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Women of Song

e Tulsa Sound is not just a brotherhood, after all.

Debbie Campbell will be one of several female Oklahoma musicians honored at the Women of Song event on May 15 at Cain’s Ballroom. Photo courtesy the John Wooley Collection Those of you who regularly visit this space know that I’ve written a great deal about that elusive musical genre known as the classic Tulsa Sound. It’s something I rst started researching in earnest almost four decades ago, when I went to work for the Tulsa World newspaper as an entertainment writer, and it’s been a continuous source of fascination for me ever since. Along the way, I’ve gotten to know many of its practitioners – some of whom have dismissed it as just a bunch of hooey, and others who not only disagree with that assessment, but have very speci c, concrete ideas about what it was and is.

After all those years of studying and writing and listening and interviewing and thinking, I’ve just about come to the conclusion that the classic Tulsa Sound simply boils down to a brotherhood, created and perpetuated by a group of area musicians who played in each others’ bands, came out to see and support one another, soaked up similar musical in uences, and became, in e ect, brothers in arms, each giving his own spin to their unique collective sound.

I called it a brotherhood. After talking with Brenda Cline, however, I realize it was a sisterhood as well.

On May 15, Cline’s event – called Women of Song – is scheduled to take place at the Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa. A fundraising show for what she describes as “a multi-tier project” that includes a recording and music video spotlighting 20 female artists from Oklahoma, along with a documentary lm, this initial event focuses on three top Tulsa performers who rst made their marks in the ’70s and ’80s: Gus Hardin, Debbie Campbell and Betsy Smittle. e reason Cline started her whole project with that trio, she says, is that none of them are still with us, and she doesn’t think they should be forgotten. So their music will be presented as a tribute by others, including musicians who actually performed with them decades ago.

“I just felt that in order to keep the authenticity of the Tulsa Sound, for this particular show, I wanted the real players that were back there in the day, in the ’70s and ’80s, performing at certain clubs like the Nine of Cups, Magician’s eatre and Boston Avenue Market – as they called it, the Devil’s Triangle,” she says with a laugh. “To get everybody to agree to perform, I promised them we’d keep it authentic, about the Tulsa Sound and that certain era. I told them, ‘If you’re not on Medicare, you can’t be on the stage.’” (In the interest of full disclosure, I should say [a] that Brenda Cline asked me to emcee this bene t, which I’m happy to do, and [b] I’m on Medicare.)

Cline, who spent 30 years in Nashville as an artist manager and record-label executive, returned to her home state in 2015. Well before that, however, she had begun an annual Oklahoma-centric event dubbed the Tulsa-Nashville Transplant (or TNT) Celebration.

The term “summer prep” in the med spa world looks a little different from person-to-person. Most of us think of summer and think ponytails, less makeup and less clothes. But you may ask: “How can I feel comfortable to wear less makeup or less “I was inspired to do that because I was clothes?” First, get yourself scheduled for a complimentary consultation at BAMS. There we can talk more about utilizing IPL so homesick for Oklahoma,” she explains. photofacials to remove dark discolorations and veins on your face “All of a sudden, I realized that some of and neck before summer. We can also design a custom treatment my best friends, people I’d know for a long plan for you using treatments like QWO® to permanently remove cellulite from the buttocks and Coolsculpting® to remove any time – like Don White and Becky Hobbs – unsightly, stubborn pockets of fat that may stop you from wearing lived in Nashville. en I went to a club one your favorite shorts. We have these and many other treatments and products that can help you make this the best summer ever. night, and it was lled with Okies. Everybody was having such a great time that it just fed my soul. And I thought, you know what? I’m going to put on a reunion. Should breaking news alter my investment strategy? “I didn’t really expect anything. It was If you follow the news, it’s important to consider just how much, supposed to start out as a backyard barbeor how little, trending stories should infl uence your fi nancial decicue, and it just got bigger and bigger. at’s sions. 1. Be aware, but don’t overreact. When evaluating whether when I got to know Betsy. She came in and you need to make changes to your portfolio, look for persistent trends that may affect the broader economy’s vitals. 2. The market performed on Gus’s set.” has overcome challenges before. In the past century alone, AmerBetsy Smittle, who passed ica has witnessed the Great Depression, assassinations, political scandals, deadly terrorist attacks and fi nancial crises. 3. Focus on your goals. If you are accumulating wealth to meet a goal that is away from cancer in 2013, was best-known as a bassist and years away, market volatility that happens today, next week or singer in her brother Garth next year is likely part of the normal pattern you should expect. If specifi c headlines or trends are making you reconsider your Brooks’ band, Stillwater. But investment strategy, re-evaluate your risk tolerance and consider before that high-pro le job, she meeting with a fi nancial professional for a second opinion. spent considerable time working with Gus Hardin on the

Tulsa club circuit. Later, in the early ’90s, she recorded a solo disc called Rough Around the

Edges as simply Betsy. Hardin went from the Tulsa venues, where she was known primarily as an R&B- and rock-in uenced vocalist, to country-music stardom with

RCA Records. Her rst single, 1983’s “After the Last Goodbye,” went Top 10 on the country charts; a year later, her duet with

Earl omas Conley, “All Tangled up in

Love,” was another major hit, helping her become the Academy of Country Music’s

Top New Female Vocalist for ’84. In the late ’80s, she returned to Tulsa and the area’s live music scene, making her home around nearby Lake Hudson. She died in an automobile accident at the age of 50. In 2019, Debbie Campbell became another cancer victim. Her long career had began in her hometown of Fort Worth, Texas, with an all-girl band called the Kandy Kanes.

