Quality Americana

“Souvenirs,” a classic folk album in the Simon and Garfunkel tradition, is an Oklahoma release that’s been over fifty years in the making.

Okmulgee

Dick Loftin started writing songs as a teenager in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, a small town south of Tulsa that was founded by the Muscogee Nation.

“It was a beautiful childhood, just perfect,” Loftin said. “My parents were fantastic. Life was great. It was just a wonderful place to live. I’ve got a special place in my heart for that town.” 

After hearing “The Boxer” by Simon and Garfunkel, Loftin set out to learn the guitar.

“What I really loved about that song was the three finger folk guitar playing,” Loftin said. “I love that style, it kind of gave me a form of music that I love to play.” 

His next inspiration came from Gordon Lightfoot’s Don Quixote album.

“He’s the king as far as my inspiration and songwriting and all of that,” Loftin said. “He’s the guy that set me on a path that I’ve followed to this day. His writing gave me a forum, a method, and a way to write songs.”

Loftin still visits Okmulgee, but after the loss of his parents, it brings up beautiful and painful memories. 

“It’s a whole different kind of loneliness,” Loftin said. “It’s a loss that is unshakeable. It can be any little thing that you can read, you can see, and it can be ‘ah man Dad used to do that.’ He was a car guy. I’d see a car going down the road… or Mom used to really enjoy that kind of pie. It can be just the simplest things.”

Broken Arrow

Loftin recorded Souvenirs at Drapp Studios in Broken Arrow. Owner Louis Drapp is a multi-instrumentalist that also served as producer. 

“I call Louis my George Martin, because I went into the studio with him and I had my songs and I had my guitar,” Loftin said.

They crafted the instrumentation together and built a subtle, and beautiful platform for the songs to breathe.

“His talent is just off-the-chart good,” Loftin said. “He’s a really, really genuinely decent man. He’s very thoughtful, he’s very helpful, he’s a guy that wants to work with you on something to get what you want out of your record.”

Finding an Audience

Loftin was a radio DJ for over fifty years, and has watched the rise in access to fans that streaming platforms offer. 

“It’s just so great to be in the time we’re in with the internet, with Bandcamp, with streaming music,” Loftin said, “just the independent people out there doing what they do and doing it very well. There’s some really terrific artists out there.”

Loftin was heavily inspired by the Milk Carton Kids along with the folk explosion that was happening in his younger days. 

“It’s basic, so simple, just a couple of guitars and not much else,” Loftin said. “What drives that form of music, and Americana, is the quality of the song. The song has to be there. It’s always, always, always the song first, and people like Bob Dylan knew that. His songs are iconic and will be a part of the landscape for another sixty years and beyond.”

A Second Chance

Loftin describes himself as an optimist despite his setbacks, which seem like mountains. His health suffered a major hurdle when he was diagnosed with cirrhosis. The sudden, life changing disease came as a surprise. 

“I was diagnosed with liver disease, and it was serious, and I wondered if anything happened to me the songs would vanish and no one would ever hear them,” Loftin said. “When you have something like that, it really wakes you up and you realize you have a lot of unfinished business.” 

Loftin’s illness started showing one day while working at the radio station. He had suffered sudden memory loss during his on-air shift.

“When the break was approaching, I had no idea how to do it,” Loftin said. “When something like that happens, it really shakes you.” 

Loftin and his wife set out to find the cause of his problems, and a specialist noticed the symptoms could be attributed to cirrhosis. It was the ammonia in his body going into the brain that caused it to shut off. 

“It gets dumped by the liver because it doesn’t know how to process it to get it out of you,” Loftin said. “I would just blank out. I’d know what restaurant I was in, I’d know how to drive and how to go from here to there, but I wouldn’t remember my wife’s birthday, or the day we got married, or the year, so that’s what set everything off.” 

Loftin was placed on a transplant list, and received the call one day while at the radio station.

“I wasn’t expecting it,” Loftin said, “I had no idea they were going to call me.” 

They raced to the hospital and the transplant was successful. The recovery took six months and Loftin takes a strict regimen of medications to prevent complications from the immune system. The side effects leave Loftin susceptible to common illnesses and viruses.

“I believe everything has a way of working out,” Loftin said. “It doesn’t mean life is going to be perfect, yeah you’re going to get bumped every now and then, but most of those things are just a bruise.”

Loftin has leaned heavily on his faith to get through these medical setbacks, which have included multiple heart surgeries.

“I think about that young man in his twenties to this day,” Loftin said. “He’d be probably thirty now. I just think ‘what kind of life would he have had.’ When I think about my liver, I look at it as him. He’s living right there.” 

Loftin has changed his diet and exercise after recovering from fatty-liver disease. It was a shock especially because Loftin was never a drinker. 

“I’d have a glass of wine with dinner once every six months or so,” Loftin said. “In a nutshell, it’s too much biscuits and gravy for the past sixty years or so.”  

His efforts now are to honor his donor as much as it is to rebuild his health.

Nobody Else

“Nobody Else is written for my wife,” Loftin said. “She is the best thing that ever happened to me.” 

Loftin met Ruby while working in real estate. They had lost contact but Loftin received an email one night. At that time email was new, and Loftin had to ask a friend for help to respond. 

“We went on our first date on New Year’s Day in 2000 and we’ve been inseparable ever since,” Loftin said. “She’s a really kind human being.”

You

Our Song of the Day looks at those moments when you struggle with isolation.

“That one’s real. It is absolutely real,” Loftin said. “It’s a song about doubt. You’re not alone, you’re not by yourself. Someone is with you all of the time, on your best day and your worst possible moment.” 

The song came to Loftin quickly, as if it was handed to him from beyond our realm.

“We’re all the same, for all the conflict in the world, and the politics, and all the nonsense that’s going on, we are all the same,” Loftin said. “All of us cry tears. We all bleed red. We can all be hurt by something someone said.”

It’s intertwined with his faith, and knowing that we don’t struggle alone.

Something Else

“Something Else” was a song that dates back to the early 80’s.

“I’ve had it all this time and I knew in my head how I wanted it to sound,” Loftin said. 

He asked Drapp to find a cello player to bring this dream to life and they brought in Austin Pendergrass. They found the melody that was in Loftin’s head, and Pendergrass told them he had an idea for the ending which helped shape the song. 

“It came out beautifully,” Loftin said.

Support the Artist

Another song you can find on the Bandcamp release of the album “Pray” looks at how we suffer heartache.

“I think the best songs are the ones that just kind of show up, and this was one,” Loftin said. “I think of that one kind of as a walk through life, and finding your place.”

More information about Dick Loftin can be found here.

Subscribe with your email below for your song of the day.