The Oklahoma Music Hall Of Fame is set to honor the 2023 inductee class with a ceremony and concert at the Muskogee Civic Center on Saturday, February 17, 2024. The class is made up of several genres or styles of music, including country hitmakers and touring musicians RICOCHET and Bryan White, beloved Nashville songwriter Verlon Thompson, one of Oklahoma’s most well-respected music educators, Jerry Huffer, world-renowned conductor, composer, and concert pianist Timothy Long, long-time touring and featured fiddle player Shelby Eicher, and concert booker and promoter David Webb.
“One of the hardest working and most beloved bands from Oklahoma is finally being recognized for their significant contributions to the world of music. Ask anyone in Oklahoma about music; Ricochet will be the first name mentioned. They entertain and inspire well above the rest and have been doing it at a very high level for a very long time.” – Tony L. Corbell, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame
"Growing up in Oklahoma, one could only dream of such recognition. We are honored to even be considered, much less be amongst so many Oklahoma icons in the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. Thank you to our fans, ENCORE Music Group, for new opportunities, and, of course, the Hall of Fame, for bestowing such an honor." – Heath Wright, RICOCHET
The Hall of Fame Induction Class of 2023
RICOCHET
In 1996, the members of country super group Ricochet watched their debut single, "What Do I Know," rise to the Top 5, earning the band the honor of the highest charting debut single of the year. The follow-up single, "Daddy's Money," became an immediate across-the-board hit, rising to #1 on the Radio & Records Country Singles Chart, the Gavin Country Singles Chart, and the Billboard Country Singles Chart (where it stayed #1 for two consecutive weeks). The band's distinctive musical style and intricate harmonies earned them recognition as one of the most popular vocal groups in country music, a mantle they still wear today.
More than fifteen years later, "The Hardest Working Band In Country Music" is still going strong. The band continues to create great country music, sung with distinctive harmonies that are their hallmark. They log thousands of miles on the road each year, thrilling audiences of all ages across the United States and abroad. For more information, visit ricochetonline.com.
RICOCHET is:
Heath Wright – Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar & Fiddle
Chris Hempfling – Drums & Vocals
Larry Hight – Steel Guitar, Electric and Acoustic Guitar, Saxophone & Vocals
Bruce Bennett – Bass & Vocals
Rick Toops – Keyboards & Vocals
RICOCHET is the only country group to chart our National Anthem and is in constant demand to perform it live.
Shelby Eicher
As a member of Roy Clark’s band for fifteen years, Shelby recorded five live albums with Roy and appeared numerous times on the Tonight Show, Hee Haw, The Grand Ole Opry, and more. He has played on recordings with the legendary JJ Cale and Hank Thompson and has been on numerous movie soundtracks and commercial jingles. He has also played on gaming soundtracks for Sony PlayStation. He performs up to twenty times monthly and teaches fiddle, mandolin, and guitar to students throughout Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Jerry Huffer
In his more than fifty years as a music educator, countless Oklahoma music teachers have come to know Jerry as the face of the Oklahoma Music Educators Association. He has been involved in honoring thousands of students in All-State groups and has taught thousands of classes and students. He says the kids became his life in the middle of all that. When Jerry recently retired for the second time, there were 137 music teachers paying tribute at the banquet in his honor. Mr. Huffer has become a legend among High School band students all over Oklahoma.
Timothy Long
Timothy is a pianist, conductor, composer, and Artistic and Music Director of Opera at the Eastman School of Music. At age sixteen, he made his first debut with the Oklahoma City Symphony Orchestra. He is a Muskogee Nation citizen from the Thlophlocco Tribal Town and is one-half Choctaw on his mother’s side. He was named the assistant conductor of the Boston Philharmonic and was subsequently named associate conductor for the New York City Opera for two seasons. The number of Operas with which he worked scrolls almost two pages and are scattered worldwide.
Verlon Thompson
In addition to being one of the music world’s premier songwriters, Verlon Thompson’s guitar playing certainly cannot go unnoticed. This prolific songwriter has written for Kenny Rogers, Suzy Bogguss, Randy Travis, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Dierks Bentley, Joe Diffie, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Trisha Yearwood. Also, Verlon spent many years co-writing and recording with his great friend Guy Clark. Shelly West, Johnny Lee, Barbara Mandrell, Ray Stevens, and Pam Tillis have all worked with Verlon and experienced his storytelling abilities.
David Webb (Governor’s Award Recipient)
David Webb grew up in Independence, Kansas. He started his multi-faceted career at age sixteen by putting up show posters for legendary music impresario Jim Halsey; he started his own booking agency, and after relocating to Chicago, David worked with and promoted legendary blues artists Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Pine Top Perkins, Howlin' Wolf, and more. Moving to Celebration Productions, he booked and promoted Pink Floyd, the Sex Pistols, John Hartford, The Oak Ridge Boys, ELO, J. Geils Band, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Journey, REO Speedwagon, Heart, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bob Seger, Peter Frampton and more. He served two terms as National VP of NARAS (the GRAMMYs), Roy Clark, Jimmy Dean, Hank Thompson, Ronnie Dunn, and James Brown. He later became Mr. Brown's business manager.
Webb is co-producer of the award-winning short film "Nanyehi," which is the story of Nancy Ward, a greatly respected Cherokee.
Bryan White
Bryan White is a CMA, ACM, and Grammy Award-winning country music artist, producer, and songwriter. Six of his charted twenty-one hit songs have climbed to number one! CMA’s Horizon Award in 1996, Top New Artist from the Academy of Country Music, and multiple CMA and ACM Male Vocalist nominations. Bryan teamed up with LeeAnn Rimes in 1998 for their ”Something to Talk About” tour and recorded with Shania Twain on the hit duet “From This Moment On.” Bryan was also voted by People Magazine’s “Top 50 Most Beautiful” issue.
In addition to our induction ceremony and concert show, the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame will host a private VIP event for past inductees and an evening of music on our Hall of Fame stage on Friday, February 16th.
