Joseph Ferdinand "Joe" Hupp passed away Saturday, May 9, 2020, at Select Specialty Hospital in Tulsa at the age of 78. Arrangements are entrusted to the care of Mobley-Groesbeck Funeral Service of Sand Springs.

Mass of Christian Burial will be 11 a.m., Friday, May 15, at St. Patrick Catholic Church, Sand Springs, with Father Todd Nance officiating. Joe will be laid to rest at Oak Hill Cemetery, Mannford with a reception following at "Ol" Hippie Country Club. Visitation will be held at the funeral home Thursday 12-6 p.m. Rosary service will be 6 p.m., Thursday, at the funeral home.

Joseph Ferdinand Hupp known as "Little Joe" was born August 2, 1941 to Joe and Rose Hupp in Antelope County near Tilden, NE. Joe spent his first years living in a small one-bedroom house behind Hupp's Store south of Ewing, Nebraska owned by his father and grandfather.

Joe was the oldest of five children and soon became a leader, role model and trend-setter. He was called "Little Joe" at a young age as his father was also named "Joe". Joe grew up in Norfolk, NE, attending Sacred Heart School, graduating in 1959. There he played football and built "hot-rods". After graduation, Joe attended Norfolk Junior College and started his music career.

His early experiences as leader of his own rock and R&B group, "Little Joe and the Ramrods", led by 1965 to widespread midwestern regional performance exposure and acclaim, and the initiation of a recording career that spanned more than ten years and resulted in national chart successes. Joe had great success and soon became a "Music Icon" and "High Priest" of Midwest Rock 'N Roll.

After gaining studio experience in the Midwest, the Joe Hupp led group was discovered by prominent rock artist and writer, Dickie Lee, and taken to Memphis, TN, to record at the SUN label studio. Lee was fresh from his own successful recordings and had formed the Raylee Management partnership with Allen Reynolds, and Knox Phillips. They produced several records the Joe Hupp group which had been renamed, "The Smoke Ring". Under the production direction of Raylee, "The Smoke Ring" released records on the Gold Dust Label, two of which ("No Not Much" and "Portrait of My Love") had significant rock and MOR chart success (high 20s on the Billboard Magazine "Hot 100"); thanks in a large part to the promotional efforts of Joe. Their recording success in the early '70s led to interest in the group by several major record labels, and a contract was eventually signed with Buddah Records. The group not only toured nationally, but made television appearances in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and on Dick Clarks' "American Bandstand". By the mid '70s, Joe had growing certainty that his performance strengths were being surpassed by his knowledge of group management and booking. Therefore, in 1975, he relocated to Nashville, where he began work with the Nova Agency of Chuck Glaser. While with the Glaser agency Hupp booked Waylon Jennings, Rick Nelson, Doctor Hook, Jerry Lee Lewis and others. In 1976, Hupp left the Nova Agency for a position as a booking agent with the prestigious Jim Halsey Agency. The new position required another move, this time to Tulsa, where the Halsey Corporation Headquarters was located. With the Halsey Agency, he initially devoted his efforts to booking The Oak Ridge Boys, Roy Clark, and Hank Thompson. Within a year, he was promoted to Vice-President of the agency; and was instrumental in bringing several major talents to the Halsey Company, including Tammy Wynette, Rick Nelson, Roy Orbison, George Jones, Merle Haggard, T. Graham Brown, and others. For ten years with the Halsey Agency Hupp worked the entire roster of the company and matured as one of the most respected booking agents in all of country music. In the mid '80s he achieved one of the more notable accomplishments of his expanding career, when he was cited by Performance Magazine as one of the top five booking agents in the entire entertainment industry. In 1986, Joe was presented with yet another opportunity to widen the scope of his entertainment business expertise, and he left the Jim Halsey Agency for a position with the New York City based Spotlite Enterprises of Bob Williams. During a two year tenure as Director of the new Tulsa office of Spotlite, he was actively involved with booking internationally celebrated stand-up comics such as Jay Leno, Yakov Smirnov, "Saturday Night Live's" Dennis Miller, and others. He also booked touring Broadway shows and well-known rock groups such as David Clayton Thomas and Blood, Sweat, and Tears. Moreover, his credibility with the industry helped to attract to Spotlite such artists as Carl Perkins, Terri Gibbs, David Frizzell and others. Two years with Spotlite convinced Joe that his primary interest was centered in the country music industry, and in 1988, he returned to the Jim Halsey Agency, which had moved its headquarters to Nashville. As a Vice-President of the company, his primary efforts were focused on bookings for Roy Orbison, T.Graham Brown, Tammy Wynette, and William Lee Golden and the Goldens; but he was heavily involved in promoting and booking the entire Halsey roster, which had grown to more than forty major acts. One year later, the Jim Halsey Agency was purchased by the William Morris Agency clearing the way for Joe's most adventurous move in a career filled with significant decisions and in 1989, he established his own company, Joe Hupp Enterprises as a talent management and booking agent. Throughout the years, Joe Hupp had maintained a profile within the entertainment field as a booking agent with few peers. His honesty and integrity were will known and respected by performers, record producers and industry professionals across the entire spectrum of the performance industry.

Joe married Janice Sunderman in 1962 and had 5 children: Joni, Jay, Jamie, Joel, and Jon. Joe and his family moved to Nashville, TN in 1976 and the following year to Mannford, OK.

Joe retired to his acreage outside of Jennings, OK and developed his "Ol' Hippie Country Club" which became much more than just a hobby. He loved being outdoors fishing and golfing.

Joe is survived by his five children: Joni Johnson (Joey) of Sand Springs, Jay Hupp (Cindy) of Owasso, Jamie Hupp (Susan) of Jenks, Joel Hupp of Stillwater, and Jon Hupp (Karen) of Austin, TX. He is also survived by eight grandchildren: Zach Hupp, Millan Hupp, Sydney Elliott (Trevor), Tyler Hupp, Sterling Hupp, Chaney Hupp, Skylar Hupp, and Jaden Johnson and one beautiful great grandchild: Rhett Elliott.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph M. Hupp and Rose Virginia (Marx) Hupp; and brother, Nick Hupp.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the family to help with expenses.

Leave your memories and view Joe's tribute at www.mogro.co.