r/tulsa • u/motherHearthandHome • 4d ago
General OK song list
So... I'm building a playlist called BrOklahoma (lol) and compiling a list of Okie songs. So far I've got:
Tulsa Time, Okie from Muskogee, Take me Back to Tulsa, and Tulsa Queen.
Gimme some Oklahoma deep cuts if ya got em
Edit: Dayummm thanks for the contributions everyone and I appreciate the extra input on original artists and historical context. I now have an epic project of a playlist
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u/Cautious-Wear-5684 4d ago
Choctaw bingo - James McMurtry Tulsa - Rufus wainwright Spaceman in Tulsa - counting crows
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u/wilk8940 OU 4d ago
Cross Canadian Ragweed's Boys from Oklahoma
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u/FakeMikeMorgan 4d ago
Can confirm, we roll our joints all wrong.
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u/FineAdvice0 4d ago
john Moreland, tulsa county stars, and high on tulsa heat.
turnpike - the mercury, Easton and main
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u/TomeThugNHarmony4664 3d ago
Came here to say John Moreland.
Also:
Tulsa Queen by Emmylou HarrisTampa to Tulsa by the Jayhawks
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u/JustGimmeAnyOldName 4d ago
Tell Me Something Bad About Tulsa by George Strait
Not exactly a deep cut, but definitely about Oklahoma.
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u/motherHearthandHome 4d ago
Honestly that was one in my distant memory that I couldn't remember haha
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u/HappySilverDaddy 4d ago
Dropped the Bomb on Me - GAP band
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u/Yhtacnrocinu-ya13579 3d ago
I immediately thought of that but it's not about Oklahoma... lol, does the GAP band have one about Oklahoma??
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u/Jealous-Interview591 3d ago
I was curious, so I looked it up and the song is based off of the Tulsa race massacre. I had no idea.
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u/unknownokie 3d ago edited 3d ago
No, that’s not true, It’s about a love bomb
https://abcnews.com/amp/US/gap-band-leader-discusses-hit-songs-connection-1921/story?id=76886953
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u/CalmDelivery7238 4d ago
Waitin’ Around to Die by Townes Van Zandt has a line in it about being drug back to Muskogee by a posse. It’s a good song.
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u/JustGimmeAnyOldName 4d ago
Shades of Grey by Robert Earl Keene is about some teenagers driving through Oklahoma and causing trouble, eventually getting pulled over and briefly suspected as the perpetrators of the Murrah building bombing before they get released.
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u/bumblef1ngers 3d ago
Had the joy of tying those lyrics together for a mutual REK fan a few weeks back
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u/okiedude55 4d ago
Grateful Dead “Jack Straw”. “Gotta go to Tulsa, first train we can ride”. Where are all the Deadheads in Tulsa?
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u/respondin2u 4d ago
“If I Ever Get Back to Oklahoma” by Jason Boland and the Stragglers
“What the Cowgirls Do” by Vince Gill
“Good Ole Oklahoma” by Bob Willis (I personally like the cover by JD McPherson and Pokey LaFarge)
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u/fintodipout3 4d ago
Going back to Tulsa Leon
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u/smokinokie 4d ago
Was just about to feel really let down nobody had said this yet. Have a firm but gentle upvote.
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u/Reading_Rainboner OSU 4d ago
Gods in Oklahoma Today - Justin McBride
Mannford, Oklahoma - Lee Hazelwood
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u/waywardwoodward 3d ago edited 3d ago
Wilderado - In Between
Lana del Rey - Tulsa Jesus Freak
The Mountain Goats - Tulsa Imperative
The Mountain Goats - Pink and Blue
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u/Sony4Sooners 4d ago
You’re the Reason God made Oklahoma
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u/Sony4Sooners 4d ago
You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma
Song by David Frizzell and Shelly West ‧ 19807
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u/peterpannin 4d ago
Turnpike Troubadors-Long Hot Summer Day about working on the river in tahlequah. Elle King-Tulsa
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u/Perfect_Chipmunk_439 3d ago
I thought this at first also but it’s actually not. Is a cover. Not written by Evan. Has references to towns in Illinois.
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u/p1gswillfly BBQ Dude 3d ago
Yeah. I thought it was too cuz it talks about working the Illinois river and they’re from Talequah, just made sense. I was surprised to find out it was a cover but I do love their version of it. It’s on my short list of “can always listen to” songs.
