Oklahoma natives Leon Russell, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Jean Shepard earn national hall of fame status
Leon Russell will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame this year. (Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman Archives)
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
BAM column: State musicians receive acclaim in halls of fame
In case anyone needed further proof of the wealth of musical talent born, raised or nurtured here in Oklahoma, four state icons are gaining national hall of fame status this year.
Garth Brooks (AP file)
The inductions begin Monday, when Tulsa Sound pioneer Leon Russell is welcomed into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Russell will be lauded again in June, when he and Owasso resident Garth Brooks join the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Later this year, Reba McEntire, who hails from Chockie, and Jean Shepard, who was born in Pauls Valley, will answer the call from the Country Music Hall of Fame.
British pop star Elton John will rightly do the honors when Russell gets his overdue induction in the rock hall as recipient of the musical excellence award Monday during a ceremony in New York. The ceremony will air at 8 p.m. March 20 on the cable music channel Fuse.
A Lawton native, Russell, 68, grew up in Tulsa, beginning his musical career at age 14 and graduating from Tulsa’s Will Rogers High School. In the 1960s, he was an in-demand session musician. In the ’70s, he led Joe Cocker’s legendary “Mad Dogs & Englishmen” tour, performed with George Harrison and Friends at the Concert for Bangladesh and released a series of successful albums.
While he never stopped making music, Russell had slipped into relative obscurity until John was inspired to revive his idol’s career. A fellow singer/songwriter/pianist, England’s “The Rocket Man” invited Oklahoma’s “Master of Space and Time” to record a duet album, with Grammy and Oscar winner T Bone Burnett as producer. Director Cameron Crowe’s (“Almost Famous”) documentary chronicling the making of the album, “The Union,” will open New York’s Tribeca Film Festival next month.
Reba (AP file)
“The Union” debuted last October at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, John and Russell earned a Grammy nomination for album opener “If It Wasn’t for Bad,” and the rock and songwriters halls soon came calling.
Russell will be summoned back to New York on June 16 for the Songwriters Hall of Fame’s 42nd annual induction. He will be joined by Garth Brooks, who spent most of the last decade in retirement but seems as popular than ever.
Certified by the Recording Industry Association of America as the top-selling solo artist in U.S. history, Brooks, 49, has sold more than 128 million albums. A Tulsa native who was raised in Yukon, Brooks helped propel country to the musical forefront in the ‘90s with his blend of working man’s blues, honky tonk and arena rock. His songwriting credits include his hits “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” “The Thunder Rolls,” “Unanswered Prayers” and “We Shall Be Free.”
In the midst of a booming career, Brooks retired in 2001, delivered his last record for Capitol Records and moved back to Oklahoma to raise his three daughters. In 2009, he reemerged to begin a five-year stint playing acoustic shows at the Wynn Las Vegas resort and casino.
In December, Brooks played nine Nashville arena shows that raised $5 million for the flood relief efforts in Tennessee. The benefit concerts featured his wife, fellow Grammy-winning country star Trisha Yearwood.
Jean Shepard
While Brooks hasn’t received his berth in the Country Music Hall of Fame — yet — fellow Okahomans Reba and Jean Shepard last week were named to the prestigious Nashville institution. They will be inducted later this year.
Selected for the “modern era artist category,” Reba, 55, was born in McAlester, raised on her family’s Chockie ranch and graduated from Kiowa High School. She got her big break singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” on national TV at the 1974 National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City.
Since, she has sold more than 55 million albums worldwide and notched 35 No. 1 hits. She also has earned star status as a Broadway, film and TV actress.
Selected for the hall’s “veterans era artist category,” Shepard, 77, was born in Pauls Valley but raised in Southern California. In the 1950s, she was the first woman in country music to sell a million records and one of the first females allowed into the Grand Ole Opry, said Oklahoma historian Bob Burke, who believes these hall of famers prove a vital point:
“Oklahoma’s incredible story is not about places and events — it is about our people,” he said.
Hear, hear.
-BAM
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment