Patsy Cline
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Patsy Cline (born September 8, 1932 as Virginia Patterson Hensley in Winchester , Virginia , † March 5, 1963 in Camden , Tennessee ) was an American country singer. She was part of the Nashville Sound as a crossover artist to pop music . Her greatest hits include Walkin After Midnight from 1957 and I Fall to Pieces and Crazy from 1961. She died in a plane crash in 1963 at the height of her career at the age of 30 .
Life
Beginnings
Patsy Cline grew up poor in a short distance from Washington, DC located Winchester on. She took an early interest in music and made her first public appearances at the age of twelve. Through the mediation of country singer Wally Fowler , she had the first opportunity in 1948 to audition for the management of the Grand Ole Opry . Although some influential figures showed interest, no engagement was achieved.
Out of necessity, she continued to perform in her hometown of Winchester. She joined the band Bill Peer and his Melody Boys. Peer, with whom she had a long affair, nicknamed her Patsy . The second part of her stage name came from a brief marriage with Gerald Cline, which was closed in 1953.
Career
In 1954 Patsy Cline returned to Nashville. She appeared on Ernest Tubb's Midnight Jamboree , which was televised on the Grand Ole Opry show. In the same year she recorded her first record after winning a talent competition. A little later she received a contract from the Four Star Label , which gave her little creative freedom and also put her financially at a disadvantage. Due to the poor song material, their first singles, which were recorded in the Nashville Decca studio under the direction of Owen Bradley , flopped . 1957 was produced with Walkin 'After Midnight Clines first big hit, which could place in both the country and in the pop charts. The success could not be repeated at first, however, and a long dry spell began for the singer, who is now married for the second time.
At the beginning of 1960 the contract with the Four Star Label expired and the way was clear for a collaboration with Decca. Against her will, she was pushed from honky tonk to pop music by her producer Owen Bradley . Success came almost instantly. With I Fall to Pieces , written by the young songwriters Hank Cochran and Harlan Howard , she reached number one on the country charts and number 15 on the pop hit parade in 1961. Even a serious car accident couldn't stop her career. Crazy , written by Willie Nelson , who was still unknown at the time , was another crossover hit that finally made her a star. Proof of their popularity beyond the country music genre were engagements in the Hollywood Bowl and in Las Vegas . She was one of the leading representatives of the Nashville sound and the female counterpart of Eddy Arnold and Jim Reeves . A series of other top 10 hits followed.
Death and posthumous
At the height of her career, on March 5, 1963, the small plane with which the 30-year-old wanted to return to Nashville from a concert crashed in a thunderstorm . On board were the country singers Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins , who like Cline did not survive. Her death made her even more popular. Other albums and singles appeared posthumously, all of which sold extremely well and were often awarded gold or platinum. Among them is the album Greatest Hits , which sold more than ten million times in the USA and was awarded a diamond record (10 times platinum). Their big hit Crazy was still in the charts in 1990. An electronically generated duet was even produced with Jim Reeves, who was also killed in a plane crash.
In 1973 she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame as the first woman . The 1985 feature film about her life, Sweet Dreams , rekindled public interest. Three years later the Canadian singer kdlang persuaded the now retired Owen Bradley to produce her album Shadow Land , which was dedicated to the music of Patsy Clines.
In 1995, Cline received a Grammy for Lifetime Achievement. In 2008 Rolling Stone listed her as 46th of the 100 best singers of all time . Cline's home in Winchester, where she lived with her mother and siblings from 1948 to 1953, has been open to the public as the Patsy Cline House since 2011 .
