History[edit]

In 1996, the Oklahoma Legislature began the vision for the Hall of Fame. State Senator Benn Robinson (D-Muskogee) and State Representative Barbara Staggs (D-Muskogee) co-authored a concurrent resolution designating Muskogee as the site of the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. State Representative Bill Settle (D-Muskogee) continued to champion the cause by securing legislative appropriations that served to further promote the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. In 1997, Friends of Oklahoma Music was incorporated to serve as producer for annual induction ceremony events. In that same year, Friends of Oklahoma Music hosted and produced the first Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Concert at the Muskogee Civic Center. Two years later, in 1999, Governor of Oklahoma Frank Keating created the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame Board and appointed seven members to facilitate fundraising, site selection, and construction of a facility honoring the history and legacy of Oklahoma's music, which has contributed so much to the history and roots of American music.


In 2003, Friends of Oklahoma Music entered into a long-term lease agreement with the City of Muskogee and completed phase one of renovation to The Frisco Freight Depot, an old train depot. In October 2003, Friends and The Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame moved their offices into the Depot, which is the site of the future Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame Museum. In 2004, Friends of Oklahoma Music was renamed Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame Foundation. Then in 2005, the Hall of Fame assumed its current name by being renamed Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame & Museum.