Let's Have a Party

Our next stop was Lamont, Oklahoma. I'm not sure what there is to say about Lamont, except that it has twice as many people as Lehigh and one of them is my closest living relative, my Uncle Pat. I've told you about him before. When I wrote that he told me he'd got worried in case he'd died and didn't realise it. That tells you a bit about his sense of humour.

Unless you want a pizza, some petrol or the post office, you need to go elsewhere for entertainment and I already knew wanted to re-visit the Pioneer Woman museum. Being a DJ, Pat was interested in the music exhibit they had on.

This is about Wanda Jackson.

I followed what they were trying to do, but it was completely opposite to what I think of when I read the words 'Pioneer Woman'.

In a sense, though, many of these women were pioneers in the music industry, at least for their style of music. There was a pretty interesting video of Wanda Jackson, showing her today and back when she first started out, about the time of Elvis, so basically at the genesis of Rock and Roll.



I confess to not having heard of a good number of these ladies. An amazing number of artists are really BIG, but only in their country of origin. I never can tell which ones are known where anymore.

But surely most folks have heard of Wanda Jackson, Patti Page and Anita Bryant? I've heard of Hoyt Axton, but not Mae Boren Axton.

Not that I would ever associate Anita Bryant with rock music. Pop music of her day, maybe.  Sadly I remember her for other things altogether.

I enjoyed the room displays with their memorabilia.

Weird, finding your bedroom in a museum... 

I loved the posters in the 1960s bedroom. I wasn't a big Beatles fan for ages, but I certainly bought every Herman's Hermits, Paul Revere and the Raiders and Monkees albums.

Dare I admit I still own them? I don't feel 13 again when I listen to them, but they do take me back in a happy way. 

I still remember buying Teen Beat magazine when I was 14. My magazine addiction has a long history.

It said Davy Jones had got married. I've never bought another Teen Beat to this day. It probably saved me a lot of money, though I obviously spent it on something else.

So, here are some of the other Oklahoma women in music: Shelly Phelps, Christa Hillhouse, Duvy, Mary Beth Leigh, Norma Jean Beasler, Maggie McClure, Cheryl McGee, Raechel Brown, Jo Kiser, Jamie Horton, Jan Lawhon, Debbie Campbell, Mel Wooden, Lorri Collins, Lizzy Watloff, Jill Riley, Courtney Harmon. There are likely links for these others but you get my drift: they are really out there producing music, I just haven't heard of them. Which is neither here nor there.

Tomorrow I'll show you the part of the Pioneer Woman museum that made me go back a second time...