Candy Ward interview with Lyde Patterson

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If you believe you are the copyright holder of any of the content published in this collection and do not want it publicly available, please contact the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center at 404-814-4040 or reference@atlantahistorycenter.com. In this interview, Candy Ward records Clyde Patterson playing his fiddle. Patterson plays Old Joe Clark, Maggie, a song he cant remember the original title of but calls Camptown Ladies or Wont You Come Out Tonight, Booger Man, the hymn Beyond the Starry Sky, an unnamed waltz, and another hymn Ill be Satisfied. At minute 10:24, Patterson sings part of Old Joe Clark and then returns to his fiddle for the rest of the recording. He ends by playing Liberty, Cacklin Hen, and an unnamed dance tune. The transcript for this interview contains more information about Patterson, including his familial musical background, insight into his southern style of playing the fiddle as well as his singing style, and the history of his fiddle, which he purchased in 1917. Clyde Patterson (1900-1977) was born in Blairsville, Georgia. He married Fannie Mae Teague (1911-2000), and the couple had one son, Wendell (1941-2020). Patterson worked as a janitor at the Union County School. CLYDE PAT'l'EftSON OF BLAHSVlLLE, Gl.'UHGIA FIDDLE MUSIC AND SINGING }lECOhDKD l?l';bJwAHY 23, 1969 by eM IJY VlAr(D 110LK BALLAD 12:4-0 JOHN BLJHRISOl\) BIOGrlAPHIGAL DATA: NA1'ljJ!:: Olyde Patterson Age: 68 Address: Blairsville, Ga. (off Main Street) Occupation: Retired Former Janitor at Union County School Family Background: Clyde was box'n and rai sed in the Blairsville area. !-lis"parents were also born and raised in the area. (We checked out the house where he used to live, but it I S been remodeled.) He said the family used to sit around at night and play and sing. He hEld two uncles "'ho used to play the fiddle, and he picked up an interest in the instrument from them and from dances. Clyde said he used to love to go to dances and watch a.nd listen. From these two sources (his family and the dances) he developed an interest in music. It would be hard to say which influence Glyde thought was more important. coux'se, having been so ciali zed in the musi cal cant ext of a sing;ing and playi ng family, i L would be safe to assume thElt hi s family influenced him more, even though he says the dances caused him to get intex'ested. He used to go to t he community dances and says he learned to play by watching obhers. He has had no formal musical training, but l:'('ads some music no", since he became "professional." Clyde had four sisters and three brothers. The family used to sing and the members of the family nlayed vax'ious instruments. Clyde has one son, \'Jendell, vrho plays barls guitar professionally for country-Western singers. (I accidentally found t.his out when my friend Frank Brannon, who accompanied me, and who is a professional singer, suddenly realized that Clyde was the father of his bass player.) When Wendell comes home for a visit, he and his father play together. ~1USICAL J:JACKGi~UUND AND Hlo'I'(.Jt('{ Clyde began playing at dances in the Blairsville area about "40-odd years ago" and played regularly until he had a heart attack three years ago. He also says that he couldn't "put up with the people who came", meaning he was too old to stand the rowdiness that accompanied gatherings in the community. He began the interview by telling me how out-of-practice he was, and how he "r'eally can't play good, It etc. He also ment ioned (at the end) how much he dreaded playing for me, due to the fact that he very seldom plays. He played the fiddle in what I would call "an ordinary manner)' holding it under his chin. He dipped and swayed to the music, and tapped his foot to the beat, really enjoying and feeling the music. He told me a story about a gentleman in the town named Lum Cole who used to play the fiddle "backwards. 1t I never really understood exactly how this was done, but the man held the fiddle in his right hand, crossed his left over', and pushed t he bow, rather t.han pulling it. Clyde said his sister used to play the fiddle like a banjo, holding it in her lap and plucking it. He said tm t at the dances that he usually played standinr~ up, and was not comfortable playing sitting. (3) PLAYiNG :J'l'n].;: Clyde played in the style typical of Southern fiddlers. He noted and played more than one stx'ing at he same time, producing the common drone sound. I asked him if he ever singlenoted; right." he x'eplied, "Why should I do that? I It doesn t sound One thinI'; that h\'j emphasized 1'I8S the endi"n{t, of the song (" shave and a