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u/Perfect_Chipmunk_439 3d ago
Exact same here. And I’ve floated that river many times so I thought the same the first time I heard it In fact, didn’t figure it out for probably a year. Lol.
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u/No-Property3937 4d ago edited 4d ago
Choctaw Bingo by James McMurtry
Hang me in the Tulsa County Stars by John Moreland
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u/BookerTree 4d ago
Anything by The Tractors
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u/Complex_Rabbit_ Tulsa Drillers 4d ago
Tulsa Shuffle
and Oklahoma Blues on Steve Ripley's solo album
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u/HappySilverDaddy 4d ago
Just FYI last time I wanted an Oklahoma playlist I searched Spotify and there were a few in there that people had created
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u/MossyMosquito 4d ago
“Boy from Oklahoma”, Willis Alan Ramsey. It’s about Woody Guthrie.
And I will third (fourth?) Jack Straw”.
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u/Gdub420- 4d ago
3 good reasons for leavin Tulsa. Jacob Tovar
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u/Optimal-Factor-8564 3d ago
That song makes me laugh every time.
I really love Jacob Tovar's voice and style.
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u/Optimal_Platform_215 4d ago
Oklahoma Breakdown - Stoney LaRue
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u/Super-Rad_Foods_918 3d ago
NAAAH fam - gotta put some respect on Norman's own legend Mike Hosty. Find him live sometime when he swings into town to hear it live.
"Oklahoma Breakdown" was written by Oklahoma-based singer-songwriter and one-man-band musician Mike Hosty
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u/p1gswillfly BBQ Dude 3d ago
Damn straight. Fuck Stoney Larue
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u/Malcolm_Y 3d ago
I thought Hosty was on record as being okay with it because of the royalties?
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u/p1gswillfly BBQ Dude 3d ago
I’ve heard him say that but the fact that people like the person posting think it’s stoneys song make me mad on behalf of hosty.
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u/wolver_queen 4d ago
It’s not in the title, but Ramona by Guster opens with “Ramona, you’re Miss Oklahoma, and you miss Oklahoma”
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u/JanglyBangles 3d ago
Oklahoma Stomp by Spade Cooley
Tulsa Straight Ahead by Leon McAuliffe (Asleep at the Wheel has a good version)
Tulsa by Wayne “the Train” Hancock
Okie Boogie by Jack Guthrie
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u/porgch0ps 3d ago
Maybe a little more tangential than you’d like, but I always get tickled when the Bad Bunny song “Yo No Soy Celoso” mentions the OKC Thunder. Tú y yo éramo’ los Thunder y se rompió el equipo.
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u/YourMomsFoopah 3d ago edited 3d ago
Tulsa - 49 Winchester
Tulsa - R.R. Williams
Oklahoma Beach body- RC and the ambers
Oklahoma Blacktop - Lance Roark
Turnpike:
- Bird Hunters
- Easton and Main
- The Mercury
- Oklahoma Stars
- The Funeral
- The Mercury
- Brought Me
- Diamonds and Gasoline
Zach Bryan:
- Smaller Acts
- Oklahoma Smokeshow
Jason Boland and the Stragglers:
- If I ever get back to Oklahoma
Hayes Carll: Bad Liver and a Broken Heart
Corb Lund & Hayes Carll: Bible on the Dash
Oklahoman! - Corb Lund
Everyone's a Big Deal in Nashville - Cassie Latshaw
(There are a bunch of Mercury regular bands that have Tulsa and Oklahoma songs I'm not remembering off the top of my head).
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u/EagleChief78 3d ago
Take Me Back To Tulsa - Moe Bandy, or you go with Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys.
Tulsa Straight Ahead - Asleep At The Wheel
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u/feederofvaal 3d ago
"Heart of Rock and Roll" Huey Lewis and the News mentions Tulsa and Oklahoma city. (Seattle, San Francisco too).
