- lead vocal and scat singing: Mike Williams
- guitar and bass: Mike Williams
- organ: Doug Koempel
- drum machine (Alesis HR-16) programmed by Mike
- recorded at: Bird-On-Fire Recording Studio / West Union, Iowa
DOUG'S NOTES:
After Kevin Conner left the band as a
full-time member back in the late '80s, guitar phenom Mike Williams
of Cedar Rapids, Iowa stepped in to fill the vacancy. Mike had just
cemented his reputation as the area's hottest guitarist by winning
the Martin Guitar competition in 1990; and when I heard his audition
tape, it was a no-brainer that he'd be a perfect fit with the Memory
Brothers.
Mike and I worked together on the road
and in the studio full-time for approximately five years - from about
1990 to 1995. During that time we toured the upper Midwest a lot and
recorded several albums together. I soon discovered that Mike was not
only a great, live performer but also a talented songwriter and very
studio savvy. So we ended up recording demos of several of his
original songs. "Goin' To Oklahoma" was one of those demos.
I recently came across the master tape
of "Goin' To Oklahoma," and was shocked to realize we'd
recorded it a quarter of a century ago! Tempus fugit! Nevertheless
the song still holds up even by today's standards and rocks out by
melding rock 'n roll with Mike's blues roots. As Jerry Lewis (aka the
Nutty Professor) would have said, "It was a toe tapper. I must
admit that!"
Mike was inducted into the Iowa Rock 'n
Roll Hall of Fame in 2013 as a member of the Memory Brothers.
To listen to "Goin' To Oklahoma" click below:
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