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 UK
|
 US
|
Country
|
|||
| 1980 | Always | - | - |
Country27 (20 weeks) Country |
MCA
|
| 1999 | Patsy Cline Duets, Volume 1 | - | - |
Country67 (1 week) Country |
MCA
|
More studio albums
- 1957: Patsy Cline (Decca)
- 1961: Showcase (Decca)
- 1962: Sentimentally Yours (Decca)
- 1964: A Tribute To Patsy Cline (Decca)
- 1964: Portrait Of Patsy Cline (Decca)
- 1964: That's How A Heartache Begins (Decca)
Live albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
UK
|
US
|
Country
|
|||
| 1988 | Live at the Opry | - | - |
Country60 (13 weeks) Country |
|
| 1997 | Live at the Cimarron Ballroom | - | - |
Country32 (9 weeks) Country |
|
More live albums
- 1989: Live Volume Two
Compilations
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
UK
|
US
|
Country
|
|||
| 1963 | The Patsy Cline Story | - |
US74  (… Where.)US |
Country9 (... weeks) Country |
Decca
|
| 1967 | Patsy Cline's Greatest Hits | - |
US-  |
Country17 (191 weeks) Country |
Decca; Chart entry only after re-release in 1988 under the name 12 Greatest Hits
|
| 1981 | Greatest Hits: Jim Reeves & Patsy Cline | - | - |
Country8 (23 weeks) Country |
|
| 1985 | sweet Dreams |
UK18th  (13 weeks)UK |
US29  (14 weeks)US |
Country6 (40 weeks) Country |
|
| 1989 | 20 gold hits | - | - |
Country70 (1 week) Country |
|
| 1991 | The Patsy Cline Collection | - |
US166 (1 week)US |
Country29 (10 weeks) Country |
MCA; Box set
|
| 1992 | The Definitive Patsy Cline |
UK11 (8 weeks) UK |
- | - | |
| At her best | - | - |
Country63 (4 weeks) Country |
||
| 1995 | The Very Best of Patsy Cline |
UK21st (7 weeks)UK |
- | - | |
| 1998 | The Ultimate Collection | - | - |
Country49 (17 weeks) Country |
|
| 2004 | The Definitive Collection | - | - |
Country52 (31 weeks) Country |
|
| 2005 | Patsy Cline: Gold | - | - |
Country43 (12 weeks) Country |
|
| 2007 | Patsy Cline: Collector's Edition | - | - |
Country71 (2 weeks) Country |
|
| 2010 | Icon: Patsy Cline | - |
US197 (1 week) US |
Country38 (78 weeks) Country |
|
| 2012 | Deluxe: Greatest Hits | - | - |
Country70 (3 weeks) Country |
|
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
More compilations
- 1962: Patsy Cline's Golden Hits
- 1965: Here's Patsy Cline
- 1969: Country Great!
- 1979: The Country Hall of Fame - Patsy Cline
- 1980: The Last Sessions (MCA)
- 1982: Remembering Patsy Cline & Jim Reeves (US:gold)
- 1985: Sweet Dreams, The Life And Time Of Patsy Cline (MCA)
- 1985: Today, Tomorrow And Forever (MCA)
- 1985: Heartaches (US:platinum)
- 1986: Stop, Look & Listen
- 1986: Songwriter's Tribute
- 1988: Faded Love
- 1988: The Last Sessions
- 1988: Dreaming ...
- 1989: Walkin 'Dreams: Her First Recordings, Volume 1
- 1989: Hungry for Love: Her First Recordings, Volume 2
- 1989: The Rockin 'Side: Her First Recordings, Volume 3
- 1991: Best of Patsy Cline
- 1992: Forever and Always
- 1993: Loved and Lost Again
- 1993: In Care of the Blues
- 1993: Walkin 'After Midnight
- 1994: The Best of Patsy Cline (UK:gold)
- 1995: Patsy Cline Sings Songs of Love (US:platinum)
- 1995: Patsy Cline Sings More Great Songs of Love
- 1996: Birth of a Country Legend
- 1997: The Essential Patsy Cline
- 1999: Classic Patsy Cline: 20th Century (MCA)
- 2000: The Ultimate Collection
- 2000: True Love: A Standards Collection
- 2001: The Essential Collection (UK:silver)
- 2002: Songs Of Love
- 2008: Playlist Your Way: Patsy Cline
- 2010: Icon 2: Patsy Cline
EPs
- 1957: Songs by Patsy Cline
- 1957: Patsy Cline
- 1961: Patsy Cline
- 1962: Patsy Cline
- 1962: She's Got You
- 1962: So Wrong / You're Stronger Than Me
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
UK
|
US
|
Country
|
|||
| 1957 | Walkin 'After Midnight Patsy Cline |
- |
US17 (16 weeks) US |
Country2 (... weeks) Country |
|
| A Poor Man's Roses (Or a Rich Man's Gold) Patsy Cline |
- | - |
Country14 (... weeks) Country |
||
| 1961 | I Fall to Pieces Showcase |
UK87 (2 weeks) UK |
US12 (20 weeks) US |
Country1 (54 weeks) Country |
Chart entry in UK only in 1991
|
| Crazy Showcase |
UK14 (11 weeks) UK |
US9 (11 weeks) US |
Country2 (21 weeks) Country |
Top ranking in UK only in 1990
|
|
| Who Can I Count On Patsy Cline (1962) |
- |
US99 (1 week) US |
- |
B-side of Crazy
|
|
| 1962 | She's Got You Sentimentally Yours |
UK43 (1 week) UK |
US14 (13 weeks) US |
Country1 (19 weeks) Country |
|
| Strange Sentimentally Yours |
- |
US97 (2 weeks) US |
- | ||
| Imagine That |
- |
US90 (2 weeks) US |
- | ||
| When I Get Thru 'with You |
- |
US53 (6 weeks) US |
Country10 (12 weeks) Country |
