An Oklahoma native, Tommy Crook began his musical career at the age of four, when his father Buck gave him his first guitar and taught him to play rhythm and lead. By age 11, Crook became a featured solo act on Porter Wagoner’s touring show, and was soon a regular on Hank Thompson’s live TV … Read more
Steve Wilkerson began his professional career at age 11, in Ramona, Oklahoma, when he joined his father’s dance band. He attended the University of Tulsa and played saxophone for their jazz ensemble. He completed a bachelor’s Degree in classical clarinet and won the Downbeat Combo Award. After graduation, he toured with the Stan Kenton Orchestra … Read more
Uncle Wallace Willis (sometimes Wallis Willis) was a Choctaw freedman living in the Indian Territory. He is credited with composing several Negro spirituals. Willis received his name from his owner, Britt Willis, probably in Mississippi, the ancestral home of the Choctaws. He died, probably in what is now Atoka County, Oklahoma, as his unmarked grave … Read more
Terry Woodson is a native Tulsan who spent a number of years as a music teacher and performer in Tulsa before moving to Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. He played in and wrote for dance bands around town. He played jazz with Ken Downing and later Rick and Allan Cox. Woodson played bass trombone. Woodson … Read more
Bill Maxwell was born in Oklahoma City, but now lives in Los Angeles, California. Maxwell started playing drums professionally at the age of twelve. One of his first bands included legendary blues guitarist Jesse Ed Davis. He was a member of the Third Avenue Blues Band, whose album was produced by T-Bone Burnett in 1969. … Read more
October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993 Dizzy Gillespie was one of the principal developers of bop in the early 1940s, and his styles of improvising and trumpet playing were imitated widely in the 1940s and 1950s. Indeed, he is one of the most influential players in the history of jazz. Gillespie was the youngest … Read more
Charles Henry “Charlie” Christian (July 29, 1916 – March 2, 1942) was an American swing and jazz guitarist Charlie Christian was an important early performer on the electric guitar and a key figure in the development of bebop and cool jazz. He gained national exposure as a member of the Benny Goodman Sextet and Orchestra … Read more
January 11, 1948 — Madeline Manning Mims is an author, international speaker and contemporary gospel recording artist. Her capability as an outstanding musical performer has taken her from the world of athletics to the world of music, where she was requested to use her singing talents for international banquets and stadium renditions, international concerts, television, … Read more