The Cooper Book
Officially titled The B. F. White Sacred Harp, Revised Cooper Edition, 1992. The most common nationwide nickname for this book is "Cooper Book," with singers in Georgia and Florida also calling it "the Blue Book".
The songbook first put together by Benjamin Franklin White and Elisha J. King in 1844 went permanently out of print following the 1879 death of B. F. White and after four editions. By 1902 the supply of Sacred Harp songbooks was critically low and W. M. Cooper met the need with his revision of the 4th edition, bringing it out in that year. This has remained in print ever since; and each time it has been reprinted, it has been revised by committee in the same way as B. F. White had done it. The pride of this direct connection with the 1844 book is evident in the title. A number of singings use this book in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas.
It may be ordered from The Sacred Harp Book Company, 200 S. Johnson St., Samson, AL 36477. The base price is $12.00 per copy plus shipping charges of $3.50. If more than one book is ordered at a time, call Mr. Bill Aplin (334) 898-7253 for bulk order shipping rates. Books may also be picked up in person at a Cooper Book singing by prior arrangement (thus no shipping charges).
For a more complete discussion of the various editions of The Sacred Harp, consult Buell Cobb, Jr.'s book The Sacred Harp: A Tradition and Its Music. It is published by The University of Georgia Press (1989). ISBN 0-8203-1022-0