The City of Tulsa will celebrate late musician Roy Clark with the unveiling of a commemorative Roy Clark Way street sign on Nov. 3.
The free celebration begins at 11:30 a.m. at The Church Studio, 304 S. Trenton Ave., with the unveiling to follow. Free tickets are available online here.
Guests are invited to mingle and explore the studio before the noon ceremony in the Live Room. John Wooley will serve as emcee, and Tempest Revival, featuring Cody Marriott and Jade Wilson, will provide music.
Roy Clark’s wife, Barbara, and distinguished guests will attend the celebration.
After the program, guests will walk one block to the unveiling at the southeast corner of Fourth Street and Trenton Avenue, across from The Church Studio.
Cody Marriott, a multi-instrumentalist and fiddle champion, will perform on a fiddle from Clark’s personal collection.
The Roy Clark Way street sign will be one block south of the Leon Russell Road sign, honoring two music legends who called Tulsa home.
“Roy belongs where the music plays,” said Teresa Knox, CEO of The Church Studio. “With the Roy Clark Archive and the Roy Clark Way sign outside The Church Studio, his name, his music and generosity will continue to welcome and inspire visitors and musicians.”
For more than 60 years, Roy Clark entertained audiences as a musician, singer, comedian and television host.
The “Hee Haw” co-host received seven Country Music Association Awards, including Entertainer of the Year.
Clark was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1982 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2009.
Roy made Tulsa his home in 1974. His philanthropy supported Children’s Medical Center, and he helped bring the Tulsa Drillers minor-league baseball team to the city in 1977.
Roy Clark Elementary School was dedicated in his honor in 1978, and he remained involved with its students.
Clark died in 2018 at age 85.
Barbara Clark donated the Roy Clark Archive to The Church Studio. The collection includes instruments, awards, photographs, correspondence, stage clothing and personal items. Preparations are underway for its future public opening.
The Church Studio is a renowned recording facility, museum and federally recognized nonprofit in Tulsa. Originally built as a church in 1915, it was purchased by Leon Russell in 1972 and became a studio and the home of Shelter Records.
It was later operated by Oklahoma music legend Steve Ripley.
The Church Studio sits one block south of the Second Street alignment of original Route 66 in the area.
(Publicity image of Roy Clark)