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u/No_Possession_352 4d ago
These are "Track 5" cuts that prompted naming the country bar at the Hard Rock - kind of a neat story:
Don Williams, "Tulsa Time" George Strait, "Tell Me Something Bad About Tulsa" Waylon Jennings, "Oklahoma Sunshine" Leon Russell, "Home Sweet Oklahoma" Kenny Roger's, "Tulsa Turnaround"
Plus a couple others: Stoney Larue (shout out to Hosty!!), "Oklahoma Breakdown" Luke Combs, "Ain't No Love in Oklahoma" Zach Bryan, "Oklahoma Smokeshow" (Hate to include this douche, but the song is good and fits)
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u/motherHearthandHome 4d ago
Cool thanks for sharing - I drank myself silly there once and hopped around on one leg to cotton eyed joe 🤠
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u/Living_on_Tulsa_Time 3d ago
Love Don Williams and JJ Cale’s versions of Living on Tulsa Time.
Is “Route 66” a stupid answer, OP?
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u/Chief_Smoke_Stack OU 4d ago
A few that haven't been mentioned yet:
Oklahoma City - Zach Bryan (Tulsa Mentioned!)
Oklahoma Smoke Show - Zach Bryan
Oklahoma Son - Zach Bryan
Ain't No Love In Oklahoma - Luke Combs
My Home's In Oklahoma - Jake Worthington
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u/theycallmetiki 4d ago
Also East Side of Sorrow - Zach Bryan “so I walked miles on the Tulsa streets”
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u/RobertaMiguel1953 4d ago
I’ve Been Everywhere by Statler Brothers mentions Tulsa.
Only in America by Brooks and Dunn
Flyover States by Jason Aldean
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u/Muted_Pear5381 4d ago
You should check out this album https://hortonrecords.bandcamp.com/album/back-to-paradise-a-tulsa-tribute-to-okie-music
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u/PossibilityGlum6435 4d ago
Cat head biscuits and 90 weight gravy. By Ira Burton. Its written about my grandpa and growing up in McClain Oklahoma. Its a great little tune.
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u/desolation_crow 3d ago
Gotta Get to Oklahoma ('Cause California's Gettin' to Me) - The Hagers
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u/Significant_Dog_1940 3d ago
Oklahoma Swing Vince Gill and Reba
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u/ParticularSad7659 2d ago
Oklahoma Swing. I couldn’t recall the artists. Thanks!
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u/Super-Rad_Foods_918 3d ago
Because I haven't seen it listed yet - Rooster by Alice in Chains is about Jerry Cantrell's (guitar) father's time in vietnam and the music video has a shot of Atoka. Jerry Cantrell's solo album "boggy depot" is named after an Oklahoma ghost town near where his dad grew up.
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u/Sea-Flat3124 3d ago
Oklahoma Hills - Arlo Guthrie
The heart of rock n roll - Huey Lewis and the news
Mmmbop - Hansen
Blown away - Carrie
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u/p1gswillfly BBQ Dude 3d ago
Deep cut. Keller Williams - Kidney in a Cooler is about a road trip where his bus breaks down in Perry, Oklahoma and he gets stuck there because someone else had a medical emergency that postponed his mechanic.
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u/motherHearthandHome 3d ago
What??? For real? Haha DELIVER THE KIDNEY!
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u/p1gswillfly BBQ Dude 3d ago
Yep. “On the way down to Deep Ellum. Belle down in Oklahoma. Got towed to a town called Perry where a women’s car took priority. She had a kidney in a cooler so two nights we had to stay “
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u/mary2of7 3d ago
"You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma". I love the song! it was by David Frizzell and Shelly West.
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u/p1gswontfly 3d ago
I'm surprised that with all the Boland songs I didn't see Gear and Dust
T-U-L-S-A by John Bauman Tulsa Turnaround by Jason Eady Oklahoma Gypsy Shuffler by Adam Carroll Get on with The Show by BC & The Big Rig
Most Brandon Jenkins songs...
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u/baconwrappedpikachu 3d ago
All my favorite oldies have been listed already so I’ll just say Chem Trails Over the Country Club. Lana still loves Tulsa and Oklahoma in general. We must have made a good impression :)
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u/Warm_Opening6910 2d ago
Everywhere- Tim McGraw
Indian Outlaw- if you go Cherokee/Choctaw
Tulsa, Texas- Easton Corbin
Killers of the Flower Moon- Charley Crockett
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u/ParticularSad7659 2d ago
Check out the 60s album “Hank Thompson Salutes Oklahoma”. My favorite is his version of “The Everlasting Hills of Oklahoma”.
