Clyde
was born September 23, 1975 in Portage, WI. He grew up with two
inspirations: sports and music. His interest in music began when he
was around five years old. At an early age Clyde would listen to the
50’s and 60’s albums of his mother’s. His favorite artists were Roy
Orbison, Conway Twitty and Elvis Presley.
Throughout his youth, Clyde loved baseball, hunting and singing. His focus in high school was to become a professional ball player. Achieving numerous awards and setting pitching records, Clyde received a scholarship to Cedar Rapids, IA. He was well on his way to obtaining the goal he had set some fifteen years ago, when Clyde broke his pitching arm.
When the accident happened, it destroyed Clyde’s aspirations of playing Major League Baseball. Clyde then shifted gears to his next love of entertaining. He started performing at local venues while performing for benefits and winning numerous talent contests on the local and national stage. Seeing the audience’s reactions at each show, while receiving high marks in the talent contests, Clyde then realized he had a God-given talent to perform.
While
performing in Nashville, Clyde had the opportunity to meet and work with
Dewayne Blackwell, the writer of “Friends in Low Places.” As he was
recording in Nashville, another opportunity came along to record with an
incredible song writer, Chester Lester. After Mr. Lester worked with
Clyde to complete a demo, Chester referred Clyde to Ted Stice, owner of
Outback Records. Mr. Stice took Clyde in, like a son, and produced
some beautiful music. In speaking of the experience, Clyde says, “Ted
is the most honest man I have met in the business. He has shown me an
overwhelming amount of support in my talent and is doing everything in his
power to get me to the next level.”