Kristin Chenwoweth to come home for Music Hall of Fame Induction

By James D. Watts JR. via Tulsa World
A few months ago, while she was performing one of the songs from her new album “Some Lessons Learned,” Kristin Chenoweth saw something that she had never seen before.

“Some Lessons Learned” is a collection of contemporary country songs, and Chenoweth was performing “What Would Dolly Do?” at this Bakerfield, Calif., nightspot.

“As I’m singing, I saw this older couple get up in the middle of the song and start dancing,” Chenoweth said. “Once they started, then a bunch of other couples did the same, and they’re all dancing along to this song.

“In all my career, I’ve never had people get up and dance when I’ve been singing,” she said. “And I just loved that.”

Chenoweth is making a return to her home state Thursday, to be inducted in the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. She will take part in the induction ceremony and perform at the event, which will be held at the Muskogee Civic Center.

The Tony Award winner (for “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown”) and Emmy Award winner (for “Pushing Daisies”) is being inducted along with basketball great and jazz artist Wayman Tisdale; songwriter and fellow Broken Arrow native Ralph Blane; Bob Bogle and Nokie Edwards, members of the iconic guitar band the Ventures; famed session guitarist Jesse Ed Davis; powwow singer Cheevers Toppah; and journalist Gene Triplett, entertainment editor of the Oklahoman.

“I had to ask ABC to move heaven and earth so I could be there,” Chenoweth said. She is in the midst of filming a new series for the network, titled “Good Christian Belles,” which is being prepared as a mid-season replacement in 2012.

“I was asked to be a presenter at the Country Music Awards Wednesday, and I turned that down so I could come to Oklahoma,” she said. “This is my home, it’s where my heart is, and being able to be there is more important to me than anything.”

Chenoweth’s schedule is such that carving out enough time to dash home to be honored for her work as an actress and singer on stage, television, film and record is a major undertaking.

In the course of a week, she performed as part of Oprah Winfrey’s final broadcast and gave a concert for President Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth, singing some of the English monarch’s favorite Broadway songs.

She’s appeared as a guest on TV shows such as “Glee” (which has earned her Emmy Award and People’s Choice Award nominations) and “Dancing with the Stars,” released her fourth album, all while working on the TV show “Good Christian Belles.”

“My schedule is so hideous that people keep asking me, ‘Don’t you want a life?’ ” Chenoweth said. “But I’m having the best life ever. Maybe it’s not a traditional sort of life, like a lot of the people I grew up with led. But God had a different road for me to follow.”

Chenoweth has never been shy about proclaiming her faith – her second album, “As I Am,” features hymns and modern praise songs. Which caused some eyebrows to be raised when she joined the cast of “Good Christian Belles,” back when it went by the title of book on which the series is based, “Good Christian Bitches.”

“First of all,” Chenoweth said, “I would never be involved with anything that made fun of or put down Christianity. And this show doesn’t do that. It was written by Robert Harling, who wrote ‘Steel Magnolias,’ and he writes about Southern women better than almost anyone.

“I think it shows the human side of Christians, that we struggle with the same problems and conflicts as everyone else. I’m very proud of the show, and honestly I can’t wait for everyone to see it. It’s going to be make people laugh their butts off, because they’re going to recognize themselves in these characters.”

The grind of filming an hour-long series is such that a lot of Chenoweth’s plans have been put on hold, including an international tour to promote “Some Lessons Learned.”

The album tour will start in spring, she said.

“I’ve had some people ask me why I would want to do a country album,” Chenoweth said. “For one thing, it’s what I grew up listening to in Oklahoma – people like Dolly Parton, Reba, Randy Travis, Patsy Cline were huge influences on me.

“Country music and Broadway songs actually have a lot in common. Both tell stories and create characters. And as much as I love singing opera or music by Sondheim and Bernstein, sometimes I just do a song that has a simpler melody, where the lyric is a real star. And I love how country music is so direct emotionally. It can be funny, it can be sad, but whatever, it goes straight to the heart.”

Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame 2011 inductees

In addition to Broken Arrow native Kristin Chenoweth, this year’s honorees include:

Wayman Tisdale: Tisdale earned national fame first for his skills on the basketball court, as a three-time All-American at the University of Oklahoma, a member of the gold medal-winning Team USA at the 1984 Olympics, and as a star with such professional teams as the Indiana Pacers, the Sacramento Kings and the Phoenix Suns.

Once he retired from the sport, Tisdale was able to devote himself to what he called his “first love” – music. An accomplished bass player and composer, Tisdale quickly became a major force in the smooth jazz field, with best-selling albums such as “Power Forward,” “Face to Face” and “Rebound.” Tisdale died in 2009.

Nokie Edwards and Bob Bogle of The Ventures: The Ventures were one of the most successful instrumental groups of the rock era, whose hits included “Walk, Don’t Run.” Bogle, a native of Wagoner whose family relocated to the Tacoma, Wash., region, founded the group in 1958 with Don Wilson playing lead guitar. Edwards, a native of Lahoma who played for a time with country superstar Buck Owens, joined later as the group’s bass guitarist, before he and Bogle switched roles. Bogle, Edwards, Wilson and drummer Mel Taylor made up the Ventures’ classic lineup, which influenced several generations of rock guitarists.

Bogle died in 2009. Edwards continues to perform as a guitarist and had a recurring role in the HBO series “Deadwood.”

Cheevers Toppah: This Weatherford native is a Kiowa-Navajo powwow singer and the recipient of the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame’s Rising Star award. He has released two albums, including “Intonation,” which was nominated for a 2005 Grammy award as Best Native American Album.

Ralph Blane: Blane began his music career as a singer, but the Broken Arrow native soon made a more indelible mark on the entertainment world as a lyricist, particularly for his collaboration with Hugh Martin on the score for the musical film “Meet Me in St. Louis,” which included the Academy Award-nominated “The Trolley Song” and the holiday classic “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Blane died in 1995.

Jesse Ed Davis: Born in Norman, Davis was a much in-demand session guitarist during the 1960s and ’70s, working such artists as John Lennon, Jackson Browne, Eric Clapton, Taj Mahal, Conway Twitty, Leonard Cohen, Keith Moon, Steve Miller, Gene Clark, Harry Nilsson and Van Dyke Parks. His performance of “Statesboro Blues” with Taj Mahal inspired Duane Allman to learn how to play slide guitar.

Davis also played a major role in George Harrison’s “Concert for Bangladesh” in 1971, which also spawned a multi-disc album and concert film. Davis also recorded three solo albums before his death 1988.

Gene Triplett: Triplett has spent 34 years as a journalist in Oklahoma, working first with the Oklahoma Journal before joining the staff of the Oklahoman, where he has served as the paper’s entertainment editor for the past decade. He specializes in writing about music and movies.

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