Arts for All, Inc., has announced that the Leon Russell Archive Project has received a major grant from the McMahon Foundation that will fund the preservation, cataloging, public research and access to the musical production and career archives of Leon Russell.
Russell was a Grammy award-winning and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-nominated singer-songwriter, producer and legend who was born in Lawton on April 2, 1942.
The grant awarded by the McMahon Foundation – a private philanthropic organization founded in Lawton in 1940 – will support the physical preservation and digitization of Russell’s archive, along with the development of an academic partnership with Cameron University to train students in archival preservation. Since its founding, the McMahon Foundation has directed more than $104 million toward education, the arts and community development across southwest Oklahoma.
The project brings together a coalition of partners, including the Arts for All Foundation and Cameron, alongside the Leon Russell estate with the support of the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture. Together these partners are working to preserve the archive and build public programming, education, and entertainment components celebrating Russell’s influence on American music.
“What drew our board to this project is that it doesn’t just preserve the past, it teaches,” said Mark Henry, chair of the McMahon Foundation trustees. “Partnering with Cameron University to build archival preservation into the classroom means Lawton students will gain real skill while safeguarding an irreplaceable body of music. That intersection of arts and education is at the heart of what we do.”
“This is one of the most far-reaching projects Arts for All has ever supported,” said Ronda Norrell, Arts for All board member, events producer and CU graduate. “It brings together preservation, education and performance to honor Leon’s legacy and influence across every genre he touched. The McMahon Foundation’s support and Cameron’s academic partnership will leave a lasting mark on the region where Leon was born – and Lawton is buzzing with excitement to embrace it.”
“All of us at Cameron are thrilled to be part of the Leon Russell project,” said CU president Shane Hunt. “I could not be more excited that our students, faculty and staff will be part of honoring his legacy and legendary career. Leon Russell’s work had made an extraordinary impact on the music industry, and we are very proud to celebrate that in Lawton-Fort Sill and throughout southwest Oklahoma.”
