Patsy Cline was born Virginia Patterson Hensley on September 8, 1932 in Winchester, Virginia. Her mother, Hilda, was only 16 years old when Patsy was born. Patsy, the oldest of three children, always knew she’d one day be a star. . Their father deserted the family when the children were young, leaving them with lots of love but very little of anything else.
Patsy Cline’s first husband was Gerald Cline. Their marriage ended due in part to her infidelity, with her manager, and to Cline’s lack of interest in her career (kind of explains wandering heart). They divorced in 1957. It was her second husband, Bill Peer, who “gave” her the name Patsy – from her middle name, “Patterson.”
Her third husband, Charlie Dick, was the one Patsy would go on to call the love of her life. Charlie Dick, who was known for his good looks and charismatic personality, captured Patsy’s heart. They’d remain married for the remainder of her life.
One of the songs chosen for Patsy Cline’s first album was Walkin’ After Midnight, written by Don Hecht and Alan Block. Cline initially did not like the song because it was, according to her, “just a little old pop song.” However, the song’s writers and record label insisted that she record the song.
Around this time, Patsy Cline auditioned for Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts in New York City on CBS, and was given a chance to sing on the show. Patsy’s appearance on the show on January 21, 1957 is often referred to as her “discovery.” Her mother, Hilda Hensley, presented Patsy. She sang her recent recording “Walkin’ After Midnight,” the little old pop song. Godfrey’s staff insisted that Patsy Cline not wear one of her mother’s handmade cowgirl outfits for the performance. Instead, she wore a cocktail dress.
The audience’s ovations stopped the meter at its apex! For several months Patsy Cline appeared regularly on Godfrey’s radio program.
Walkin’ After Midnight was released in early 1957, and before long it was a hit, reaching #2 on the country charts and #12 on the pop charts. Cline became one of the first country singers to have a crossover pop hit.
After the birth of their daughter, Julie, in 1958, Patsy and Charlie moved to Nashville, Tennessee.
In 1959, Cline met Randy Hughes, who became her manager. With Randy’s promotion and a new contract with Decca Records-Nashville, Cline would begin her amazing ascent to the top of country music, and to her rightful place in music history.
Patsy Cline released another hit in 1961 called “I Fall to Pieces.” This song was written by Hank Cochran and Harlan Howard and was promoted on both country and pop music stations across the country, leading to success on both country and pop charts.
I Fall to Pieces hit No. 1 on the country charts and became Patsy Cline’s first No. 1 song. This song made Patsy Cline a household name.
Also in 1961, Patsy Cline realized a lifelong dream when she joined the cast of the Grand Ole Opry. She became one of the Opry’s greatest stars, and is believed to be the only person granted Opry membership merely by asking for it!
Patsy Cline is known for her remarkable singing voice, but those who had the good fortune of knowing her always seemed to be more impressed with who she was as a person. She was apparently one of the most generous, fun-loving, and warm individuals you could hope to meet. Patsy Cline loved to help others who were trying to make their own dreams come true. Loretta Lynn, Dottie West, Barbara Mandrell, Jan Howard, and Brenda Lee are just some of the artists she reached out to.
According to Loretta Lynn and Dottie West, Patsy Cline was always extremely generous with her friends. She bought them groceries and new furniture when they were hard up. On occasion, she would even pay their rent, enabling them to stay in Nashville and continue their quest for stardom.
In Ellis Nassour’s 1980 biography Patsy Cline, Cline’s friend, honky tonk pianist and Opry star Del Wood, was quoted as follows: “Even when she didn’t have it, she’d spend it — and not always on herself. She’d give anyone the skirt off her backside if they needed it.”
In the 1986 documentary The Real Patsy Cline, singer George Riddle said of her, “It wasn’t unusual for her to sit down and have a beer and tell a joke. She’d never be offended at the guys’ jokes, because most of the time she’d tell a joke better than you! Patsy was full of life, as I remember“.
