The video will fill you in on this multi-album project. Monica Taylor, the Cimarron Songbird, has been a part of this Red Dirt music family for 35 years. Listen to her own story of ‘finding her people’ and about each song on Volume
Then look below and find out how YOU can be a part of A Red Dirt Ramble. You can become a Sponsor or a Patron for this legacy project honoring the Pioneers of Red Dirt Music and the Stillwater Sound.
The Legacy of Red Dirt Music
Put your boots on for a ramble with Oklahoma singer/ songwriter Monica Taylor down a red dirt road with this new collection of her favorite Red Dirt songs!
Songs from the pen of our musical family godfathers Bob Childers, Jimmy Lafave, Tom Skinner, and more.
Songs from the first few generations of songwriters~ from the late 1970s through early 2000s
The Red Dirt Rangers, Uncle Don Morris, Cody Canada, Jason Boland, Jamie Lin Wilson, Kelly Mickwee, Bob Wiles, LaFave's Night Tribe Band members, JJ Johnson, Glen Fukynagua, John Fullbright, Roger Ray, Greg Jacobs, Randy Pease, Mike McClure, Brandon Jenkins, Randy Crouch, Kurt Neilsen, Chuck Dunlap, The Medicine Show-Brad James, Scott Evans, Donnie Wood and more have played a part of this multi-volume collection.
Uncle Don Morris at the Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival around 2017
Uncle Don Morris at the Oklahoma
International Bluegrass Festival around 2017
The ‘birthplace of Red Dirt Music’ west of Stillwater, OK: The Farm
Songbook
In addition, Monica has put together the first-ever Red Dirt Songbook, Volume 1, with lyrics and chords to over 50 songs, photos, and stories from many of the songwriters and performers in her Red Dirt Music family!
The ‘birthplace of Red Dirt Music’ west of Stillwater, OK: The Farm
Danny Pierce, the Farm founder, with Elizabeth Bumgarner, who has played a part in the continuing of the Red Dirt music family.
Early 1980’s basketball game with some of the Farm residents.
A Red Dirt Family photo was taken by Kelly Kerr for the Tulsa World around 2008. Bridget Wood captured this moment during the official photo session- Tom Skinner had probably just made a funny comment. In this photo, back row: Eric Hansen (blue shirt and sunglasses,) Mike McClure (The Great Divide,) Scott Evans (Medicine Show Band,) Tom Skinner, Steve Ripley’s shoulder (The Tractors, Leon Russell,). On Front Row: Monica Taylor and Bob Childers (Godfather of Red Dirt Music.)
This Farmhouse circa early ‘90s
At the Walnut Valley Bluegrass festival on the popular campground stage around midnight probably: Gene Collier on mandolin (writer of infamous Red Dirt song: Boys from Oklahoma,) Monica Taylor, Craig Skinner in the back (on guitar,) Karen Knust (upright bass) Bob Childer playing guitar and smiling in the front, Roger Ray sitting with dobro (pedal steel player for Jason Boland & The Stragglers for many years.)
Jimmy Lafave- one of the godfathers of the Red Dirt music scene, he ‘broke the trail’ for others in the mid to late 1980’s when he moved to Austin, TX from Stillwater, OK to further his music career. So many others followed him thru the years: Gene Williams, Bob Childers, Brad Piccolo, Cody Canada, Jason Boland, Stoney Larue, Brandon Jenkins, and more.
Jimmy Lafave, this ‘Buffalo’ returned to the plains of Oklahoma many times to perform at The Old Church for Monica & Travis’ Cimarron Breeze Concert series, and to host his popular Stillwater Musicians’ Reunion on The Strip near OSU at Willie’s.
Bob Childers sitting at the Farm swapping songs
Tom Skinner and Bob Childers playing for a few folks at The Gypsy Cfae (the old carriage house at the Farm.) This screenshot is taken from a film of various nighttime shows back in the the late 80’s and early ‘90s take by Matt Daniels. Go to YouTube to find many of these wonderful down home ‘performances.’