||
| So Wrong So Wrong / You're Stronger Than Me |
- |
US85 (1 week) US |
Country14 (10 weeks) Country |
B-side: You're Stronger Than Me
|
|
| Heartaches Sentimentally Yours |
UK31 (5 weeks) UK |
US73 (7 weeks) US |
- | ||
| 1963 | Leavin 'on Your Mind |
- |
US83 (5 weeks) US |
Country8 (17 weeks) Country |
|
| Posthumous singles | |||||
| 1963 | Sweet Dreams (of You) The Patsy Cline Story |
- |
US44 (10 weeks) US |
Country5 (16 weeks) Country |
|
| Faded Love A Portrait of Patsy Cline |
- |
US96 (3 weeks) US |
Country7 (13 weeks) Country |
||
| When You Need a Laugh A Portrait of Patsy Cline |
- | - |
Country47 (3 weeks) Country |
||
| 1964 | He Called Me Baby That's How a Heartache Begins |
- | - |
Country23 (12 weeks) Country |
|
| 1968 | Anytime |
- | - |
Country73 (2 weeks) Country |
|
| 1978 | Life's Railway to Heaven |
- | - |
Country98 (1 week) Country |
|
| 1980 | Always Always |
- | - |
Country18 (12 weeks) Country |
|
| 1981 | Have You Ever Been Lonely (Have You Ever Been Blue) Greatest Hits: Jim Reeves & Patsy Cline |
- | - |
Country5 (17 weeks) Country |
with Jim Reeves
|
More singles
- 1955: A Church, a Courtroom and Then Goodbye
- 1955: Hidin 'Out
- 1956: I Love You, Honey
- 1956: I've Loved and Lost Again
- 1957: Try Again
- 1957: A Stranger in My Arms
- 1957: I Don't Wanta
- 1958: Stop the World (And Let Me Off)
- 1958: Come on In
- 1958: I Can See an Angel
- 1958: Just Out of Reach
- 1958: Dear God
- 1959: Yes, I Understand
- 1959: Gotta Lot of Rhythm in My Soul
- 1960: Lovesick Blues
- 1960: Crazy Dreams
- 1962: Why Can't He Be You
- 1964: Your Kinda Love
- 1964: That's How a Heartache Begins
- 1965: Just a Closer Walk with Thee, Part 1
- 1965: Your Cheatin 'Heart
- 1965: South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)
- 1965: I Love You So Much It Hurts
- 1966: Shoes
- 1966: Lonely Street
- 1966: That's My Desire
- 1967: You Took Him Off My Hands
- 1967: Hidin 'Out
- 1967: True Love
- 1968: Always
- 1968: You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)
- 1969: Crazy Arms
- 1999: That Wonderful Someone (with Bob Carlisle)
- 1999: There He Goes (with John Berry )
Awards for music sales
|
|
Note: Awards in countries from the chart tables or chart boxes can be found in these.
| Country / Region |
silver |
gold |
platinum |
diamond
|
Sales | swell |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards for music sales (country / region, awards, sales, sources) |
||||||
 Norway (IFPI)
|
- |
gold1
|
- | - | 20,000 | ifpi.no ( Memento from November 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) |
|
United States (RIAA)
|
- |
2 × gold2
|
5 × platinum5
|
diamond1
|
15,100,000 | riaa.com |
|
United Kingdom (BPI)
|
2 × silver2
|
2 × gold2
|
- | - | 320,000 | bpi.co.uk |
| All in all |
2 × silver2
|
5 × gold5
|
5 × platinum5
|
diamond1
|
||
literature
- Irwin Stambler, Grelun Landon: Encyclopedia Of Folk, Country And Western Music. St. Martin's Press, New York 1969, pp. 58 f.
- Melvin Shestack: The Country Music Encyclopaedia. Omnibus Press, London 1977, ISBN 0-86001-308-1 , pp. 44-46.
- Fred Dellar, Roy Thompson: The Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Country Music. Salamander Books, London 1977, pp. 50 f, ISBN 0-86101-004-3 (foreword by Roy Acuff ).
Web links
- Works by and about Patsy Cline in the catalog of the German National Library
- Patsy Cline. In: FemBio. Women's biography research (with references and citations).
- Official website
- Patsy.nu
- Cline at last.fm
Individual evidence
- ↑ About the crash and the details see Rick Everitt: Falling Stars. Air Crashes That Filled Rock And Roll Heaven. Harbor House Books, Augusta, Ga 2004, pp. 24-44, ISBN 1-891799-04-5 ; there also a short biography of Patsy Cline. Newspaper report about the crash cf. Tennessee Plane Crash Kills Three Singers And Pilot. In: The New York Times . Edition of March 7, 1963, p. 5.
- ↑ riaa.com
- ↑ 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. In: Rolling Stone . December 2, 2010, accessed August 9, 2017 .
- ↑ a b c d Chart sources: UK US
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Cline, Patsy |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Petterson Hensley, Virginia (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American country singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 8, 1932 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Winchester , Virginia |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 5, 1963 |
| Place of death | near Camden , Tennessee |