TULSA — Jamie Oldaker, a founding member of the group of musicians which created the iconic “Tulsa Sound” passed away at his Tulsa home Thursday after a long battle with cancer.
Oldaker was a drummer who worked most famously with Eric Clapton, but he also played with Bob Seger, Peter Frampton, Ace Frehly, and of course Leon Russell.
He played on Clapton’s legendary “Slowhand” album, as well as on Seger’s “Back in 72,” a record which includes the timeless “Turn the Page.”
Clapton, in a statement released by Oldaker’s family, said he could listen to him play drums all night - and often did.
“He has the best snare sound I’ve ever heard, he has the best restrained fills I’ve ever heard, and his bass drum is as solid as rock. He is unique, and the pocket is always perfect. The kind of man he is matches his drums,” Clapton wrote.
Early in the interview, he spoke about playing as a young teen with his band, “The Rogues Five.”
They opened a show in Tulsa featuring two acts that would go on to help define the music of a generation: Jimi Hendrix, and The Doors.
“I had no clue who they were, I was a little kid, you know?” Oldaker told KRMG in 2017. “I just wanted to be up there on that stage. I didn’t care who they were. I’ve met Jim Morrison, I didn’t know who he was. Or Hendrix... I said ‘well,' you know, ‘nice to meet you.‘”
Oldaker was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 2010.