By Keith Purtell
A wide variety of musicians represented the state’s diverse cultural heritage Wednesday night at the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame 2008 induction ceremony.
From Native Americans to a rock band, the crowd at the Muskogee Civic Center saw a spectrum of artists honored.
The connection between the musicians on stage and the members in the audience went beyond the love of music in many cases. One Westville family came to Muskogee to see one of their own honored with an award.
Marjorie Snyder said she was there to see her grandson Larod perform in the Cherokee National Choir and be inducted with the rest of the group.
“We’re anxious to see him,” she said. “I feel pride and excitement for him. The choir has been a very good boost for him and taught him to mix with the other children. It has really made his confidence multiply and given him things to look forward to.”
Along with her husband Larry Dale and Larod’s great-grandmother Nell Murray, Snyder said the night was special for the entire family.
“He’s a farm boy who works four nights a week, maintains his academic standards, and still has the dedication to be in this choir,” she said.
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith said in accepting the Governor’s Award for the choir that it was created to revitalize the Cherokee language and advance leadership.
Under the direction of director Mary Kay Henderson, the choir treated the crowd to a medley of songs starting with “The Star-Spangled Banner” sung in both Cherokee and English.
In the songwriter’s category, Muskogee native Chick Rains was inducted for numerous hit songs he has fashioned.
His tunes have boosted the careers of Reba McEntire, Janie Fricke, Johnny Lee, Holly Dunn and Michael Martin Murphy.
Rains, noted for being a very low-key person, told the enthusiastic crowd that it was “a great honor” to receive the award in the same town where he walks the streets.
Oklahoma country singer Wade Hayes, who also had No. 1 hits penned by Rains, performed several of the songs.
Songwriter Bob Childers was inducted based on his work that has earned him the nickname of the “godfather of red dirt music.”
His 1982 album “Singing Trees, Dancing Waters” earned him a gig at the White House in Washington D.C. He then moved to Nashville, and was followed by other Stillwater musicians like Tom Skinner and Garth Brooks.
Childers passed away in April of this year at the age of 61, but his legacy of songs continues to keep his name alive.
His music was performed at the center by old friends the Red Dirt Rangers, and Tom Skinner and The Science Project.
In the category of American Indian Tribal Music Traditions, the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes were inducted into the hall of fame.
Modern historians estimate that the tribe’s ancestors have been in the Anadarko area for at least 3,000 years. Their music has historically had many purposes; healing songs, prayer songs, lullabies, war dance songs, morning star songs and ceremonial rain dance songs.
The rising star award went to rock band The All-American Rejects, founded in 1999 by Stillwater teens Tyson Ritter and Nick Wheeler.
The two left Oklahoma for New York City to record their first CD, “Move Along.” It went platinum and the band was joined by guitarist Mike Kennerty and drummer Chris Gaylor. They toured the world behind the success of their hit tune “Swing Swing.”
Two more tunes embraced by fans are “Dirty Little Secret” and “Stab My Back,” which were finished just before they traveled to Atlanta, Ga., in 2004 to work out full band arrangements.
Another new album titled “When the World Comes Down” is scheduled to be released on December.
