Barbara Cope

Barbara Cope ( Sheltman; March 19, 1950 – January 14, 2018) was an American rock and roll groupie, known in the late 1960s and early 1970s as "The Butter Queen".

Early life Barbara Sheltman was the daughter of Earline Miller and Joe Sheltman. She was born in Hunt County, Texas, on March 19, 1950, and attended Bryan Adams High School in East Dallas.

Groupie life She said that she became a groupie in 1965 during a concert at the Dallas Memorial Auditorium. She toured with Traffic and Jimi Hendrix before joining up with Joe Cocker in 1970. She is featured in a seven-minute segment of the 1971 Cocker documentary film Mad Dogs & Englishmen. She is referenced in the song "Rip This Joint" by The Rolling Stones:

Down to New Orleans with the Dixie Dean 'Cross to Dallas, Texas with the Butter Queen

She is also mentioned in the notes for the DVD release of The Rolling Stones documentary Gimme Shelter:

Elton John said he "got along with her famously." The first track on the first album by British group Three Man Army features lyrics about her and is entitled "Butter Queen".

Cope said she visited 52 major cities in the United States while following bands, and traveled to 11 different countries with them.

In 1987, she appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and discussed her time as a groupie. She told Winfrey that she had had sex with about 2,000 musicians.

Marriage She married David Cope on May 23, 1968, in Dallas, and had one son, born in 1968.

Death Barbara Cope died in a fire at her mother's home in East Dallas on the morning of January 14, 2018. She was 67 and was survived by a son. Her 93-year-old mother Earline Collins was injured in the blaze and died on August 24, 2018.