Clyde Stacy

A rockabilly cat with a sunny disposition, Clyde Stacy never made much of a name for himself in his native U.S. but managed to swing up north to Canada where he had hits in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. Born on a farm in Oklahoma on August 11 1936, Stacy moved to Lubbock, Texas when he was entering his teens. In Lubbock he attended the same school as <a href="spotify:artist:3wYyutjgII8LJVVOLrGI0D">Buddy Holly</a>, their paths crossing on occasion as they both pursued music careers. Stacy wound up relocating to Tulsa in his late teens, working the fledging rockabilly scene in that Oklahoma city, hooking up with DJ/manager <a href="spotify:artist:6thXZTsGKSXZnnvrj0zlDZ">Don Wallace</a>, who helped kickstart the singer’s career, getting him a contract with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Candlelight+Records%22">Candlelight Records</a>. His first single, “So Young”/“Hoy Hoy,” was cut at Oral Roberts University, and the two sides both received considerable local play, getting into the lower reaches of Billboard’s Hot 100 in the U.S. but reaching the Top ten in Toronto and Winnipeg. Stacy’s next single “Dream Boy” saw a similar situation where it performed better in Canada than the U.S., then he switched his management to Phil Ladd, an old Lubbock colleague, who helped him sign with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Bullseye%22">Bullseye</a>. Again, Stacy’s next single, 1958’s “Baby Shame,” wound up making few waves in the U.S. but faired better in the Great White North, a situation repeated by its follow-up, “Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor.” Another single for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Bullseye%22">Bullseye</a> followed -- “Once in a While” -- but still Stacy had a hard time breaking through, and he settled into playing regularly around Scranton, Pennsylvania where he stayed grinding out a living until 1975 when he headed back home to Oklahoma. Stacy continued to play in Oklahoma and also appeared in various venues across the U.S. and Europe well into the new millennium. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi