In 2011, Newspapers reported that the F.B.I. had a “credible” lead in the mysterious case of D.B. Cooper. Once again, though, authorities remained baffled about the identity and fate of the famous hijacker.
Although I was around when Cooper disappeared, my interest in him peaked with a great song about the hijacker by Todd Snider.
The Hijacking
On November 24, 1971 — the afternoon before Thanksgiving — a man boarded a flight in Portland, Oregon under the alias “Dan Cooper.” The name was later misreported into legend as “D.B. Cooper.”
On the flight, Cooper handed a note to a flight attendant. In the note, he claimed he had a bomb and asked for parachutes and $200,000 in twenty-dollar bills.
At a stop at the Seattle-Tacoma airport, officials met the demands, and Cooper released the passengers. After refueling, the plane once again took off with Cooper and the crew on board. At some point during the flight, Cooper apparently opened a door. Then, he parachuted out of the plane with the cash into the night and a raging storm.
Cooper was never found, and in later years various discoveries contributed to the puzzle. For example, in 1980, a boy found some packets of the ransom money on the banks of the Columbia River near Vancouver, Washington. Through the years, other findings have often raised speculations. But usually it would turn out the evidence was not connected to the hijacking.
In 2011, reports indicate that the F.B.I. identified a suspect in the case, although he is now dead. They are doing further investigation, so we will have to wait and see whether there is a real breakthrough or just another false lead like all the others.
June 2016 Update: In June 2016, the FBI closed the case on the hijacking, leaving the mystery of D.B. Cooper unsolved.
Todd Snider’s Song
The best thing about the Cooper news is that it gives me a chance to post one of my favorite Todd Snider songs, aptly named “D.B. Cooper.” Todd Snider is a singer-songwriter who tells great stories with his songs. Snider has noted that one of his greatest influences is Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, and it shows in his music and presentation.
A Washington Post recent review of Snider’s latest live CD, Todd Snider Live: The Storyteller, explains that Snider may be “the most likable man in music.” The article reports that Snider is “one hell of a performer, having built up a cult following thanks to nearly 20 years of concerts that double as side-splitting storytelling sessions.”
Snider’s song “D.B. Cooper” from the CD Happy to Be Here (2000) recounts the story of D.B. Cooper fairly accurately. He does combine a bit of poetic license and childhood memory to make the tale an excellent song.
In writing the song, Snider perhaps found a small connection to D.B. Cooper, who began his strange journey at an airport in Portland, Oregon. On October 11, 1966, Snider was born in Portland.
And perhaps because the hijacking occurred in the 1970s and the song was released prior to the events of 9/11, one accepts the tradition of making the outlaw a hero a little bit more than we might have at another time. “Not far away from the City of Roses / A light shined from a house out in the rain / It was D.B. Cooper / Drinking champagne.”
You may hear the original full-band version from the album at this link.
What do you think happened to the real D.B. Cooper? What is your favorite Todd Snider song? Leave a comment.
(Some Related Chimesfreedom Posts)
(1991) on a cassette tape when I lived in Arizona, and I played the atmospheric songs every time I drove through the desolate painted desert in the northern part of the state. I especially love the opening title track and the second song, “Big Sky Country.”
Whitley recorded in one day in a Vermont log cabin. The sound of the album Dirt Floor (1998) and the sparse title song contrast greatly with the sound of Whitley’s first album, but “Dirt Floor” finds its power in a dark place that hides in the blues.
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calls it the “slightest composition” on Time Out of Mind. In Still on the Road, Clinton Heylin claims that the song shows Dylan’s inability to emulate Tin Pan Alley and that the song “truly belonged” on the Billy Joel album. Critics of the cover artists and shows like American Idol might argue that those artists reflect the poor quality of the song. They are wrong.
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, Oliver Trager says that the song “is at best a lament for, or at worst a creepy plea to, an unattainable woman from a man getting more desperate by the minute.” He also points out that some have interpreted the song as being about the relationship between humans and Christ (“I could hold you for a million years”).