The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture

OLDAKER, JAMES ROBERT (1951–2020).

One of American popular music’s most notable drummers, James Robert “Jamie” Oldaker was a master of drums in multiple musical genres, including rock, country, blues, bluegrass, and pop. Born in Oakland, California, on September 5, 1951, to Bettie Loraine and Carl Robert Oldaker, he moved with them to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1958. His father, a former drummer, inspired him to take up the drums. His parents supported his musician friends and his local band, the Bachelors, which he had formed, and The Rogues Five, which he joined in 1964. He also played in the Edison High School band, graduating in 1969.

Oldaker’s name quickly became synonymous with rock-solid tempos featuring an extremely gifted musician. He went to St. Louis to join trumpeter Phil Driscoll at a hotel venue, later appearing with the Driscoll group on the Ed Sullivan Show. In 1972 Bob Seger hired Oldaker to record on the album Back in ’72. Returning to Tulsa circa 1973, Oldaker played locally, often with JJ Cale, who introduced him to Leon Russell. Russell hired him to help record a new album. Oldaker worked in many sessions for Russell, the GAP Band, and other album projects, toured with Russell and with the Wilson Brothers, and worked with legendary rock bassist Carl Radle, who had been playing with pop guitarist Eric Clapton. Radle sent Clapton recordings of Oldaker, and a year later Clapton asked Oldaker to join him. He recorded for Clapton’s 1974 album, 461 Ocean Boulevard and recorded ten more albums with Clapton, including Slowhand (1977).

The 1980s and 1990s were hectic and productive. He worked with both Clapton’s and Seger’s bands. Between tours he recorded two albums with Texas blues giant Freddie King. The Slowhand recordings attracted Peter Frampton’s notice, and he hired Oldaker to work on a new album, Where I Should Be (1979). During this time Oldaker also promoted the career of Ronnie Dunn, another Oklahoma artist, encouraging him to enter a Marlboro Country Music Contest that Dunn won in 1988. Oldaker performed with and managed Dunn during the Marlboro Country Music Tour. Next Oldaker joined former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley for a world tour with metal acts Iron Maiden and Alice Cooper, and then joined Frampton and Clapton for records and tours in the early 1990s. He followed this with tours with Stephen Stills and Peter Frampton.

Oldaker was a founding member of Steve Ripley’s band, The Tractors. In 1994 The Tractors, their debut album, sold more than 3.5 million copies. Named Country Music Association Video of the Year, the album also included the Grammy-nominated hit “Baby Likes to Rock it (Like a Boogie Woogie Choo Choo Train)”, featuring Oldaker’s rolling drum work. Subsequent Tractors releases were Have Yourself a Tractors Christmas (1995) and Farmers in a Changing World (1998).

In 2005 Oldaker produced the album Mad Dogs & Okies. The album featured Eric Clapton, Vince Gill, Tony Joe White, Willis Alan Ramsey, Taj Mahal, Peter Frampton, Bonnie Bramlett, Ray Benson, JJ Cale, Willie Nelson, and others associated with Oklahoma music. He also began writing an autobiography, still unpublished, and served as musical director for the PBS/HDNET TV special The Outlaw Trail, featuring artists Ray Benson, Rodney Crowell, Carlene Carter, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and others. In 2010 Oldaker was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. In the 2010s he worked with organizers of the Oklahoma Pop Museum in Tulsa and volunteered with his wife, Mary, to create MOJO Fest to benefit the Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless. After a battle with cancer, Jamie Oldaker died in Tulsa on July 16, 2020.

Hugh W. Foley, Jr.