Donnell Clyde 'Spade' Cooley (December 17, 1910 – November 23, 1969) was an American Western Swing musician, big band leader, actor, and television personality. His career ended when he was arrested and convicted for the murder of his second wife, Ella Mae Evans.

One of the groups which played at the Venice Pier Ballroom was run by Jimmy Wakely and they had Spade Cooley on fiddle. Several thousand dancers would turn out on Saturday night to swing and hop. "The hoards of people and jitterbuggers loved him." When Jimmy Wakely got a movie contract at Universal, that had Spade replacing Jimmy as head of the band.

To capitalize on the success of the Bob Wills/Tommy Duncan pairing, Cooley hired vocalist Tex Williams who was capable of the mellow deep baritone sounds made popular by Duncan. Cooley's eighteen-month engagement at Santa Monica's Venice Pier Ballroom was record-breaking for the early half of the 1940s. His "Shame On You," released on Columbia's OKeh label, was recorded in December 1944, and was No. 1 on the country charts for two months. "Shame on You" was the first in an unbroken string of six Top Ten singles including "Detour" and "You Can't Break My Heart."