Biography:Jim Pate

Biographical notes
 James "JIm" Rankin Pate was born August 8th, 1867, the son of a Confederate veteran. He resided in Shelby and Nacogdoches counties, Texas, and an energetic and masterful old-Texas style fiddler. He competed regularly at the old-time fiddle contests at the Louisiana State Fair in Shreveport, and a newspaper clipping from the Shreveport Times of Oct. 29, 1922, includes a photograph of the contestants and the first-place winner, Jim Pate of Timpson. As the family relates, he won the contest so many times he was banned from it. In 1929 Jim Pate, along with his son and guitar player, Tom, were invited to Dallas to record at the invitation of Captain James Bonner, himself a renowned fiddler and Victor recording artist. Although it is not known how many pieces the Pates may have played in the session, Victor only released two sides, "Prisoner Boy" and "Texas Farewell." The records sold 3,591 copies, an average number for a new country music artist, but not enough to be invited back for another recording session. Their 78 RPM recordings are extremely rare nowadays.