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Copasetics [biography]
Dates: 1949-
Birth Date: Dec 5, 1949
Place of Birth: Harlem, NY
The Copasetics, the tap fraternity of largely African-American tap dancers, were organized on December 5, 1949, in the memory of the great Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, who died in New York City on November 25, 1949. The Preamble to the Copasetics Club stated itself as a "social, friendly, benevolent club" whose members pledged "to do all in their power to promote fellowship and to strengthen the character within their ranks." The name of the club was taken from Robinson's famous catchword, "Everything's Copasetic," meaning everything's fine, or tip-top. The original twenty-one included Cholly Atkins, Peg Leg Bates, Paul Black, pianist Paul Branker, Ernest Brown, Charles Honi Coles (who became the organization's first president), Chink Collins, Charles Cook, Emery Evans, fraternal twins Francis and Frank Goldberg, trumpeter Milton Larkin, LeRoy Myers Pete Nugent, Luther Preston, Henry Phace Roberts, John E. Thomas, James Walker, Elmer Waters, Eddie West, and composer and arranger Billy Strayhorn. Strayhorn was president from the early 1950s until his death in 1967, at which time the club abolished its presidency in his honor. While the Copasetics remained a vital social force in the Harlem community, with boat cruises, annual balls, and charitable performances, in large part, they remained in isolation from a world that, in the 1950s and 1960s, had turned its back on tap dance and turned its attention to ballet and modern dance on the Broadway stage. Subsequent members included Louis Brown, Louis Simms Carpenter, Leon Collins, William Chink Collins, Harold Cromer, Steve Condos, James "Stumpy" Cross, Billy Ekstein, Albert "Gip" Gibson, Norman Gilliam, orchestra leader Milton "Tippy" Larkin, Chink Lee, Jan Micken, Charles Pendleton, Timmy Rogers, and Charles "Chazz" Young. Honorary members of the Copasetics included Peg Leg Bates, Sammy Davis, Jr., Redd Fox, Dick Cavett, Chuck Green, and the Nicholas Brothers (Fayard and Harold). With the reemerging popularity of tap dance in the 1970s, which was brought to its peak in the tap dance renaissance of the 1980s, veteran Copasetics were suddenly in demand as teachers and performers throughout the United States and Europe, and the club began performing as a group. As a result of their excellence in performing and technical skills, future tappers inherited standards by which to define what tap dance had been and set foundation for tap's future. The group became the living repository of tap history, and from their ranks came most of the teachers of the next generation. The first female tap dancer to be inducted as a Lifetime Honorary member was Michela Marino Lerman, in honor of her seventh birthday, on June 12, 2003.
The "Copasetics Song," written by Honi Coles and Paul Branker, captures the spirit of the Copasetics:
When you feel blue,
the best thing to do
is tell yourself to forget it.
Laugh your cares away
Tomorrow's another day
And Everything will be Copasetic.
Never look down
Chin up and don't frown.
Don't let life get pathetic.
Life's a funny thing
It's really great when you sing,
And Everything will be Copasetic.
Greet your fellow man
With a wide open hand,
Make your neighbor's burden lighter.
A friendly hello everywhere that you go
Is bound to make your day much brighter.
When you feel sad
Pretend that you're glad
Smile and you won't regret it.
Show a happy face
To the whole human race,
And Everything will be Copasetic.
[Source: Constance Valis Hill, Tap Dancing America, A Cultural History (2010), David Hajdu, Lush Life, A Biography of Billy Strayhorn (1996)]