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photo by Shane Collins
Patsy Cline, was born Virginia Patterson Hensley on this day, September 8, in 1932, in
Winchester, Virginia. She is considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century and one of the first
country music artists to successfully
cross over into
pop music; her records are responsible for the advent of the
Nashville Sound, which blended country and pop music and introduced country to a whole new audience in the early 1960s.
Regarding the Nashville sound, the record producer
Owen Bradley stated:
"Now
we've cut out the fiddle and steel guitar and added choruses to country
music. But it can't stop there. It always has to keep developing to
keep fresh."
-Owen Bradley
photographer unknown
According to the documentary
Remembering Patsy, Cline couldn't read
sheet music. She was self-taught and had perfect pitch even as a
child. Her first professional performances began at the local
WINC
radio station when she was fifteen. In the early 1950s, Cline began
appearing in a local band led by performer Bill Peer.
date & photographer unknown
Various local
appearances led to featured performances on
Connie B. Gay's
Town and Country television broadcasts. It also led to the signing of her first recording contract with the
Four Star label in 1954.
She moved to
Nashville, Tennessee, to further her career. Working with new manager Randy Hughes, Cline would become a member of the
Grand Ole Opry and then moved to
Decca Records in 1960.
date & photographer unknown
Under the direction of producer
Owen Bradley, her musical sound shifted and she achieved consistent success. The 1961 single
I Fall to Pieces was her first to top the
Billboard
country chart. As the song became a hit, Cline was severely injured in
an automobile accident, which caused her to spend a month in the
hospital. After recovering, her next single release
Crazy, written by
Willie Nelson, would also become a major hit.
Between 1962 and 1963, Cline had hits with
She's Got You,
When I Get Through with You,
So Wrong and
Leavin' on Your Mind. She also toured and headlined shows with more frequency.
In March 1963, Cline appeared at a benefit show in
Kansas City, Kansas. To return home, she boarded a plane along with country performers
Cowboy Copas,
Hawkshaw Hawkins and manager Randy Hughes. Upon hitting rough weather,
the plane crashed outside of
Camden, Tennessee, killing all those on board. Cline was thirty years old and her entire music career was only three years but what an impact she made on music!
In 1973,
Patsy Cline became the first female performer to be inducted into the
Country Music Hall of Fame.
In 1985 a
biographical film on the life of
Patsy Cline featuring her music was made with
Jessica Lange as Cline; it also starred
Ed Harris,
Ann Wedgeworth,
David Clennon, James Staley,
Gary Basaraba,
John Goodman, and
P. J. Soles of
Carrie and
Rock 'n' Roll High School fame (
link below).