MOORESVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - A Kinston native has been announced as one of the 2025 North Carolina Music Hall of Fame Inductees.
On Monday, the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame announced Clyde Mattocks as one of six inductees. Early April, 88-year-old Mattocks says he got the notification he’s been waiting almost 10 years to receive, and the news is still slowly sinking in.
“I think I’m not worthy, you know,” Mattocks told WITN.
It’s always been Mattock’s dream to be among his peers in the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. Growing up, he remembers always seeing the family across the street playing music.
“I would watch them play, and I said I believe I could do that if I had me one of them guitars,” Mattocks said.
On Christmas Day 1951, after a lot of persuasion, his parents gifted him a steel guitar and an amplifier. At 14 years old, Mattocks was eager to play, but others, like his younger brother Tommy, weren’t as excited for his new passion.
“He was not only awful, he was awful loud,” Tommy said.
Mattocks began getting the hang of it and was playing in a band within six weeks.
Fresh out of high school, the band Slim Mims and the Dream Ranch Boys came down from South Carolina to recruit Mattocks. Soon his career began to take off.
Mattocks mastered every type of string instrument across 70 years of playing and produced numerous recording projects. He was offered positions for the bands of Bill Anderson, Loretta Lynn, Hank Thompson, Vern Gosden, and Jim Ed Brown.
Mattocks has played with notable names such as Johnny Paycheck, Mel Street, Roy Drusky, Highway 58, Jimmy Capps, The Wilburn Brothers, Skeeter Davis, The Country Gentlemen, and more.
He also founded the Super Grit Cowboy Band and mentored many musicians.
Mattocks’ brother, Tommy, a former star basketball player, wasn’t surprised, as being in the hall of fame runs in the family.
“I am in the Kinston/Lenoir Sports Hall of Fame, and I was elected into the George Whitfield Hall of Fame,” Tommy said.
Present day, Clyde Mattocks can still be found on stage, jamming out at local festivals and events, as his love for music will never die.
“I’ve never considered quitting,” Mattocks said. “Music is a challenge and a pleasure.”
The other inductees this year include David Childers, Dexter Romweber, Hattie “Chatty Hatty” Leeper, Luke Combs, and Robert Deaton.
The induction ceremony honoring the 2025 class will take place on Thursday, October 16th at the Mooresville Performing Arts Center in Mooresville, NC. The ceremony is open to the public and will include appearances and live performances by inductees.
For more information, head to NorthCarolinaMusicHallofFame.org
Copyright 2025 WITN. All rights reserved.