Jimmy Cooper

Who was Jimmy Cooper?

Jimmy Cooper was a hammered dulcimer player from Scotland.

Cooper was born in Coatbridge, Scotland, near Glasgow. He started to play the dulcimer around age twelve, and gained a lot of experience by playing in dance halls and busking in the early 1920s. Over the course of his life he worked at various jobs, including driving buses, driving an ambulance for a children's home, and running a dance band. His repertoire included traditional Irish and Scottish tunes, pop tunes, show tunes, and more. He was "discovered" as part of the folk revival in the early 1970s, and helped inspire players of the younger generation such as John McCutcheon and Malcolm Dalglish. McCutcheon described Cooper as "the most complete dulcimer player" he had met.