 Probably born in Lexington, Mississippi, where he grew up, he started performing on the electric guitar in Chicago in the 1940s.According to musician Eddie Boyd, with whom he later performed, Cooper was a chemistry graduate who lost an eye when acid splashed into it.By the early 1950s, Cooper regularly performed with Kansas City Red, and on sessions at Chess Records on recordings by Big Bill Broonzy, Washboard Sam, and others.