Biography
UPDATE: R. Gary Patterson passed away on May 26, 2017. A link to his Obituary is listed on this page. Mr. Patterson was a great man and an amazing teacher. He will be greatly missed and always remembered.
R. Gary Patterson is a native Tennessean with a passion for rock and roll. As a published author with Simon and Schuster, Patterson's works portray many fascinating events that helped shape musical history from Robert Johnson through current groups making a place for themselves among rock and roll's standing legends. In 1996, Patterson released his first book entitled "The Walrus Was Paul." Immediately, the book became highly sought after. Beatlefest catalog proclaimed "The Walrus Was Paul" as one of its best selling titles of the year. Due to the instant success of the book, Patterson found himself as a highly sought after radio personality. He appeared on all the syndicated Beatle radio shows including Westwood One's "The Beatle Years," ABC Radio's "Beatle Archives," the "Breakfast With the Beatles" programs from New York to Los Angeles, and Joe Johnson's "Beatle Brunch." International shows were broadcast throughout Canada, Great Britain on the BBC, Australia, and Radio Caroline in New Zealand. He has appeared at numerous national Beatle conventions including "Beatlefests" in New York and Chicago, and other Beatle conventions in Orlando, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Atlanta, Memphis, and Nashville.
Shortly thereafter, Patterson released his second work, "Hellhounds on Their Trail." In this work, Patterson continued with his popular theme of rock and roll's enduring myths and legends. Hellhounds on Their Trail begins with Robert Johnson waiting at the Crossroads just outside Clarksdale, Mississippi to make his deal with Old Scratch. Other chapters focus on hidden messages in rock, Jimmy Page and the Zeppelin Curse, strange fatal coincidences in the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd bands, and a discussion of an exclusive group of musicians who were members of "The Club," whose only membership requirement was untimely death at the tender age of 27.
Patterson's third book was released by Simon and Schuster's Fireside Books on July 13, 2004. It is called "Take a Walk on the Dark Side: Rock and Roll Myths,Legends and Curses." Of course, Gary is collecting more tales for his next volume of great rock and roll myths and legends so check back for information concerning its release date.
In 2000, Gary Patterson served as a consultant for VH1 Confidential. The series highlighted a number of rock music's most enduring mysteries. A vast majority of these tales were found in Patterson's "The Walrus Was Paul" and "Hellhounds on Their Trail." Patterson appeared in three of the episodes discussing the Paul is Dead rumors of 1969, the Robert Johnson legend, the Curse of 27, and Rock and Roll's mad geniuses. Today Patterson is developing other ideas for several new television series dealing with fascinating events in the ongoing history of rock and roll. Starting on October 31, 2008, Patterson was involved with NBC and E! Network on the one hour special "Doomed to Die: 13 Curses." The show is still in rotation so check your TV listings for the next showing. Gary is also currently programming live entertainment events for broadband pay for view audiences. More information will soon be posted here as to content and scheduling.
Patterson's radio appearances continue to grow beyond the Beatles shows and he enjoys being a guest on Coast-to-Coast AM. Gary also continues to be a consultant for many of rock radio's premier stations nationwide, and spends some of his time lecturing on college campuses. Many lectures concern myths and little-known legends of popular music, and for his research in this field, R. Gary Patterson has been called "the self-styled Fox Mulder of Rock and Roll." This year Patterson has formed a production company with two extremely talented producers in Los Angeles to develop programming for cable and network television.
When he is not writing, appearing on television, or radio, Gary Patterson teaches literature and European history in the Tennessee public school system. Patterson is a life long resident of Tennessee and is a graduate of Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee. He has a daughter, Shea, who is currently enrolled in Graduate Studies at the University of Tennessee.
His hobbies include reading, traveling, listening to music, watching movies, and playing the guitar.
