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The West Virginia Encyclopedia
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The West Virginia Encyclopedia
The country music trio of Cap, Andy, and Flip delighted Mountain State radio audiences during the 1930s. Composed of West Virginian Warren Caplinger (1889–1957), Tennessean Andrew Patterson (1893–1950), and Alabaman William ‘‘Flip’’ Strickland (1908–88), the group formed in Akron, Ohio, in 1930. Cap provided leadership, played guitar, and sang bass; Andy sang lead and played guitar and fiddle; and Flip sang tenor and played mandolin and tenor banjo.
At various times Cap, Andy, and Flip based their act at WWVA, Wheeling; WMMN, Fairmont; and WCHS, Charleston. As time passed, their repertoire increasingly consisted of sacred songs. They recorded but sparingly, on their own Fireside Melodies label. Flip left the team late in 1940, being replaced by Andy’s son, Milton Patterson (1924-2016). Cap, Andy, and Milt remained together at WCHS until 1949 when the group dissolved. After Andy’s death, Cap did DJ work on other Charleston stations. Flip resided in Indianapolis for many years before retiring to Alabama.
Written by Ivan M. Tribe
Tribe, Ivan M. Mountaineer Jamboree: Country Music in West Virginia. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1984.