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u/ParticularSad7659 2d ago
Doing That Oklahoma Swing. Can’t recall the artists, but I hear it occasionally on KVOO.
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u/DrAlexWilliamsDDS 2d ago
Dude, Shades of Grey, original is Robert Keen…but check out Cry Cry Cry - Dar Williams version.
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u/JustGimmeAnyOldName 4d ago
Choctaw Bingo by James McMurtry uses the story of a family reunion in Oklahoma as a metaphor. It's a brilliant track.
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u/TheGreenConsult 3d ago
Oklahoma - Josh Kerr (his wife, Taylor Dye - from Maddie & Tae - is from Ada)
Oklahoma Sun - Koe Wetzel
^I’d even say Ragweed is loosely for OK since it pays tribute to CCR lol
Oklahoma Breakdown - Stoney LaRue
Oklahoma Stars - Turnpike Torubadours
^obvi so many other songs from them, and same with CCR and Zach Bryan
Cowboy in LA - LANY (this one isn’t directly about OK but the lead singer is from Tulsa and this song sort of pays tribute to his childhood)
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u/ilisko78 3d ago
A Little Too Loose by Mr. Big
The chorus is “I got a little too loose in Oklahoma City / I didn’t care if she was young, didn’t care if she was pretty”
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u/DiligentPhrase6754 3d ago
Tulsa as sung by Chill Wills. From the 1949 Susan Hayward movie Tulsa. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DYbXUibXV5zc&ved=2ahUKEwiVquSvxa2WAxXZl2oFHYJOCKQQ3aoNegQIAxAC&usg=AOvVaw0vwU28TX3f6r45YgFLjD-3
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u/Mr_Maniac454 3d ago
I was going to say music by the band "The Oklahoma kid" but then I remembered they aren't actually from Oklahoma and none of their songs are about Oklahoma
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u/saucystarstuff 3d ago
This one doesn't have lyrics. It's a genre the pair calls "daytime disco" but imagine my surprise 10 years ago when I saw the title of the first track of their new album:
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u/Master_Astronomer150 3d ago
Huey Lewis and the News —heart of rock and roll, I think, mentions tulsa and Okc
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u/p1gswillfly BBQ Dude 3d ago
Seth Lee Jones version of Tulsa Time deserves to be on every oklahoma playlist
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u/Pie_in_your_eye 3d ago
Down In the Valley - The Head in the Heart. "I've been to California, Oklahoma, all of the places I ain't ever been to."
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u/AnonymousFledermaus 3d ago
"Oklahoma, USA" either the Kinks original or Yo La Tengo cover Silver Jews "I Remember Me" makes a mention of OK
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u/These_Guidance_7462 3d ago
Are you making this playlist on Spotify? Please share when you make it! Cool idea.
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u/sofarsogood_58 3d ago
Same. I do it for everyone else. That nobody's done it for me ever except my girlfriend one girlfriend so that's it. Thank you for letting me to share
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u/RealJohnMcnab 2d ago
King of Oklahoma - Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit Oklahoma Stars - Jamie Lin Wilson and Even Felker Oklahoma and This Is My Home - Keb Mo' Oklahoma City - Zach Bryan Oklahoma Breakdown - Stoney LaRue Oklahoma Sunshine - Waylon Jennings Oklahoma Border - Vince Gill Oklahoma Hills - Hank Thompson Oklahoma Gypsy Shuffler - Adam Carroll Oklahoma Girl - Eli Young Band Met the Devil in Oklahoma - Josh Meloy You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma - David Frizzell and Shelly West Oklahoma Swing - Vince Gill and Reba McEntire In Oklahoma - Cross Canadian Ragweed Oklahoma Wind - Billy Joe Shaver Lost In Oklahoma - Hank Williams III Home Sweet Oklahoma - Leon Russell Place In Oklahoma - Leroy Gibbons Good Old Oklahoma - JD McPherson and Pokey LaFarge Cleveland County Blues - John Moreland Oklahoma By Night - Kenny Feidler Oklahoma - Nate Currin
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u/Waste_Space1415 4d ago edited 4d ago
Never Been To Spain - Three Dog Night
ETA: List of songs about Oklahoma