2024 OK Blues Hall of Fame Inductees

Rentiesville Blues Community Builder

Dolores, known as P-Nut was born in Philadelphia, PA. Following in her father’s footsteps, music became a passion at a very young age. Her father was the guitarist and background singer for “The Guytones”, one of Philadelphia’s popular recording groups. Attending many of their practices and recording sessions, P-Nut decided to learn violin, harp, xylophone, and piano.

She attended Settlement Music School, known for producing many professional recording artist & actors such as James Llyod, Kevin Bacon, & Chubby Checker (P-Nut’s cousin). P-Nut’s Great Grandmother was fundamental in her Christian upbringing. Enjoying singing she joined each age group choir from kids through her adult years.

Everyone was shocked at how full her voice was for such a small person, being only 5ft tall. She started singing more and more lead parts and exciting the church Sunday after Sunday. This opened the door for her to begin singing background on recordings with Baby Jeanette Washington “Let Love Go By” and shows with McFadden & Whitehead “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now”.

P-Nut toured the globe singing with many different local and professional acts. She was known for her down and dirty bluesy style not being shy, she would get the crowd involved wherever she performed.

Relocating to Muskogee, OK May 2003, she became known all around for music, entertaining, and cooking. She sang at many churches but found her calling when she found the Blues Club in Rentiesville.

She became a performer, contributor, and helper at the club. P-Nut is also a 2nd time cancer survivor. Presently she’s moving towards her 3 rd time survivor. P-Nut has not and will not let cancer win. She, through her Great Grandmother’s upbringing knows that God is Able!!!

She still performs and has vowed that she’s going to do it until God calls her home.

Johnny Winkle otherwise know as “Johnny 3 Sticks”. He’s proficient on drums, vocals and guitar. He’s originally from Muskogee, and is the youngest of three.

Winkle joined band in 6th grade, at that time taking up the drums. He later learned the “one four five” format of the blues in stage band and jazz ensemble. And at that point his world changed. He was awarded “Most Outstanding Jazz Musician” for the class of 1979.

He has played many genres of music including rock, jazz, blues, country, Western swing, calypso, Latin, R&B and Disco. Played drums for DC and Selby and Blues on the Move!

Most recently he’s played with the band “Wild Card” of Muscogee joining forces with Eddie Lienhart and fellow inductee Bret Bogle.

Suffice it to say that these guys can all play! They’ve been featured at the Dusk Til Dawn Blues Festival several times, and they’re very supportive of all the activities that are part of the fabric of the Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame.

Rentiesville Blues Community Builder

Ken “Tank” Jones grew up in Cicero, Illinois listening to Chicago Blues, and he had the opportunity to meet and play with some of the legendary musicians in the suburbs around Chicago.

He moved to Oklahoma while still a young man and made a name for himself (“Tank”) playing football. After getting hurt on the field, he focused on the bass guitar.

He met the legendary Carl Dean Radle and some of the other musicians from the Church Studio, and was forever changed. He was able to play on stage with a number of people including Buddy Guy, Big Mama Thornton, among others.

He played in the Blue Combo with Pacemaker Newham and later in the Jook Joint Revival with Pat Moss. He was often seen at Blues festivals performing with Harry and Debbie Blackwell, Barry Harris and many more.

He was an accident investigator and lived in Prue Oklahoma for the last two thirds of his life.

He has played all over. He’s a great singer and percussionist who has worked with Alligator recording artists like Koko Taylor, Lil’ Ed, just t name a few.

Arnold Johnson aka AJ Johnson was born and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. For over seventy years some form of music has always been in his life (Blues, Rock, and Gospel). Church is where he started and fell in love with music. He is the grandson of a preacher’s daughter. Born Sagittarius music and creativity is his gift.

As he got older, he joined several music entities. He joined his church choir, elementary choir, and high school choir. He even joined community groups with other people that furthered his desire to make music.

He got his first taste when he took a road trip to Memphis, Tennessee to audition as a songwriter and musician at Stax Records. Little did he know they were about to close. The distribution deal with CBS collapsed in 1972 and the label had songs and knew how to distribute them. With the bankruptcy and the death of their top performer they closed.

