Patrick first played in one of Sun Ra's bands as part of a trio around 1950. He played occasionally in Ra's Arkestra from around the same time, and then became a regular band member in 1954. In February 1955, Patrick married Emily Wintersmith in Cook County, Illinois. His children with Emily were Deval Patrick and Rhonda Sigh. He had at least one child, La'Shon Anthony, outside his marriage. In 1959, a woman called for Patrick and his wife asked for a message. This precipitated the breakup of his marriage that year.