Oklahoma players part of Eric Clapton’s musical legacy; rock legend plays Oklahoma City show tonight
Eric Clapton plays a 1975 concert at the Myriad Convention Center. Three Tulsa musicians – drummer Jamie Oldaker, bassist Carl Radle and keyboardist Dick Sims – played with Clapton at the show and during the 1970s. OKPOP Collection photo
A version of this column appears in Wednesday’s Life section of The Oklahoman.
Oklahoma players part of Eric Clapton’s musical legacy
Column: A custom keyboard Clapton commissioned in the 1970s for his late keyboardist, Tulsan Dick Sims, and a set of handcrafted drums the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer ordered for his Tulsa-born percussionist Jamie Oldaker were recently donated to the Oklahoma Historical Society’s planned OKPOP Museum.
Amid the array of artifacts inside the Oklahoma History Center’s vault, a keyboard that boasts no black keys but more than its share of rock ‘n’ roll history has been carefully cleaned and stored.
Back in the 1970s, three-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Eric Clapton commissioned the custom-made Hammond for his band’s keyboardist, Tulsan Dick Sims.
“When Dick Sims played, he didn’t look at the keyboard. He just played, so there’s no black keys,” said Jeff Moore, project manager for the Oklahoma Historical Society’s proposed Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture.
“Eric Clapton’s band in the ’70s was basically core Oklahoma guys.”
As “Slowhand” takes the stage Wednesday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena, it’s safe to assume most of the audience will know about Clapton’s prodigious guitar skills, huge hits and enduring legacy as a solo artist and with the bands the Yardbirds, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Cream, Blind Faith and Derek and the Dominos.
It’s also a safe bet that many Oklahoma fans are unaware of the vital role Sooner State musicians played in Clapton’s illustrious career.
“His longevity is very tightly connected to Oklahomans and their music skills: the songwriting of J.J. Cale and then the rhythm section of Jamie Oldaker and Carl Radle,” Moore said.
Sherry Massey, senior registrar at the Oklahoma History Center, inspects the late Dick Sims’ keyboard in Oklahoma City, Monday March 11, 2013. Sims, who hailed from Tulsa, played with Eric Clapton in the 1970s. Photo By Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman
Classic rock
When Clapton made his eponymous 1970 solo debut, he was just coming off a tour with Delaney & Bonnie, so he recorded with the core of the duo’s backing band, including Tulsans Leon Russell on piano and Carl Radle on bass guitar.
The album’s biggest hit, “After Midnight,” was penned by J.J. Cale, an Oklahoma City-born and Tulsa-bred singer-songwriter who, like Russell, is considered one of the pioneers of the influential Tulsa Sound. Cale wrote the Clapton smash “Cocaine” a few years later.
Also in 1970, Radle was part of the rhythm section for Clapton’s new band Derek and the Dominos, which recorded and released that year “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.” The title track became one of the most beloved ballads in rock ‘n’ roll history.
Clapton’s struggles with heroin abuse sidelined him for a few years, and Radle recruited Sims and another Tulsan, drummer Jamie Oldaker, to record a demo tape in the hopes of getting the recovering addict back to music. It worked: The trio played with Clapton on his 1974 comeback “461 Ocean Boulevard” and continued to work with the prolific musician on several subsequent albums, including “There’s One in Every Crowd,” “Slowhand” and “Backless.”
Sherry Massey, senior registrar Oklahoma History Center, looks at Jamie Oldaker’s drum head in Oklahoma City, Monday March 11, 2013. A Tulsa native, Oldaker played with Eric Clapton from 1974-80 and 1983-86. Photo By Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman
Oklahoma history
Another Clapton commission, a set of Oldaker’s drums made in Japan, occupies a shelf several rows over from Sims’ keyboard in the history center vault. The drummer recently donated them to the historical society.
“There was a Japanese family that handmade the custom drums for Yamaha. These were tailored to match one of Clapton’s sunburst guitars, so these are one-of-a-kind,” Moore said.
Moore hopes to someday exhibit the instruments in the OKPOP Museum, a 75,000-square-foot showcase celebrating the influence of Oklahoma artists on popular culture. The planned museum will be built in Tulsa’s Brady Arts District of Tulsa, provided the state legislature approves a $42.5 million bond issue.
“If it wasn’t for the OKPOP project, these collections that have been coming in — the Leon Russell collection, Eric Clapton’s band collection — we wouldn’t have these,” Moore said.
The historical society has been working on OKPOP plans since 2007, developing relationships with musicians, actors and producers based on the vision for the museum, said Larry O’Dell, director of special projects. After his death in 2011, Sims’ estate donated the keyboard, which required extensive cleaning as the black petroleum-based foam inside the case had deteriorated and melted all over the instrument.
“We want to document this. This is important as the 20th century becomes more and more part of the history. I mean, every band today — whether they like it or not — is influenced by these guys … whether they know it or not,” Moore said. “It’s a big part of our culture today, and what we want to do is we want to collect it, preserve it and share it with the world.”
The OKPOP collection also includes photos of the Oklahoma musicians and their Tulsa Sound contemporaries. Staffers hope to acquire memorabilia from Radle and Clapton himself, too.
“In the interviews we’ve done and talking with people, it’s not just Clapton. Bob Dylan had this feeling. The Beatles — George Harrison, Ringo Starr, John Lennon — there’s this respect that they had of these Oklahoma musicians,” Moore said. “You know, if you look at rock ‘n’ roll, it really does come from the middle part of the United States. It comes from Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas. It comes from the heart and then it spread out from there. And I think for these guys like the Beatles and Eric Clapton and Joe Cocker — all these British guys — wanted that so bad, and I think that’s where there’s a bonding.”
IN CONCERT
Eric Clapton
With: The Wallflowers.
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W Reno.
Information: (800) 745-3000 or www.chesapeakearena.com.
The late bassist Carl Radle, a Tulsa native, was a member of Eric Clapton’s band Derek and the Dominos and continued to play with Clapton in the 1970s as the legendary guitarist launched his solo career. OKPOP Collection photo
Tulsa-bred drummer Jamie Oldaker played with Eric Clapton from 1974-80 and 1983-86. OKPOP Collection photo
The late keyboardist Dick Sims, who hailed from Tulsa, played with Eric Clapton in the 1970s. Explosive Records photo
Oklahoma City-born and Tulsa-bred songwriter J.J. Cale penned Eric Clapton’s hits “After Midnight” and “Cocaine.” OKPOP Collection photo
-BAM
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[...] Oklahoma players part of Eric Clapton's musical legacy rock legend plays … Clapton's struggles with heroin abuse sidelined him for a handful of many years, and Radle recruited Sims and another Tulsan, drummer Jamie Oldaker, to record a demo tape in the hopes of obtaining the recovering addict back to music. It worked: The trio played with … Study a lot more on NewsOK.com (blog) [...]
Makes you proud to be an Okie, especially one from Tulsa!