In the early ’70s, she was a vocalist with the major-label band Buckwheat, appearing on three of the group’s discs, and then recorded as a solo act for Playboy Records, scoring a minor hit with 1975’s “Please Tell

Him at I Said Hello.” Around that same time, she relocated to Tulsa, where her work, notably with Rockin’ Jimmy By eld and the Brothers of the Night, led to recordings and overseas touring. For the last four decades of her life, Campbell performed and recorded in a number of genres, including jazz, pop, country, blues, and contemporary Christian music. Cline hopes that by focusing on these three in uential performers, all well-known to those who follow the classic Tulsa Sound, she’ll raise the awareness for the living female artists she chose for her multilevel Women of Song project. “ e women on this are all ages, all genres, all career levels,” she notes. “Some are hall of famers, some are just breaking artists trying to make it happen. Some could be the next big stars. Who knows? But I thought, ‘Let’s start with a fundraiser that’ll bring attention to this project. Let’s honor these three women who deserve to be honored for their career achievements and their talent.’ And they just happen to all be Tulsans. “ e inspiration for all of this is women supporting

“The women,” she adds. “Doing this rst occurred to me while I inspiration was still working in the music for all of business in Nashville. rough this is women the business, I saw how di cult it was for women to make any headway. ings have changed supporting in the past few years, and women.” they’re slowly turning around, but at that time, women weren’t getting heard on radio, they weren’t getting played, and everyone was complaining. It was a sad state of a airs.” en, she says, she came home to Tulsa to attend a reunion concert by Ann Bell, another of the top Tulsa Sound artists (who is also one of Cline’s 20 Women of Song). She’s known especially for her work with Leon Russell and Joe Cocker. “I went back to Nashville, and I was talking about this event – and people didn’t know who Ann Bell was,” she recalls. “ at really got me thinking. I can’t tell you how many times over the years I’ve talked about Leon Russell and nobody knew who he was, either. Being Oklahomans, we just kind of take these things for granted. ey’re our legends and our heroes. Leon is known in musicians’ circles, of course, but the general population doesn’t know him. “So I began thinking that there is so much talent in Oklahoma. ere always has been, and there always will be. And with the idea of women supporting women, I thought of all the women out there working, and struggling, and entertaining – on the road, selling merchandise, recording – and the majority of them will never be heard. “Not that I can help everybody,” she concludes. “But maybe I can help a few.” For information on the Cain’s Ballroom event and the Women of Song project, visit womenofsongok.com. JOHN WOOLEY

THE PROFESSIONALS

FINANCIAL ADVISOR

Should breaking news alter my investment strategy?

If you follow the news, it’s important to consider just how much, or how little, trending stories should infl uence your fi nancial decisions. 1. Be aware, but don’t overreact. When evaluating whether you need to make changes to DAVID KARIMIAN your portfolio, look for persistent trends CFP®, CRPC®, APMA® that may affect the broader economy’s vitals. 2. The market has overcome challenges before. In the past century alone, America has witnessed the Great Depression, assassinations, political scandals, deadly terrorist attacks and fi nancial crises. 3. Focus on your goals. If you are accumulating wealth to meet a goal that is years away, market volatility that happens today, next week or next year is likely part of the normal pattern you should expect. If specifi c headlines or trends are making you reconsider your investment strategy, re-evaluate your risk tolerance and consider meeting with a fi nancial professional for a second opinion.

David Karimian, CFP®, CRPC®, APMA® Prime Wealth Management A private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial 7712 S. Yale Ave. Suite 240 Tulsa, OK 74136 918.388.2009 • David.x.Karimian@ampf.com www.primewealthmgmt.com

WEIGHT MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST

What can I do to get my skin and body looking good for summer?

The term “summer prep” in the med spa world looks a little different from person-to-person. Most of us think of summer and think ponytails, less makeup and less clothes. But MELODY HAWKINS you may ask: “How can I feel comfortable to wear less makeup or less clothes?” First, get yourself scheduled for a complimentary consultation at BAMS. There we can talk more about utilizing IPL photofacials to remove dark discolorations and veins on your face and neck before summer. We can also design a custom treatment plan for you using treatments like QWO® to permanently remove cellulite from the buttocks and Coolsculpting® to remove any unsightly, stubborn pockets of fat that may stop you from wearing your favorite shorts. We have these and many other treatments and products that can help you make this the best summer ever.

Melody Hawkins, Chief Financial O icer BA Med Spa & Weight Loss Center 510 N. Elm Place Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 74012 918.872.9999 www.baweightspa.com