'Everybody knew who she was': Farewell to The Butter Queen, Dallas' most famous groupie

It has taken a tragedy to conjure the name of the forgotten semi-legend who lived, quietly, in our midst: Barbara Cope, known long ago as the rock 'n' roll groupie The Butter Queen.

Cope died early Sunday morning when her house, which sits not far from where she attended high school at Bryan Adams, caught fire. A neighbor managed to rescue Cope's 93-year-old mother, who remains hospitalized. Barbara did not make it: Dallas Fire-Rescue officials said her body was found near the front porch.

Even before the medical examiner confirmed her identity, word began circulating among veterans of Dallas' long-ago rock scene that The Butter Queen had been killed in the blaze. Days later, local television news noted Cope's place in the pantheon as the groupie immortalized in the Rolling Stones' song "Rip This Joint," the second track on 1972's Exile on Main St. Bawled Mick Jagger in the proto-punk rocker that served as a raging travelogue across the U.S.:



From San Jose down to Santa Fe/Kiss me quick, baby, wontcha make my day/Down to New Orleans with the Dixie Dean/Across to Dallas, Texas, with the Butter Queen