Little Leroy 'Hog' Cooper - Making music with magazines, hangers and body language

Leroy Cooper started his music career at a very young age. Or at least he had already begun fantasizing about it. Here's an excerpt from Leroy 'Hog' Cooper, A Memoir by Leroy Cooper & Susan Cross with Foreword by David Ritz.

When I was a little boy, 7 or 8 years old, I was a one man band. I had a rolled up magazine and wooden boxes for drums and coat hangers. I’d blow through the magazines and beat on the boxes. I’d be having a ball, just beating on the boxes and blowing through the magazine. I had a picket fence and I could take the coat hanger and scrape it along the fence to add another sound. The old lady neighbors were saying, “He ain’t right. He ain’t gonna make it!” I’d be just having fun.

My mother would come up with some kid to play with me and say, “Surprise, I brought Johnny, Jr. to play with you.” I would get mad because Johnny, Jr. would interfere with my fun.

Awhile later I started blowing the horn. I would get up on top of the barn, the garage was a barn, I’d get up there with my horn and the cat staying across the alley would get up on top of his barn, and he had a saxophone and we’d be blowing at each other. Then my daddy would come home from work and he’d be standing there laughing. Back then we used to practice body moves because we couldn’t play any music. So we figured we had to get some body language. We practiced that stuff.

Unveiling of the Title of Leroy Cooper's Biography

After torturous deliberations, numerous surveys, pages and pages of working titles, I have finally, finally, come to a decision for the title of the book along with the cover art.

Writing, transcribing, and putting the contents into order turned into a unanticipated challenge. But it never occurred to me how difficult it would be to choose the exact title.

And now, for the big announcement, the cover text will read:

Leroy 'Hog' Cooper on Sax

Foreword by David Ritz
co-author of Brother Ray, Ray Charles Own Story

David Ritz, author & Joel Dufour, Soul Bag Magazine

The cover art is almost complete. Wait 'til you see it -- it is gorgeous! If you could tell a book by its cover, this book is going to be fabulous!

David Ritz has agreed to write the Foreword. You all know David, I'm sure. He wrote Brother Ray, Ray Charles' autobiography. David was actually the ghost writer. (I hate that term. David is not a ghost, but he is a writer.) He worked with Ray throughout the process, spending hours upon hours with him until the book was completed. I'm very excited about having him involved since he knew Leroy and Fathead when they were both youngsters.

Joel Dufour, contributing writer for Soul Bag Magazine in France is also providing a lot of help. He's known as a top Ray Charles archivist and discographer. He is putting together Leroy's discography for the book.

I'm gathering photos that many of you have never seen before, both from the old days and after Leroy left Ray's band. I have two professional editors and one proofreader ready and waiting for the manuscript. Once they tear me to shreds, I can make any necessary edits and then it's off to the publisher to be paginated. Pagination will facilitate the building of the Table of Contents and Index.

Then galleys, publishing and then the BIG PARTY!!! The first book release party will be here in Orlando. Location is being worked out but most likely it will be at a major blues club (hint, hint) in late October. There will be live music performed by members of the bands that Leroy played with during the last years of his life. Tissue boxes will be on every table. More about the party as deadlines are met and the release date is determined. That's the news for today.