Clyde Stacy

Who was Clyde Stacy?

Haskell Clyde Stacy was an American rockabilly singer and guitarist who recorded in the 1950s as the leader of Clyde Stacy & the Nitecaps, and has been credited as a founder of the "Tulsa Sound".

He was born on a farm near Checotah, Oklahoma. He started his education at Jenks before moving with his family to Arizona and then, in 1949, to Lubbock, Texas, where he learned guitar and knew Buddy Holly, one year his senior. He moved back to Tulsa in 1954 and soon formed his own group, the Nitecaps, with lead guitarist John D. LeVan.

He was discovered by radio disc jockey Don Wallace, who became his manager and won him a contract with the Candlelight record label. In 1957, his first single, "So Young" backed with "Hoy Hoy", reached no.68 on the Billboard pop chart, and became even more popular in Canada. "So Young" was banned by some radio stations because of the sexy female voice overdubbed onto the record by producer Woody Hinderling. Several of Stacy's later records, including "Baby Shame" – originally recorded by Little Willie Littlefield – and "Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor" also performed better in Canada than in the US, where his only later chart success came when "So Young" briefly re-entered the national pop chart in 1959.