hair'cut"). He said at the dances he used to play the same song for as long as 20 minutes, and asked if he could quit playing the song when he wanted te for the tape; I replied that he could stop whenever he VISS threugh, and he said that he would have to stop arbitrarily, but tha.t I could always tell the end. He Has right! ]';ach t.ime he ended with a flourish, gx'inning from ear to ear. He enjoyed t.he endings more than the song, I t.hink. When asked what his favorite song; was, he said he had so many t.hat it. would be hard to say. JJ e finally decided that "!3oogex' Man" was one of his favox'ites. He definitedly expressed a px'efex'ence for fast tunes, gay music, because he liked to dance. This wa s typica 1 of the man I s ps rsonality, for he was vivacious and full of energy, int.erested in the world, and percept.ive. I asked him if he liked mo'tlox'n music. "Like they play on t.he TV?" he asked. When I nodded, he said, "Well, it I s ok, but you can It dance t.o it I" He had tx'ouble x'emembcrinl'; tunes t.o Dlay, but Frank (whose father is a traditional fiddler) suggested t.unes which led Clyde (4 ) to rememb81' others. Some of the tunes Frank suggested, such as "Cripple Creek" and "Foggy Mountain By'eakdown" he declined to plFly becaufJe he couldn't remember mlactly how they went. He refused to play anything that lye was the least bit unsure of. olNG ING 0'1'\'1.1': He apologized because he said he could'nt sing and play at t.he same time. He said he didn't like to sing alone, but used to sing quite often with others. The one song he sang was "ClLd Joe Clark," one of his favorites. \'Ihen singing, he stodd fair'ly relaxed with his hands in his pockeilJs, swaying to the music. Hie. voice is tight, typical of Southern si ngers. Clyde bought his fiddle(new) in 1917 in Youngstown, Clhio, It is modeled after the otradivarius, the body matte of maple, the top of pine, and the screws and chin rest of black cherry. He used to put rattlesnake rattles in the fiddle; however, except for one lone rattle, "they got gone." He couldn I t remember' where they went. The reason for' having them is to "hold the sound;" he denied cmy knovrledgc of' super'stitious r'eclSOfU3. 2. IIjvlaggiell OLD JUJC; CI,JlUK 11' 1".}T e,Y'onncl, 01<1 d00 c.::La:ck Fly cJ/onrl.d, I [Jay, l"ly aX'01ll1d, Old doe Clad, Chickens is a'crowing for day. Fare ye well, Ol~ Joe Clark Goodbye, Betty Bxown Fare ye well, Uld Jaw Clark I'm gonna leave this town. Wish I had a nickel And I Wish I had a dime. \'Jish I had a pretty little) girl To kiss hex' and call her mine. ~are ye well, Old Joe Clark lioodbye, Betty Brown Fare ye well, Old Joe Clark. I'm [';onna leave this to\l\'Yl. , :IM i) 1. II01d. Joe Clarkll (instrumental) Ilj ~<I J. IICamptown Ladiesj~"\IIon't You Come Out Ton'ight ll remember the name of this one. These titles ax'e words, pX'obably, not the actual title. He couldn't part of the h. "Booger Man" Clyde's favorite piece. 5. "Beyond the Stary Sky" (Hymn) 6. Waltz- no name knovm 7. 111'11 Be oatisfied" (Hymn) Sounds like "Do ,Lord ll 8. "Old Joe Clark" singing) 9. IILibextyll 10. "Cacklin' Hen" 11. dance tUI'H ._- no name Ih~~ 0u.; Ic:l'\Y)c\ \'S \Dud",-d bCJi(.Dfi(c"V) '8h\i'-~'): lie G(Yj, Lc"-Ke c: ~, ""t---\- ha,s be f2. {\ l:,S eeY ().{- d~tt::'( Pr)-t 'i-lrILe'~ CLs G:- sd\o() I, 0,- C'()IYVY\lU')I\~j()\~e:h.(\cJ house) pol1~nc.1 pbce .~nC(.J::, U.~(-'6 '-\0 \.oe he. \c:\ \\R (-f: . , . w. t "[' ;:; , ( w(; ',t,",' t- 0 C' 'I, '" ,,", Ii ~ ;, . ".> <;;,-.) .... nn-nn.tc; I,:)t!y "Ln nie'l;U"t'C " A PDF transcript exists for this recording. Please contact an archivist for access. Professor John Burrison founded the Atlanta Folklore Archive Project in 1967 at Georgia State University. He trained undergraduates and graduate students enrolled in his folklore curriculum to conduct oral history interviews. Students interviewed men, women, and children of various demographics in Georgia and across the southeast on crafts, storytelling, music, religion, rural life, and traditions. As archivists, we acknowledge our role as stewards of information, which places us inaposition to choose how individuals and organizations are represented and described in our archives. We are not neutral, andbias isreflected in our descriptions, whichmay not convey the racist or offensive aspects of collection materialsaccurately.Archivists make mistakes and might use poor judgment.We often re-use language used by the former owners and creators, which provides context but also includes bias and prejudices of the time it was created.Additionally,our work to use reparative languagewhereLibrary of Congress subject termsareinaccurate and obsolete isongoing. 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