In the Yellowdog Recording studio with owner Dave Perceful during recording of Red Dirt brother Brandon Jenkins’ Be the Revival. Monica and Travis working with the musicians who played bass, drums, and organ originally on Jenkins’ Texas Music chart-topping song. Not seen in this photo are Glen Fukynagua (bass,) JJ Johnson (drums,) and Steve Littleton (organ.)
At one of Jimmy Lafave’s Cimarron Breeze concerts in Perkins, OK at The Old Church around 2016. one of Woody Guthrie’s family members (Marie, in blue shirt and red hair) in the audience that evening joined Lafave on stage to sing Guthrie’s This Land is Your Land and Oklahoma HIlls. From left: Ben Han and Brad Piccolo (The Red Dirt Rangers,) Greg Johnson (owner The Blue Door Music Hall in Oklahoma City, OK,) Terry Ware (guitar) Marie, John Inmon (lead guitar,) and Monica Taylor (in black dress.)
At the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Okemah, OK during the first tribute there to the late Bob Childers. Uncle Don Morris (guitar,) John Cooper (mandolin,) and Jimmy Lafave.
Tom skinner
The Skinner Brothers Band… cutting up. Tom, Mike, and Craig in the 1980’s. The Skinner Brothers Band later because part of Santa Fe for fellow Stillwater, OK musician Garth Brooks.
The Red Dirt Rangers visiting Red Dirt brother, Mike McClure at his Boohatch Recording Studio in Ada, OK.
Cody Canada and 3 friends formed Cross Canadian Ragweed in the mid ‘90s with encouragement from The Great Divide, Bob Childers, Tom Skinner, The Medicine Show and all of the other great Red Dirt songwriters that Cody met out at The Farm west of Stillwater, the ‘birthplace’ of Red Dirt Music.
Amie Lin Wilson ( Yellowdog Studios owner Dave Perceful in the background) sang on a couple of songs from Volume 1, Blue Diamond and also Mexican Morning.
Kelley Mickwee (The Trishas, Jed & Kelley, and now with Shiny Ribs) from Austin, TX sang on Jimmy Lafave’s Buffalo Returns to the Plains with Monica for Volume 2… special guest vocals by Jackson Lafave, Jimmy’s son! She also lended harmonies to Mexican Morning with Monica and Jamie Lin Wilson behind Jason Boland.
Commissioned Jewelry and Apparel
Oklahoma's artists have been commissioned to design and make by hand four exquisite pieces of jewelry that each reflect one of the spirits of Red Dirt music: a buffalo, in tribute to Bob Childers, whose nickname is 'the White Buffalo' and also to Jimmy Lafave whose song Buffalo Returns to the Plains is a longtime favorite of Red Dirt music fans all over the world.
Better Times, Good health, Good Medicine-what the White Buffalo represents… to my people, said Monica, who is a member of the western band of the Cherokee Nation. "I have felt a gathering of goodness in people over the last few years:
I believe that Bob and Jimmy may have sent a White Buffalo back to the Oklahoma plains to help us heal up our hearts, bodies, and souls after the 2-3 years of isolated time during COVID-19.
Maybe it's a gentle reminder that coming together is vitally important to us all and that music from these hills of northern Oklahoma has a special 'medicine' to share with folks all around the globe… Red Dirt music, after all, has been described as 'a melting pot of music.'
The country, rock, bluegrass, gospel, Cajun, Tejano, and more musical styles were brought to Stillwater, Oklahoma, by the very people who started writing the early songs - later referred to as Red Dirt music.
They began sharing their self-penned tunes with one another; and would then take their friend's song to other parts of the country. Everyone had brought these mentioned styles of music that they grew up on, and when they played someone else's song, it would most likely have their own favorite style.
A Melting Pot of musical styles was always bubbling on a low boil out at The Farm, west of Stillwater, where the songwriters lived or would sit around and share their songs.
Would you like to be a part of this collection of songs, like these folks?