Chap Cooper

Chap Cooper started learning guitar at the age of five, continuing a family tradition of four generations of Musicians and Artists. His father a musician, actor and director, his mother an acclaimed artist and sister a successful graphic artist.

After establishing Cooper Brothers Music Store (New Kensington, PA) in 1926 as their base, family members would go on to raise money via performing for the war efforts of WWI and WWII. Family members would also go on to play and conduct at Carnegie Hall, the World's Fair, Ted Mack's Amateur Hour and concert halls all around the world.

Today Cooper's Music has reached its 100th anniversary in Atlanta and the family is musically strong as ever. Family influences run the gamut from classical to jazz, from big band to rock and roll, from folk to the eclectic. You name it!

Chap adds to these influences by studying the guitar greats of the day as well as other instrumentalists and composers. Growing up in the 60's and 70's was a contemporary guitarist's dream come true.

Rock's most famous legends were always available to see playing in town. Later, Chap would get to meet, talk shop and work with many of these great musicians.

His first band at the age of 8 actually played paying gigs. Before he was 12 he had played rhythm guitar for members of the Yardbirds and Paul Butterfield Blues Band.

Growing up in Southern California, Chap has performed at most all of the top venues in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. His first original bands in the early 70's were more experimental with up to four keyboardists, horn section, violin section, woodwinds and percussion. These instruments were needed to play his own original compositions and renditions.

A band he co-reformed (The White) would become a Hollywood favorite as the 'House Band' at Gazzarri's on the Sunset Strip.

While playing weekly in Hollywood, Chap would also start to learn the necessity to understand production at a much higher level. The competition was tough and you had to know your game both musically and technically. Bigger stages, more lights and bigger sound systems were now the norm.

During the early 80's, Chap would attend and graduate Sherwood Oaks Experimental College for Audio Engineering. (Founder: Phil Spector-Beatles Producer and Gary Schussei) His classmates were the Golden Years of the Polydoor Studios, Capitol Records, GoldStar, Ari Lahn's, Hollywood Sound Studios and others. His teachers: Ben Jordan and other Grammy Award winners.

While continuing to play all the local hot spots, Chap would soon become the 'go-to' guy by club owners and fellow musicians for PA system advice.

Later, Chap would become general manager for Whittaker Music in Long Beach. As buyer, he would expand the store's focus to concentrate more on the working professional in the areas of Pro Sound, Keyboards, Computers, Drums, Guitars, Amps and Accessories as well as Band Instruments. Chap would attend hundreds of manufacturers seminars on the latest equipment and trends in the music industry. During his 14 years at the helm, Whittaker Music would become one of the top 50 stores in the nation with annual sales exceeding 10 million dollars.

As manager of Whittaker Music, Chap would have access to all the major lines and most importantly the manufacturer's support staff including: district, regional and national sales managers, engineers, product specialists, endorsed artists, etc. on a daily basis.

These relationships still continue today...