Paul Steven Ripley (January 1, 1950 – January 3, 2019) was an American recording artist, record producer,

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

, studio engineer,

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

, and

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

. He was also the leader/producer of

country rock Country rock is a music genre that fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal sty ...

band

The Tractors The Tractors (formerly known as Uncle Steve & The Tractors) were an American country rock band composed of a loosely associated group of musicians headed by guitarist Steve Ripley. The original lineup consisted of Steve Ripley (lead vocals, gui ...

Early life and education

Ripley was born in

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

, but grew up in Oklahoma: he attended Glencoe High School in Glencoe, Oklahoma, and graduated from

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

Career

Ripley's band Moses chose the name Red Dirt Records for their 1972 self-published live album; the first usage of Red Dirt. And was an early marker for the Red Dirt movement. Ripley worked as a studio musician, producer, and recording engineer, working with

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

, playing guitar (on '' Shot of Love'') and on the "Shot of Love" tour, with

J. J. Cale John Weldon "J. J." Cale (December 5, 1938 – July 26, 2013) was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Though he avoided the limelight, his influence as a musical artist has been acknowledged by figures such as Neil Young, Mark Knopf ...

(on '' Shades'', '' 8'' and '' Roll On''), and he produced

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown (April 18, 1924 – September 10, 2005) was an American singer and multi-instrumentalist from Louisiana. He was best-known as a blues music, blues performer, but his music was often eclectic and also touched on genres ...

and

Roy Clark Roy Linwood Clark (April 15, 1933 – November 15, 2018) was an American singer, musician, and television presenter. He is best known for having hosted '' Hee Haw'', a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969 to 1997. Clark wa ...

(on ''Makin' Music'') and

Johnnie Lee Wills Johnnie Lee Wills (September 2, 1912 – October 25, 1984) was an American Western swing fiddler popular in the 1930s and 1940s. Biography Wills was born in Jewett, Texas, United States, and was the younger brother of Bob Wills. He played banjo ...

(on ''Reunion'') and 20/20 (on “Sex Trap”). Dylan listed Ripley as one of his favorite guitarists. SteveRipley OHC Commerce

In 1982, Ripley founded Ripley Guitars in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...

. He created guitars for

Steve Lukather Steven Lee "Luke" Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to ...

John Hiatt John Robert Hiatt (born August 20, 1952) is an American singer-songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including New wave music, new wave, blues, and country music, country. Hiatt has been nominated for nine Gramm ...

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, and h ...

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (December 25, 1946 – September 1, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter, author, and businessman. He was known for his tropical rock sound and persona, which often portrayed a lifestyle described as "island escapis ...

and

Eddie Van Halen Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he founded with his brother Alex V ...

, before moving to

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

in 1987 and buying

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock a ...

's former

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for Sound recording and reproduction, recording and Audio mixing, mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home proje ...

The Church Studio The Church Studio is a recording studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma established in 1972 by musician, songwriter, and producer Leon Russell. Located in a converted church building, the studio has since been cited as being the heart of the Tulsa Sound. H ...

. In 1994 he formed the country band,

. He is the co-writer of the country hit " Baby Likes to Rock It". In 2002, he created his own

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

(Boy Rocking Records) to produce artists including The Tractors, Leon Russell and The Red Dirt Rangers. In 2009, he produced and hosted a 20-part radio series on the history of Oklahoma

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

, that aired on Oklahoma public radio stations. It was entitled "Oklahoma Rock and Roll with Steve Ripley." In 2013 Ripley produced the album ''Lone Chimney'' by the Red Dirt Rangers. Ripley was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Awards Red Dirt Hall of Fame along with Bob Childers and Tom Skinner at the ceremony for the First Annual Red Dirt Music Awards held on Sunday, November 9, 2003 at Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa. In 2015, Ripley worked alongside staff at the

Oklahoma Historical Society The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) is an agency of the government of Oklahoma dedicated to promotion and preservation of Oklahoma's history and its people by collecting, interpreting, and disseminating knowledge and artifacts of Oklahoma. ...

to create a "Church Studio" exhibit space at the

Oklahoma History Center The Oklahoma History Center (OHC) is the history museum of the state of Oklahoma. Located on an plot across the street from the Governor's mansion at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive in Oklahoma City, the current museum opened in 2005 and is operated by ...

. He remastered several of

's songs that were available in a touchscreen kiosk that allowed a visitor to adjust individual instruments and vocal tracks to comprehend how

multitrack recording Multitrack recording (MTR), also known as multitracking, is a method of sound recording developed in 1955 that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources or of sound sources recorded at different times to create a cohesive who ...

works. In 2016 Ripley produced and curated a concert at Cain's Ballroom to celebrate the music and legacy of Bob Dylan. After his death in 2019 Ripley was inducted into the Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame by the Oklahoma Historical Society and also received the Restless Spirit Award from the Red Dirt Relief Fund.

Death

Ripley died from cancer on January 3, 2019, two days after his 69th birthday, at his home in

Pawnee, Oklahoma Pawnee (Pawnee language, Pawnee: Paári, ) is a city and county seat of Pawnee County, Oklahoma, Pawnee County, Oklahoma, United States. The town is northeast of Stillwater, Oklahoma, Stillwater at the junction of U.S. Route 64 in Oklahoma, U.S. ...

Discography

The Tractors

* 1994 : ''

'' (Arista) * 1995 : '' Have Yourself a Tractors Christmas'' (Arista) * 1998 : ''Farmers in a Changing World'' (Arista) * 2001 : ''Fast Girl'' (Boy Rocking) * 2002 : ''The Big Night'' (Boy Rocking) * 2005 : ''The Kids Record'' (Boy Rocking) * 2009 : ''Trade Union'' (Boy Rocking) * 2020 : ''Tulsa'' (Boy Rocking)

Solo discography

* 2002 : ''Ripley'' (Boy Rocking Records) with

The Jordanaires The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Vo ...

Incidental music

* 1976: "Flying Upside Down in My Plane" (part of the soundtrack in the film, '' Deportee'')

References

External links

The Tractors official website

AllMusic Credits

Voices of Oklahoma interview.
First person interview conducted in 2018 with Steve Ripley. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ripley, Steve 1950 births 2019 deaths Guitar makers American male singers American country singers American country songwriters American country guitarists American male guitarists Record producers from Idaho Deaths from cancer in Oklahoma Oklahoma State University alumni The Tractors members Singers from Idaho Singers from Oklahoma Musicians from Boise, Idaho People from Payne County, Oklahoma Guitarists from Oklahoma 20th-century American guitarists Country musicians from Oklahoma 20th-century American male musicians