper has some definite opinions about shoehorning her work into the so-called “Americana” label.
“Genre never really clicked for me,” says Cooper, whose manager describes him as a veteran Americana/folk-rock artist. “People ask me, ‘Who are you?’ But I’m a very eclectic guy. I’m very open-minded in my approach to music and art.”
Cooper spoke with The Finger Lakes Times earlier this week ahead of his show at 77 West Main on July 21 at 3 p.m. The building was once a post office and was then home to the Purple Painted Lady, but is now a folk club supporting roots music from the Finger Lakes and beyond.
A $10 donation is requested at the door. The day begins with an open mic at 1:45pm. No alcohol will be served in the club. E-cigarettes and smoking are prohibited.
Cooper, 73, a nationally known recording artist and performer, has produced a new album, “The Ghost of Tucumcari,” his 32nd studio album, which features a prominent feature on the title cut from friend and Grammy Award winner Lyle Lovett, as well as a moving rendition of the Woody Guthrie classic, “This Land is Your Land.”
Cooper said it was important to include the song on the record. The song also features a controversial final verse written by Guthrie that points out the challenges facing the country, contrasting it with its glorious beauty. The verse, which talks about aid offices, no trespassing signs and freedom highways, is “certainly timely,” Cooper said. “There’s a lot of division in this country right now, and I think we have to find common ground.”
The album was released at an event in Nashville, Tennessee in May.
Cooper says the title track, “The Ghost of Tucumcari,” is about a skinny, starving male cat he came across late one night while performing in a New Mexico town. The cat was wandering around a garbage dump, but when he tried to help it, it disappeared. The cat stayed with him all night, making him think about the sadness of being lost and alone. Ultimately, the cat inspired him to write the song.
“The title track is full of mystical energy, with dreamlike patterns emanating from the subconscious that would make it worthy of a David Lynch film,” said a review in Glide Magazine. “With Lyle Lovett on vocals, the song encapsulates the essence of true Americana.”
The album has performed well on Spotify and YouTube, though Cooper has mixed feelings about streaming services because they don’t generate revenue for artists, but he said they do give artists exposure and draw people to live performances.
In addition to Lovett, the self-produced album features fellow folk veterans Hayes Carll, Susan Gibson, Libby Koch, Sheik Russell, Mando Saenz, Darden Smith, David Starr and Jillian Tuitt.
Cooper’s lifelong passion and dedication to music began at the age of two while growing up in Kansas City, with his father, George, as a major influence. One of Cooper’s earliest memories is of his father taking him to Calico Cat and putting coins into the jukebox to listen to Hank Williams and Ernest Tubb.
“My dad sang, but he was a shy guy,” Cooper recalls. “He sang in church, he sang at home.”
At age 20, Cooper moved to Los Angeles and signed with Elektra Records, where he recorded his first album with “The Section” members Russ Kunkel and Leland Sklar, along with other notable performers such as Jim Horn, Al Perkins, Jim Gordon, Joe Osborne and Lee Holdridge. The album is still admired today and was recently reissued on the Warner Japan label.
After spending a few years in California and a year recording in Seattle, Cooper moved to Texas to write and perform with Sheik Russell, and they released several independent albums and one on Southcoast/MCA.
Cooper formed his own experimental bands, DC3 and Nuclear Family, and released his first solo project, Complicated Stuff. In 1988, he moved to Nashville to pursue a career as a composer, collaborating with other songwriters. He and his artist wife still live there.
Cooper’s songs have been recorded by a variety of artists, including bluegrass singer Clare Lynch, Irish vocalist Maura O’Connell, Nashville songstress Jonelle Mosser, and lyricists Pierce Pettis and Susan Warner.
He has appeared on “Austin City Limits” and “Mountain Stage” and released an album featuring a live performance at Cafe Lena in Saratoga. His latest album, “I Can Face The Truth,” was released in 2022 and has landed on five radio lists in Americana, Indie Folk, Alternative Folk, Alternative Country and Roots, as well as three of the Best of Year End charts for 2022.
Still, Cooper acknowledged that a career in music has been a difficult one.
“I’m still pretty unknown,” he says. “I have a new manager and she’s trying to push me out. I’ve had other paying jobs before and even went back to school at one point. Honestly, I don’t know why I’m doing this, but it’s calling me. I love what I do and I love singing for people.”
