What an incredible moment.
Tyler Childers was joined by a very special guest recently at a show at Freedom Hall in Johnson City, Tennessee, when he brought out his “papaw’s old Army buddy,” a 97-year old man named Clyde Lloyd, to join him for a special performance of “Old Country Church,” a song that he included on his most recent album Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?
Before bringing him out, Tyler told the story about Clyde teaching him his first chords on a guitar – and “Old Country Church” being the first song the two of them ever played together back when he was first learning to play.
“My papaw bought me my first guitar when I was five years old. And his Army buddy, they were stationed in Austria before the Korean war, and they had kept in contact up until my papaw passed away when I was 15.
They would swap back and forth, one summer papaw would come down to Bluff City, and the next summer Clyde would come and hang out at the house. And it was one of those times he showed me my first three chords and he showed me “Old Country Church.””
Tyler also talked about reconnecting with Clyde after his grandfather passed away:
“Papaw had passed but my nana was still living, and I called my nana and I was like ‘Hey nana, you wouldn’t happen to have Clyde’s number would you?’
And she did, so I called Clyde up and I was like ‘Hey Clyde, what are you into? This is Tyler, I know we ain’t talked in awhile.’ And he was like ‘Oh not much here in the Bluff City Area.’
I was like ‘Well I’d love to stop by and see you.’ And that was the last time that I’d got to see him. Just life.”
After Tyler lost contact with Clyde once again, it was just by coincidence that the two were able to reconnect yet again – after Tyler finished up a month at taxidermy school in Montana this past March:
“Before we went to London in February I was clearing brush at the house…and just mindlessly daydreaming, your mind wanders, and I was thinking about my papaw and all the things that I got to do with my guitar.
And I was thinking about Clyde and I was like ‘Man I wish I hadn’t lost contact with Clyde, and I don’t even know how I would.’
And I kid you not two days later his daughter messaged my management and said that her dad had been thinking about me.
So we talked on the phone, and I went to London…but before I went, I went and hung out with Clyde. He got to meet my boy and we got to play music together.
He was like, ‘Well have you ever played down at Freedom Hall?’ I was like ‘Nope, no I’ve never played down at Freedom Hall.’ He said ‘Well you ought to try.’
And so here we are.”
Tyler then got emotional, his voice breaking as he introduced 97-year old Clyde Lloyd to join him onstage for the performance.
Incredible. I’m not sure how there could have been a dry eye in the place, and the crowd clearly loved it as they gave Clyde a thunderous applause when he started to sing, and then again after the two were finished.
What a special moment for Tyler, to get to play onstage with a man who clearly meant to much to him and his papaw – and even taught a young Timmy Ty Childers his first chords on the guitar.
Pretty awesome.