Stax was where he wanted to be but decided to just come back home. He began to play with local R&B bands and Blues groups. He was also a member of A.S.C.A.P.

AJ worked with the Septimas Band, who had connections with Earth, Wind, and Fire (R&B, Pop, and Jazz). Then he worked with The Brownston Blues Show. With The Brownston Blues Show, they worked with Alligator Records doing front acts opening for Albert Collins, KoKo Taylor, B.B. King, Bobby Bland, Pinetop Perkins and many others. After Brownston, he formed Clean Slate and then AJ Johnson and the Why Not Band.

Nowadays, he just performs back at his church home.

Eddie Clark has traveled the world with his music and is a member of the Comanche Nation of Oklahoma.

PROFESSIONAL CREDITS & CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

During a lengthy and enjoyable career as a professional musician, I have traveled extensively, recording and performing with many great luminaries in the world of Jazz and Blues.

W.C. Handy Blues Awards

“The Hard Way”  William Clarke Band: Blues CD of the Year, Best Song, Best Instrumental, 1997

“Wake Up and Live”  Floyd Dixon: Best Come-Back CD of the Year, 1997

“Blowin’ Like Hell”  William Clarke Band:  Best Song of the Year, 1990

Road Tours

Lowell Fulson  Bill Dogget  William Clarke  Smokey Wilson  Floyd Dixon  Jimmy “T-99” Nelson  Rosco Gordon  R.J. Mischo  Lester Butler  The Lester Butler Tribute Band  Roy Gaines

 Television & Radio

“13” featuring Lester Butler  VPRO Television / VPRO Radio  Amsterdam, Netherlands.

William Clarke Band  Radio Bremen  Bremen, Germany.

William Clarke Band  “The Pat Sajak Show” ~ CBS Television  Hollywood, California.

Recording Session Credits (Drummer)

Alligator Records  Chicago, Illinois

William Clarke: “The Hard Way”  “Groove Time”  “Serious Intentions”  “Blowin’ Like Hell”

Floyd Dixon: ‘Wake Up And Live”

Rounder Records  the Netherlands

“Lester Butler Tribute Band”

Black Magic Records  the Netherlands

“Smokey Wilson & “The William Clarke Band” “L.A. Blues Anthology”

Rivera Records  Los Angeles, California

William Clarke: “Can’t You Hear Me Calling” (reissue); “Rockin’ the Boat”

Deak Harp Records  Illinois

“Gateway To The Blues”

William Clarke Band: “Live From Mt. Stage”  Charleston, West Virginia

Bulls Eye: R.J. Mischo: “Meet Me At The Coast”  Camarillo, California

John Marx: “With A Feeling”  Oxnard, California

Lester Butler Tribute Band or L.B.T.B.  November 2006: tour and recording session in the Netherlands.

I currently reside in Lawton, Oklahoma and as of 2024, I am a jr. music major percussion at Cameron University, Lawton, Oklahoma.

Blues Community Builder

“K Denton’s name has been synonymous with quality music as long as I can remember. His clubs, The Esquire in Oklahoma City and The Blue Onion in Norman, were the places to be all through the 60’s, 70’s and into the 80’s. It was great live music six nights a week and sometimes seven. In the summer of 1966, he gave my first band Spix V the opportunity to play every Wednesday night. My father would drive me and the guys from Sulphur to The Blue Onion in Norman and I had the chance for incredible musical education.

“What a time it was for a 14 year old kid trying to learn the music and learn the ropes. That’s what K did. He gave the opportunity to musicians and the public to hear great live music. On the weekends you could hear groups like Third Avenue Blues Band and Jerry Fisher and the Nightbeats and all of the great regional bands from Texas and Kansas. In the 70’s and 80’s K gave us the opportunity to see great national acts, people like Stanley Clarke, Sons of Champlin, Albert Collins, Roy Buchanan, Larry Coryell and many, many more. No one could be more deserving to be inducted into the Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame. Thanks K. for all the music.”

submitted by Dave Copenhaver

Directly from K. Denton:

I was born January 14, 1938, in Oklahoma City. When I was about 7 years old my Dad and his cousin Bill, purchased the Soonerland Ballroom in Clinton, Ok. I guess that was my introduction to live music and being able to meet and be around musicians. I attended my senior year of high school in Alexandria, Louisiana, and got to help a local band, The Boogie Kings, with set-ups and promotions. They played “boogie” and the Blues. My freshman year of college in San Antonio, Texas, I continued helping bands by booking some local bands for fraternity and sorority parties.

