Patsy Cline Biography

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Patsy Cline
Country Music | 3 CD Set
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Virginia Patterson Hensley grew up in Virginia planning a career in country music and hoping to be a star on the Grand Ole Opry. As Patsy Cline, she achieved those successes but had little time to celebrate them. Eight years after signing in Nashville she died in a plane crash. As Hensley, she sang in church and school and by sixteen, had a shot at Nashville but was unable to score a recording contract. Her boyfriend at the time changed her name to Patsy Hensley and then her marriage to Gerald Cline put the finishing touches on her stage name. Her signing in 1954 with Four-Star was a bit troubling, since its owner only allowed her to sing songs his company published. However, he allowed Decca Records to release his material and Cline had her first recording out, " A Church, a Courtroom and Then Goodbye," followed by "Come On In." She divorced Cline in 1957 to marry Charlie Dick and before they divorced became the talk of Nashville with a huge house that included a large rug designed like a gold record and gold dust sprinkled around the marble bath.She moved from Four-Star to Decca for good in 1957 and her first hit ensued: "Walkin' After Midnight," which rose to No. 2 in country and No. 12 in the pop chart. The tune had been written for Kay Starr but when Cline sang it on the Arthur Godfrey television talent show, it became hers. From 1957-61, she was in the producing hands of Owen Bradley, who produced several minor hits for Cline until two 1961 hits put her on top. "I Fall to Pieces" was No. 1 in country and No. 12 again in pop and weeks later her "Crazy," a Willie Nelson song, hit big in the charts. Meanwhile, Bradley was moving her into a pop-country direction as she left her cowgirl outfits for more benign stage wear while she joked about her weight onstage. She is said to have led something of a wild life with affairs and stormy marriages and with only eight years on the star circuit, the 35 years since her death have made her a superstar. She was on the way home from a benefit performance on March 5, 1963, when the plane crashed with others aboard, including Hawkshaw Hawkins, killing all. Her single at the time was "Leavin' On Your Mind," followed by her poignant "Sweet Dreams." Several tributes to her ensued and one, "Have You Ever Been Lonely," was an early overdubbing with Cline and Jim Reeves, compiled from two separate recordings. Her major hits have been covered by many artists, including Loretta Lynn, who put out a 1977 tribute album, and the Cline character appeared in movies "Coal Miner's Daughter" and "Sweet Dreams." Current star k.d. lang called her backup band the "Re-Clines" and there has been a definite vocal connection between the two singers with the big voices on emotional ballads.

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