Patsy Cline was best known for her rich tone and emotionally expressive voice, which, along with her role as a mover and shaker in the country music industry, has been cited and praised as an inspiration by many vocalists of various music genres.
Born in the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester, Virginia, on September 8, 1932. The family home was in nearby Gore. Legend has it that she was entertaining her neighbors as early as age 3! Cline often proclaimed as a child that she would one day be famous, and looked up to such stars as as Judy Garland and Shirley Temple A serious illness as a child caused a throat infection which, according to Cline, resulted in her gift of "a voice that boomed like Kate Smith's.
Patsy began her career in her teenage years performing various talent shows and singing on the the local radio station in Winchester. Cline would become a household name over the next few years making numerous appearences on local radio, attracting a large following in the Virginia/Maryland area. After a stint with Four Star Records recording strictly country music, 51 songs in all, Patsy’s life would change forever.
Cline released her single, “Walkin After Midnight” in 1957 reaching # 2 in the country charts and # 12 on the pop charts making her a national star and one of the first country performers to have a crossover pop hit. 1961 would prove to be a succesful, yet tumultous one. She would release her first number 1 hit with the ballad “I Fall to Pieces.” She also realized a lifelong dream when casted in the Grand Ole Opry. Her success would be bittersweet however as on June 14, 1961, Patsy was invloved in her second serious car accident that nearly took her life.
Cline would continue her career with a newfound outlook on life. As a survivor, Cline believed it her duty to live her life to the fullest. Her career would shine for the next couple of years releasing numerous charted sinfgles as well as performing sell out venues and becoming one of the most celebrated artists of the day winning 12 prestigious awards for her acheivements in music. Despite all her success, Patsy could never shake the stigma that she would not live much longer. She had survived two life-threatening accidents and she always said that the third one would either be a “charm or it would kill me”
Unfortunately, Patsy Cline was right and on March 3, 1963 her prophecy came true. She gave a stellar final performance at a benefit show at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall, Kansas City, Kansas, for the family of a disc jockey, Cactus Jack Call, who had recently died in an automobile accident. Afterward, Patsy Cline boarded a plane headed home to Nashville that would never land. She was thrity years old at the time of her death, and in only five anf a half years of recording, Cline left behind a legacy of greatness that will never be forgotten.
Patsy will be remembered as a woman with a generous spirit and a warm heart that was always looking to help others. Musically, she became the first woman in the industry to prove she could surpass her male competitors in terms of record sales and concert tickets. Cline is often considered a "pioneer" and "heroine" by her female successors, who claim that she broke down doors in the industry for women when it was dominated and ruled by men, forever changing the landscape of the music industry.
Top Hits Include: 1957- “Walkin after Midnight” 1961- “I Fall to Pieces” “Crazy” 1962- “She’s Got You” 1963- “Faded Love”
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