If you can indeed measure a person’s wealth by the number of friends he has, then the longtime Oklahoma music figure Ray Bingham is an exceedingly rich man. In my latest column for OKLAHOMA Magazine, Ray talks about how friendship has informed his life as a booking agent and talent manager over the past decades,… Read More »Nice People for Friends
SPOTLIGHTING THE ROUND UP BOYS “Betcha My Heart I Love You,” Bob Wills w/Ramona Reed (for RAMONA REED and JIM BLAIR) “Last Date,” Round Up Boys “Honky Tonk Moon,” Rosie Flores (for AP MCQUIDDY and the GLASS LIFTERS) “I’ve Never Lived in Tennessee,” Leon McAuliffe… Read More »31 August 2019
Featuring JASON ROBERTS “Along the Navajo Trail,” Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (for SE EGAN) “You’re My Sugar,” Jason Roberts and Elizabeth McQueen (for BRETT BINGHAM) Radio broadcast, Adolph Hofner and His Texans (for ANDY & SHANNON STROPE and the GLASS LIFTERS) “The Key’s… Read More »24 AUGUST 2019
FEATURING SELECTIONS FROM THE NEW HOT CLUB OF COWTOWN CD, WILD KINGDOM “Elmer’s Tune,” Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (for CAROLE and JACK BENDER) “Caveman,” Hot Club of Cowtown “Don’t Let My Glass Run Dry,” Red Sovine (for HAMILL TIME and the GLASS LIFTERS)… Read More »17 AUGUST 2019
I have no idea how many stories I’ve written about the Red Dirt Rangers, the trailblazing band that continues to show the world what Red Dirt music is all about. I do know my first Rangerspiece came out in the TULSA WORLD in 1991, when they first brought their act from Stillwater to Tulsa. I also know that my latest can be… Read More »A Black Hole… in a Good Way’
I’ve been enjoying Brad James’s work as a guitarist, singer, and songwriter for many years, so I was happy to see that Horton Records was bringing out a new disc — in both CD and vinyl — that brings him into the spotlight with his band. For my latest OKLAHOMA Magazine column, I spoke to… Read More »Going Solo in the Red Dirt
As many of you know, I was honored and privileged to work with the great New York Yankees pitcher Ralph Terry on his as-told-to autobiography, RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE (available on amazon.com in a variety of formats). This month in OKLAHOMA Magazine, I get to tell the story of one of his boyhood friends from Chelsea, Oklahoma, Gerome Riley,… Read More »A Racial Separation of Paths/Neighborhood Influences
Drummer, composer, and bandleader Jared Johnson’s affinity for John Steinbeck’s work isn’t just a fan thing. He’s actually created a full-blown jazz concert inspired by Steinbeck’s GRAPES OF WRATH. To find out more about Jared and his GRAPES OF WRATH PROJECT, check out my newest OKLAHOMA Magazine column, HERE.
Maybe you’ve asked yourself why, of all the great music acts to come out of Oklahoma, Leon Russell seems to be the one who still inspires the most intense emotion. When I asked myself that question, I came up with my latest OKLAHOMA Magazine column, which you can find HERE.
It was somewhere around 15 years ago that my longtime chum Robert A. Brown started sending me letters, usually a page or so long, written with a manual typewriter on authentic 1930s air-mail stationery — and sent with real old air-mail stamps. Something like this might have been surprising coming from anyone else in my… Read More »THE CLEANSING: BOOK I