Patsy Cline used the term of endearment “Hoss” to refer to her friends, and referred to herself as “The Cline.” Though she never met Elvis Presley, she admired his music, and called him “The Big Hoss.”
Patsy gave birth to a son in 1961 (Randy), but the year didn’t bring ALL sunshine. She had a nearly fatal car wreck on June 14. Patsy and her brother, Sam, were involved in a head-on car collision on Old Hickory Boulevard in Nashville. The impact of the accident threw Patsy into the windshield, nearly killing her. Upon her arrival at the scene, singer Dottie West picked glass from Patsy’s hair, while Patsy insisted that the other car’s driver be treated first. Patsy later stated that she saw the female driver of the other car die right before her eyes at the hospital.
Ironically, Dottie West would be involved in a serious car accident in 1991. She also insisted that the driver be given first treatment. She did not survive the surgeries afterward.
Patsy suffered from a jagged cut across her forehead that required stitches, a broken wrist, and a dislocated hip. During her month long hospitalization, Patsy rededicated herself to the Lord and to her Christian faith. She received, literally, thousands of cards and flowers sent by fans.
When she left the hospital, her forehead was still visibly scarred. For the remainder of her career, she wore wigs and careful makeup to hide the scars and headbands to relieve pressure on her forehead.
“Crazy”, written by Willie Nelson, would become Patsy’s next hit. Oddly enough, she originally hated this song! Her first attempt at recording “Crazy” turned out to be a total disaster, with her maintaining that the song was too difficult to sing. The high notes were hard, and even painful, for Patsy becaue of her injuries from the wreck. For an entire day, she and her manager went head to head in all out war!
Patsy Cline recorded the song the following week in one take. Her version was completely different from the demo, which is why it became such a classic. It also became Patsy Cline’s signature song – the one for which she remains best known.
In late 1961, the song was an immediate country pop crossover hit, and was also her biggest pop hit, making the Top 10. Friend Loretta Lynn later reported that the night Cline premiered “Crazy” at the Grand Ole Opry, she received three standing ovations.
What amazes me the most about Patsy Cline is the two distinct sides to the lady: On one side, you have a woman who was as tough as nails. She had the guts to stand up to men during a time when most women wouldn’t even consider it. She fought for what was fair for herself, her friends, and her band members. Her good friend Dottie West stated, “It was common knowledge around town that you didn’t mess with ‘The Cline!‘”
On the flip side, you have a woman who was as kind and gracious as anyone I’ve ever read about or researched. Her family, friends, and fans meant the world to her. She even became very close friends with some of her fans. She would stay for hours after concerts to chat with her fans and sign autographs.
Her success allowed Patsy Cline to buy her dream home in Nashville’s Goodlettsville community. She personally decorated her home and had real gold dust sprinkled into the bathroom tiles. Now that’s Class! Loretta Lynn stated in a 1986 documentary interview, “She called me into the front yard and said, ‘Isn’t this pretty? Now I’ll never be happy until I have my Mama one just like it.’”
In the Ellis Nassour biography, Patsy Cline, Patsy’s friends Dottie West and June Carter Cash both recalled Cline telling them that she felt a sense of impending doom and didn’t expect to live much longer in the months leading up to her death. Cline also told Loretta Lynn of this sense of doom.
She even began giving away personal items to friends, writing out her own last will on Delta Air Lines stationery and asking close friends to care for her children if anything should happen to her. She reportedly told Jordanaire back up singer Ray Walker as she exited the Grand Ole Opry a week before her death: “Honey, I’ve had two bad ones (accidents). The third one will either be a charm or it’ll kill me.”
Although very sick with the flu, on March 3, 1963, Patsy performed a benefit show at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas, for the family of a disc jockey, Cactus Jack Call, who had recently died in an automobile accident. Also performing on the show were George Jones, George Riddle and The Jones Boys, Billy Walker, Dottie West, Cowboy Copas, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper, and George McCormick and the Clinch Mountain Clan. Patsy Cline closed the show with “I’ll Sail My Ship Alone” to a thunderous ovation.
