Guitarist, Composer, Producer, Educator
Inducted in 2019
Pat Kelley knew from the age of five, when his dad gave him his first guitar, that music would be a lifelong pursuit. By the time he was 13, he had formed the popular teen band, Pat and the Panthers, and played events all over Tulsa and beyond. During his years at Will Rogers he was a working musician and guitar instructor for a music store. After majoring in music composition at the University of Tulsa, Pat moved to Southern California, then recorded and toured in more than thirty countries. He has collaborated with major artists, including George Benson, Natalie Cole, David Benoit, Ronnie Laws, Hubert Laws, Tom Scott, Al Jarreau, Chick Corea, Dave Brubeck, Dave Koz, Jane Monheit, Olivia Newton John, Melissa Manchester, Burt Bacharach, and Jose Feliciano, and with some of the world’s leading symphony orchestras.
While recording guitar for hundreds of commercial jingles for companies such as McDonald’s, Mattel, Levi’s, Disneyland, Ford, and Budweiser, Pat also worked for several years as the guitarist in house bands on the Merv Griffin, Pat Sajak, and Carol Burnett television shows. Other TV and film credits include TheTonight Show, Arsenio Hall Show, Joan Rivers Show, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, The Beverly Hillbillies, Predator, Revenge of the Nerds, The Odd Couple, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Cheers, Roseanne, Eight is Enough, Inspector Gadget, Soul Train, Midnight Special, and Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert.
Pat has released 10 albums under his own name, published two guitar instruction books with Mel Bay Publications, and written more than 150 compositions for CDs, film, television, and music libraries. He was awarded Professor Emeritus after teaching 24 years in the USC Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles, retiring in 2018. Other faculty appointments include the Monterey Jazz Festival Jazz Camp, Guitar College Camp, University of Tulsa Jazz Camp, and Interlochen Center for the Arts.
In 2003 Pat was inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame.
