THE LEGACY OF PATSY CLINE

As one of the most influential voices and musical artists of the 20th century, singer Patsy Cline’s legacy lives on today.

Born in 1932 as Virginia Patterson Hensley in Winchester, Virginia, singer Patsy Cline’s upbringing was difficult. She survived through her father’s abuse and abandonment, moving 19 times in 16 years, and quitting school at age 16 to work and help her family.

Cline’s musical interest had been cultivated since a child, but was especially prevalent as a teenager. After winning amateur contests, and singing on local radio stations, and auditioning, Patsy was hired full time to sing with a country radio show host’s touring circuit with a new stage name, Patsy. After marrying Gerald Cline in 1953, she was recognized thereafter (as America knows her): Patsy Cline.

Patsy’s first record was released in 1955, but it didn’t perform well. However, in 1957 she won a televised variety show and talent competition with her soon-to-be hit, “Walkin’ After Midnight,” which held the second spot on Billboard’s country music chart, and number 12 on the popular music chart.

Cline divorced Gerald in early 1957 and remarried Charles Allen Dick later that year, with whom she would share a daughter and son. After no more hits, scraping by as a regional performer, and her husband being mustered out of the army, the family moved to Nashville in 1959. Cline was accepted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1960, and she continued to record songs to supplement income of her husband’s printing job.

In January 1961, “I Fall to Pieces” was released and topped the country charts. In June 1961, Cline was critically injured in an automobile accident but returned to the studio in August to record the prominent hit, “Crazy,” written by Willie Nelson. “Crazy,” placed number two on the country charts and ninth on the pop charts. Later that year, Patsy’s recording of “She’s Got You,” was released and became her second number-one country hit.

During the next couple years, Cline won various awards and in 1962 appeared as second billed performer in a concert tour organized by Johnny Cash.

Tragically, in March 1963, flying home to Nashville after a benefit concert in Missouri, Patsy Cline and country music musicians Lloyd Estel “Cowboy” Copas, and Harold Franklin “Hawkshaw” Hawkins, died in a plane crash near Camden, Tennessee.

After her passing, Cline would continue to make an impact on the music industry. She has been inducted into various Halls of Fame, won a Lifetime Achievement Award, has sold many records, and has also become the subject of biographies, musicals–including Always…Patsy Cline, and a film. At the end of 20th century, “Crazy,” remained one of the most played songs on jukeboxes and today still ranks as number three on the Rolling Stone list of Greatest Country Songs of All Time.

Patsy’s music has inspired generations of vocalists such as Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and k.d. lang, and continues to inspire as one of the first country-pop cross over artists with a most memorable voice.

Learn more about our 2024 production of Always…Patsy Cline.