Grand Ole Opry Member Spotlight: Wilma Lee Cooper

Grand Ole Opry Country Music Show - Nashville

Dierks Bentley - The Opry's Youngest Member

Born Wilma Lee Leary, this West Virginia native is a skillful banjoist, guitarist, and organist. Wilma and her late husband, champion fiddler Stoney (Dale T.) Cooper, performed for almost 40 years as one of country music's greatest duos.

Background and Early Career

• Raised in a musical group that billed themselves as the Leary Family, Wilma began singing at churches and festivals at a young age. After graduating college, she met and married Stoney Cooper.
• Wilma and her husband performed for a decade on Wheeling West Virginia's "Jamboree," and then spent another decade performing at the Grand Ole Opry.

Grand Ole Opry Induction

• Wilma became an Opry cast member on January 12, 1957. She performed at the Opry even after her husband's death, until an on-stage stroke forced her to cease performing.  It's notable that doctor's told her she would never walk again, but Wilma walked onto the stage at Ryman Auditorium to a standing ovation.

Wilma Cooper at the Opry

• Though no longer performing, Wilma's influence and style are part of the Opry's history that makes it what it is today.

Notable Hits

• "Cheated Too"
• "Loving You"
• "I Tell My Heart:
• "Heartbreak Street"
• "The Legend of the Dogwood Tree"
• "Little Rosewood Casket"
• "Sunny Side of the Mountain"
• Wreck on the Highway"  
•  "Philadelphia Lawyer"

More Details

• In 1974, the Smithsonian Institute in Washington honored Wilma as the "First Lady of Bluegrass."
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