Patsy Cline

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Patsy Cline was born Virginia Patterson Hensley in 1932 in Winchester, Virginia. At fifteen she was already singing on the local radio station WINC. In 1954 she signed with the label 4 Star, and in 1957 she won the talent contest Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts on American television with Walkin' After Midnight. The song became her first big hit, on both the country chart and the pop chart. After that, success failed to follow. In 1958 she moved to Nashville, became a member of the Grand Ole Opry and in 1960 switched to Decca Records.

Music and breakthrough

Under the guidance of the producer Owen Bradley her sound changed and success returned. I Fall to Pieces from 1961 was her first single to reach the top of the country chart. After a serious car accident came Crazy, which also became a big hit. Later came, among others, She's Got You and Leavin' on Your Mind. Her albums from those years are Patsy Cline (1957), Showcase (1961) and Sentimentally Yours (1962).

Influence

Cline was one of the first country singers to succeed in reaching an audience in the pop world. On 5 March 1963 she died in a plane crash, aged thirty. In 1973 she became the first woman inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. She is regarded as a forerunner for women in country music, who could take the lead role on records and in concerts.

Listening

• 
  Crazy · Patsy Cline, 1961
  Apple Music ↗

Discography

Studio albums

• 1957Patsy Cline
• 1961Showcase
• 1962Sentimentally Yours

See also

• Nashville sound