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Dateline: September 25, 2000
I have always liked Patsy Clines music and have only recently realized that there is so much more to her music then just a pretty lady doing a pretty song. There are no other female singers that can sing like Patsy. And I do believe that no other female singer has contributed as much to music as Patsy did in her all-too-brief career in country music.
Patsy was born Virginia Patterson Hensley on September 8th 1932. Always musical and talented
even at a young age... the people who knew her best knew that she was meant to do something special with her life. When Patsy was 16, she got a chance to go to Nashville and audition for the Grand Old Opry. Nothing really came of this first Nashville visit and she soon returned home.
In 1953 Bill Peer brought Patsy back to Nashville, and she began performing on the "Midnight Jamboree" radio show which Ernest Tubb made so popular. This lead to Patsy's first recording contract with Four Star Records. Out of this contract came some of Patsy's greatest songs like "Three Cigarettes In An Ashtray."
Owen Bradley started producing Patsy in 1955. Most people think of her big break however, as her appearance on Arthur Godfrey's "Talent Scouts" in 1957. She sang "Walkin' After Midnight.
It's interesting to note that two of Patsy's biggest hits, "Walkin After Midnight," and "Crazy" were ones that she was dead set against recording.
In 1960, the first record that she released, Harlan Howard's "I Fall To Pieces" became a #1 hit.
Many feel that Patsy's success was due to the guidance of Owen Bradley. Owen really had an ear for material that was perfect for Patsy and changed her image from cowgirl-attired country singer into a beautiful lady singer in a cocktail dress and heels.
Patsy had a total of 8 hits in her lifetime.
Patsy's last recording session on February 8th 1963 gave us the songs "He Called Me Baby," "You Took Him Off My Hands," and "I'll Sail My Ship Alone."
Unfortunately what could have been will never be known. We all know how the story of Patsy's life ended. March 5th 1963, after performing at a benefit concert for the family of a recently deceased popular DJ, Cactus Jack McCall, Patsy, Cowboy Copas, Hawkshaw Hawkins, and the pilot, Randy Hughes were killed in a plane crash near Camden Tennessee.
Recently Released Albums
Audio clips courtesy of Barnes & Noble.
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