Saturday, March 21, 2009

Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame's Class of '08-Feature Story 2 Oct. 2008

Merle Haggard. Leon Russell. Woody Guthrie. Patti Page. The Texas Playboys. Roy Clark. All are legends, and all share the distinction of membership in the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. This October a select few will take their rightful place alongside these and the other members when the OMHOF enshrines its newest inductees into its hallowed halls. It promises to be an evening in which the OMHOF members and fans of Oklahoma music will celebrate the state’s rich musical history by taking a look and listen at the past and present of the talented artists who have made significant contributions to our musical landscape.

Since 1997, the OMHOF has recognized artists and contributors in a variety of categories, ranging from Country and Western, Singer & Songwriter, Pop & Rock and Rising Star, along with a selection of special awards given on a rotating basis. This year the event will feature the Governor’s Award, presented for only the third time in the OMHOF history. The award will be presented to the Cherokee National Youth Choir, which sings traditional songs in the Cherokee language. The award-winning group, which was founded in 2000, is comprised of 50 Cherokee youths from Northeastern Oklahoma. The choir will perform at the event.

For the first time the event will present The American Indian Tribal Music Traditions award to The Wichita and Affiliated Tribes. The tribe’s singers are recognized as some of the state’s earliest recorded artists, with recordings dating as early as 1902. The American Indian Tribal Music Traditions category will be awarded every four years following this year’s event.

Past recipients of the Rising Star award have been as diverse as country star Keith Anderson and hard rockers Hinder. This year one of the country’s hottest modern rock bands will join them when the All-American Rejects receive the coveted award. Fresh off their rocking show at this year’s DFest in Tulsa, All American Rejects are certain to make sure everyone attending the ceremony will know exactly why they are rising stars with a blistering performance after the induction ceremony.

This year the OMHOF will welcome a pair of singer/songwriters that, while neither may be house hold names to the casual music fan, have both helped to shape the way generations of musicians and music fans create and appreciate music.

Bob Childers

Hundreds of thousands of musicians dream of playing their instruments for a living. Most flame out before they ever really begin. A few toil for a few years, barely making enough to live on, before moving on to the real world. Fewer still do well enough to keep up the life into old age. Very few inspire a movement. Bob Childers followed a path not unlike that of Texas outlaws such as Willie and Waylon. Kid dreams of hitting it big in Nashville. Kid grows tired of the corporate sell-out ideal. Kid makes his way back home determined to make it on his own terms.

Only this kid’s home wasn’t Texas, although he did happen to make a brief stop in Austin. No, Bob Childers made it all the way back to Oklahoma, and a couple decades in his rearview mirror he could look up and see a landscape populated by artists who have been influenced by the music he made along the way. Maybe most bands don’t like to be labeled, but if one happens to be called a “Red Dirt” artist, it can thank Bob Childers.

For Bob Childers, who died this past April after a long battle with emphysema, it ended where it began, fittingly, in Stillwater, OK. Long considered the birthplace of what is widely recognized as Red Dirt music, Stillwater is the town where Childers refined his sound and was inspired in his early songwriting efforts. It was there, in the late 1970s, that he recorded his debut album, the widely acclaimed I Ain’t No Jukebox. As his reputation grew with the album and its follow-up, Singing Trees, Dancing Waters, Childers decided to chase fame and fortune in Nashville. A couple of albums later, Childers had grown restless and made his way back west, this time to Austin, TX.

His musical growth continued with the release of 1990’s Circles Toward the Sun, but the album failed to perform from a sales standpoint and by the mid 90s Childers had returned to Stillwater. It was there that Childers’ influence on bands such as The Great Divide and Red Dirt Rangers solidified his status among a new generation of Oklahoma musicians. Widely regarded as one of Oklahoma’s finest songwriters, Bob Childers is also recognized as the “Father of Red Dirt Music.” Perhaps most bands dislike labels, but for those influenced by Bob Childers, “Red Dirt” is a badge worn proudly. Long-time Childers friends Tom Skinner and the Red Dirt Rangers will perform Bob Childers songs at the ceremony.

Chick Rains

Unless you happen to live in the hometown of the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame and Museum, chances are you’ve never heard of Chick Rains. But if you’ve listened to country radio over the past thirty years or so, you’ve probably heard some of his songs. His songs have been recorded by artists like Johnny Lee, Mickey Gilley, Reba McEntire, Michael Martin Murphy and, more recently, Oklahoman Wade Hayes.

The Muskogee-born and raised Rains followed his musical dreams to California in the early 60s. A detour in the Army and Vietnam was followed by a return to LA and a song-writing gig with RCA records. By the mid-70s Rains was well on his way to success, with songs recorded by Eddy Arnold and the Oak Ridge Boys. The 80s saw Rains move to Nashville where he found his greatest success, writing a string of hits including “Somebody Should Leave” recorded by McEntire, and “A Headache Tomorrow or a Heartache Tonight” recorded by Mickey Gilley. Rains’ string of hits continued into the 90s when he began a successful collaboration with Hayes that resulted in two number one singles. Hayes will honor Rains by performing his songs at this year’s ceremony in his hometown of Muskogee.

The Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony and concert will take place Oct. 8 at the Muskogee Civic Center, located at 5th and Boston St. in Muskogee, OK. Pre-induction reception begins at 5pm and induction and concert begins at 7pm. Gallery tickets are from $19 to $39 and VIP tickets are $150 and include VIP parking. Tickets can be purchased by calling (918)687-0800.

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