Jamie Oldaker and the OKPOP Story
Imagine for a moment, you are a woman from the Netherlands. You stumble across a video of The Tractors playing “Shortenin’ Bread.” You enjoy the song. After researching percussive players you become fascinated with the prowess of the drummer providing the deeply pocketed grooves that are the heartbeat of The Tractors’ sound. His name is Jamie Oldaker.
By Abigail Young, Collections Manager
Jamie Oldaker with his Yamaha bass drum head at OKPOP. AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki. From the OKPOP Vault.
Curiosity piqued, you scour the internet and devour all the information you can find about this remarkable percussionist’s career. When you’ve read all the articles and watched all the videos, you dig deeper and find out that a pop culture museum in Tulsa, OK, has a large Jamie Oldaker collection graciously donated by the man himself.
This is how we met Nora. She emailed OKPOP inquiring what items we might have in our collection related to Oldaker. She had no research project in mind…she simply admired his life and career and wanted to know more about him. We told her she was in luck. As it turns out, Jamie is one of the key reasons OKPOP exists in the first place.
In 2008, Jamie was introduced to the project through his Tractors bandmate, Steve Ripley. Immediately inspired, Oldaker loaned one of his Yamaha drumkits to the Oklahoma Historical Society for their hugely popular Another Hot Oklahoma Night exhibition, exploring the Sooner State’s fascinatingly deep impact on the history of rock and roll. It was the impetus for what would eventually become the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture.
Steve Ripley and Jamie Oldaker. From the OKPOP Vault.
As OKPOP began to evolve, so did Jamie’s involvement. Jeff Moore, former director of the facility (and a close friend of Jamie) says, “He was particularly excited by the museum’s commitment to representing all aspects of creativity and popular culture, extending well beyond music. He wanted to know how he could help make the vision a reality.”
Jamie took many steps to raise awareness about the museum and help secure legislative support. His involvement wasn’t limited only to verbal support. He also donated a substantial collection of items related to his career.
This was no small feat. Oldaker’s storied career before his tenure with the platinum selling Tractors is steeped in rock’n’roll legend.
Early in his career, Oldaker found work as a session drummer for Leon Russell’s Shelter Records as well as touring with Russell and the Gap Band. It was during this period that Eric Clapton’s bassist (Tulsa legend Carl Radle) convinced Clapton to hire Oldaker to play on his next record, 461 Ocean Blvd. That album featured Clapton’s hit version of “I Shot the Sheriff,” and would mark the beginning of a longstanding friendship for the two musicians. It was also the first of 11 records they would record together. Years of session work with various artists and worldwide touring followed for Oldaker…including a memorable performance with Clapton at Live Aid in 1985, broadcast to a worldwide audience of 2 billion people.
OKPOP’s Oldaker collection now boasts two of his Yamaha drum kits, along with memorabilia and shirts from his touring days, a cymbal featured on Clapton’s beloved hit ballad, “Wonderful Tonight,” many awards, road cases, suitcases decked out with stickers, and an archive of reels and cassette tapes.
Oldaker’s Yamaha bass drum head from his years with Eric Clapton. Photo by Phil Clarkin. From the OKPOP Vault.
The collection also features photos and a program from the 1974 Clapton tour, as well as photos from the 1984 tour for Clapton’s album, Behind the Sun. This information pleased our new Dutch friend Nora, who had mentioned she was interested in candid photos or documents that weren’t widely available to the public.
Program from Eric Clapton’s 1974 tour, listing Jamie Oldaker and fellow Tulsan Carl Radle. From the OKPOP Vault.
In addition to these photos, we were also able to share an exclusive interview OKPOP conducted with Oldaker back in 2009. Nora was enthused to learn more. We couldn’t help but ask what had sparked her interest in a drummer from Oklahoma.
“I was fascinated by how many incredible artists he played with throughout his career,” said Nora. Besides his years with The Tractors and Eric Clapton, Oldaker played with Bob Seger, Leon Russell and the Bee Gees, to name a few. Though not a musician herself, Nora had been drawn to Jamie’s drumming style.
“He simply sounds better than most drummers,” she said. “The more I learned about him, the more I admired not only his musicianship but also the impact he had on so many recordings and performances. Although I live in the Netherlands, Jamie’s music and career have meant a great deal to me. It has become a personal interest of mine to preserve and learn more about his legacy, and I am very grateful that your museum is helping preserve that history.”
We’re glad to help. The mission of OKPOP is to inspire and empower new generations of creatives by showcasing the legacy of Oklahomans and their influence on popular culture. Fulfilling Nora’s research request helped us accomplish this mission. This is how legacies continue on. This is how Jamie Oldaker continues to be part of the OKPOP story.
