Sunday’s 2022 Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony and concert is getting music fans excited, promoters say.
“Sales are incredible,” said Tony Corbell, acting executive director of OMHOF. “There’s going to be a huge turnout, lots and lots of support.”
The ceremony and concert will begin Sunday at 7 p.m. at the famed Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa. Doors open at 6 p.m.
The inductees are:
• Randy Crouch of Teresita, considered the best rock violinist in the world.
• Guitarist and songwriter Don White from Tulsa.
• Mike McClure of Tecumseh, bandleader Mike McClure and producer of albums for Red Dirt bands such as Cross Canadian Ragweed and Turnpike Troubadours.
• The late Carlos Wesley “Don” Byas of Muskogee, jazz saxophonist.
Cain turned out to be the most appropriate venue for this year’s induction, Corbell said.
“Three of our inductees have played a lot during their careers at Cain’s, and it’s like coming home to them,” he said. “Cain’s couldn’t be a nicer host and they couldn’t be a nicer or more professional group of people to work with. They covered every detail.”
The venue also has more space than OMHOF’s home in Muskogee’s former Frisco Depot, he said.
Each inductee will be honored with a video tribute and an induction trophy before performing three songs, Corbell said.
“The one that people seem most excited about is Randy Crouch,” Corbell said. “Crouch grew up in Tahlequah, and he’s known as one of the best fiddlers. He’s a singer-songwriter and he plays guitar.”
Crouch looks like a wild man, Corbell said.
“He has a big, long beard and a big, long mustache,” he said. “But he’s really credited with influencing many Oklahoma bluegrass players, both folk and country. When he’s not playing alone, he’s with the Red Dirt Rangers quite often.”
White has performed with a variety of musicians.
“This guy first played in a band with JJ Cale,” Corbell said. “He started out with Arlo Guthrie, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty. He played with Richie Havens back in the day. He’s really known for his guitar playing and his singing.”
White also writes great storytelling songs, he said.
Mike McClure, founding member of The Great Divide, hails from Oklahoma’s Red Dirt sound, Corbell said.
Corbell said Byas, who died in 1972, was “a fabulous, fabulous saxophonist”.
“This guy played at the Cotton Club in the 1950s and 1960s,” Corbell said. “He’s played all over the world. He’s played with Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie. And he was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. In the late 50s, early 60s, he moved to Belgium and found a woman he married and he stayed He came back to the United States just to play music once in a while.
A jazz trio will perform Byas songs, Corbell said.