In 1965, I was delivering Coors beer to local clubs in the Oklahoma City area and The Esquire Club came up for sale. I bought it! The Esquire was located at 10th and May Ave. but the bands that played there for me were from all over Oklahoma City and beyond. A few of the bands that played there were the 3rd Avenue Blues Band (Harold G. Jones had played drums in HS with Gary US Bonds)), Jerry Fisher and the Nightbeats, Lou Rawls, Charles and Barbara Burton, to name but a few. I was fortunate to own the Esquire for 5 years. Also Harold G. Jones and We the People.

In 1970, I bought The Blue Onion club in Norman, Oklahoma and owned it for over 10 years. This club provided a larger venue so I was privileged to share my love of live music with more fans. Over the years I booked Freddy King, Albert Collins, ZZ Top, Ernie Fields, Sr. & Jr., Gatemouth Brown, Delbert McClinton, and so many more. I made lifelong friends at the Esquire and The Blue Onion. Now days most of the music I get to listen to is in my “man cave” in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, although I did get to attend a Christone “Kingfish” Ingram concert in Oklahoma City earlier this year. The music lives on…….

Bret Bogle, AKA Faunt LeRoy, discovered his passion for music at the age of 5. Raised in Wagoner, Oklahoma, Bret’s earliest memories are filled with music. Playing music wasn’t just a hobby for Bret; it was a calling.

Guided by his mother’s musical talents, the family played at local events across Oklahoma and Arkansas. These experiences not only honed Bret’s musical skills but also instilled in him an appreciation for Blues, Rock, Country and Gospel music. Bret made his first memorable appearance on a local radio show in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This early exposure to the spotlight fueled Bret’s passion for performance and set the stage for his future in Blues music.

Music was part of both his mother and fathers families. His dads first cousin Bob Bogle was one of the founding members of the instrumental Band (The Ventures) and when he was a young kid Bret remembers playing one of Bob’s guitars at his home in Oregon and it is a memory that is still vivid to this day.

Today, Bret leads a blues band, Faunt LeRoy and the Pickled Okra Playboys, where he continues to draw inspiration from his Oklahoma roots. The band’s unique blend of musical influences and dedication to their heritage is reflected in their performances and music. Many thanks to members of his band past and present.

OK Black Museum and Performing Arts Center

A tireless worker for the arts. She is currently working with a great group of Music Lovers to create a National Jazz Museum in OKC

Larry Johnson Foundation

Younger sister of the Musical Director of the New Breed Larry Johnson, Narva has been a music lover and community builder her entire life. Their parents owned and ran the Hotel in OKC on Deep Deuce where all the musicians stayed. Larry and D.C Minner (as bassist) toured coast to coast over the 12 years they were together. This included everything from being the house band at the Bryant Center to touring behind OV Wright out of Memphis two years. When they arrived in  Hollywood they worked on Sunset for two years at Bernie Hamilton’s (who was an actor on Starsky and Hutch) club Tank Jernigan and eventually worked at Capitol Records in Hollywood and did the horn arrangements on many of Ray Charles hits.

Miss Narva’s Foundation has received accolades from many luminaries, including the City Manager of the Village in OKC: “It has been a pleasure working with you and the Larry Johnson Foundation over the past several years. It is a wonderful organization with great purpose and impact on the community. The events in Duffner Park have always been entertaining and trouble free. That is a reflection of your leadership and dedication as well as that of the many volunteers and musicians through the years. It has been an honor to be associated with this most important cause. Sincerely Bruce. K Stone City Mgr.”