Dottie West was afraid for Patsy to fly and pleaded with her to ride back in the car with her and her husband, Bill. However, Patsy was anxious to get home to her children and refused West’s offer, saying, “Don’t worry about me, Hoss. When it’s my time to go, it’s my time.”
She called her mother from the airport and then boarded a Piper Comanche bound for Nashville, flown by her manager Randy Hughes, along with Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins. After stopping to refuel in Dyersburg, Tennessee, the plane took off at 6:07 pm. According to revelations by the airfield manager in the Nassour biography, he suggested that they stay the night after advising of high winds and inclement weather on the flight path, but Hughes responded, “I’ve already come this far. We’ll be there before you know it.”
They never made it to Nashville. The plane flew into severe weather and crashed at 6:20 p.m., according to Patsy’s wristwatch, in a forest just outside of Camden, Tennessee, only 90 miles from the destination. There were no survivors.
Patsy Cline was just 30 years old.
Patsy was buried in her hometown of Winchester, Virginia. With the help of Loretta Lynn and Dottie West a bell tower, erected in her memory at the cemetery, plays hymns daily at 6:00 p.m., the hour of her death.
Quotes About Patsy Cline:
“Patsy Cline belongs shoulder-to-shoulder with Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald.” – Elvis Costello
“It’s wonderful that whenever Patsy Cline’s name is mentioned, people’s voices fall and they become right sentimental. And, rightly so.” – Maya Angelou
“All Patsy Cline had to do was sing somebody else’s song and her version would outsell theirs because it would be so good!” – George Jones
“When I was a kid my Dad never let me sing Patsy Cline songs for one simple reason: they’ve already been done.” – Tanya Tucker
“She could sing country, she could sing pop, she could sing jazz — she could sing anything! She had the style and the voice and the charisma.” – Eddy Arnold
“If it had not been for people like Patsy, it wouldn’t be possible for women like me to do what I do today.” – k.d. lang
“There was a lot of hurt in Patsy’s voice. A lot of deep love in her voice. And I think she portrayed that.” – June Carter Cash
“Patsy Cline? Larger than life! She taught me emotion: raw, sincere, unashamed.” – Reba McEntire
“She was a lady, but when it came to her career, she had people (in the industry) right in the palm of her hand.” – Barbara Mandrell
“I think Patsy Cline made country music classy. She just opens her mouth, and it’s just heavenly.” – Melissa Etheridge
“I guess you could say that I’m the luckiest girl because I got to meet my true hero. She was a precious person. She made me a better singer, a better person. She was the consummate artist and human being.” – Dottie West
“She probably had the best pipes ever.” – Toby Keith
“There’s never going to be another Patsy Cline. Without her, I don’t think I would have lasted.” – Loretta Lynn
“I was a Patsy Cline fan long before we ever met. I loved her for the person she was, good-hearted and loyal. She loved her family, she loved to laugh, and she loved to sing. I’m so glad her music is timeless.” – Jan Howard
“Its a magic that’s indescribable. She just absolutely knew how to sing a song. Just made you believe every word. There’s never been another artist like her.” – Trisha Yearwood
“Undoubtedly, Patsy Cline was a trailblazer and in that respect, all women who are singular in a man’s field have a special power.” – Carly Simon
“There is no one who can touch Patsy Cline. Hell – I hang on every line!” – Jimmy Buffett
“Her delivery was so special that people that maybe didn’t like country music started listening to it because she had this mighty voice that was just heavenly! She didn’t care what anybody thought about her. She was just out there saying, ‘Hey, I can sing, and I‘m a girl. I love it, so don’t get in my way. Just let me sing and do my thing!’” – Dolly Parton
