Copas was born in 1913 in
Blue Creek, Ohio, United States. He began performing locally at age 14, and appeared on
WLW-AM and
WKRC-AM in
Cincinnati during the 1930s. In 1940, he moved to
Knoxville, Tennessee, where he performed on
WNOX-AM with his band, the Gold Star Rangers. In 1943, Copas achieved national fame when he replaced
Eddy Arnold as a vocalist in the
Pee Wee King band, and began performing on the
Grand Ole Opry. A stone marker, dedicated on July 6, 1996, marks the location of the crash. Copas was buried at
Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens in
Goodlettsville, Tennessee, in "Music Row" with Hawkins and other country music stars. at the Adams County Courthouse in West Union, Ohio ==Discography==