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Oklahomans have always had a rich and profound impact on the world’s music culture. In 1995, recognizing the need to educate the public about the influence Oklahomans have had in the music industry, the vision for the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame was born.
This effort was assisted in 1996 by the Oklahoma State Legislature’s passage of a concurrent resolution, authored by Oklahoma State Representative Barbara Staggs and Senator Ben Robinson, which designated Muskogee as the site of the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. Representative Bill Settle continued to champion the cause by securing legislative appropriations that served to further promote the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. In 1997, Friends of Oklahoma Music was incorporated to serve as producer for annual induction ceremony events. In that same year, Friends hosted and produced the first Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Concert at the Muskogee Civic Center.
On an annual basis since 1997, Friends of Oklahoma Music has been honoring some of the world’s most notable talents whose gifts and musical styles are as breathtaking and diverse as the Oklahoma landscape. Friends championed this cause throughout Oklahoma, enlisting the business and industrial communities, higher education institutions, and local and state governments for support and embraced the concept of the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame Museum.
In 1999, Governor Frank Keating created the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame Board and appointed seven members to facilitate fundraising, site selection, and construction of a facility honoring the history and legacy of Oklahoma’s music, which has contributed so much to the history and roots of American music.
In 2003, Friends entered into a long-term lease agreement with the City of Muskogee and completed Phase One of renovation to The Frisco Freight Depot. In October 2003, Friends and The Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame moved their offices into the depot, which is the site of the future Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame Museum.
Only nine years after that first induction concert, Friends of Oklahoma Music, Inc. and the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame have honored and inducted more than 37 individuals or groups, produced more than 7 concerts, and renovated in part the facility that will educate Oklahomans for generations about those innovators and industry icons from the Sooner State who shape music all over the world.
In 2004, Friends of Oklahoma Music, Inc. was renamed Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc.
In 2005, the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc. was renamed Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame & Museum, Inc. We are in the process of opening up the museum. Please check back with us often on our progress. If you have items that you would like to donate to the museum, please contact us!