PATSY CLINE

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A PORTRAIT OF

SIDE ONE
1. FADED LOVE
John Wills - Bob Wills
2. I’LL SAIL MY SHIP ALONE
Henry Bernard – Henry Thurston – Lois Mann – Morry Burns
3. WHEN YOU NEED A LAUGH
Hank Cochran
4. CRAZY ARMS
Chuck Seals – Ralph Mooney
5. ALWAYS
Irving Berlin
6. WHEN I GET THRU WITH YOU (YOU’LL LOVE ME TOO)
Harlan Howard

SIDE TWO
1. BLUE MOON OF KENTUCKY
Bill Monroe
2. SOMEDAY YOU’LL WANT ME TO WANT YOU
Jimmie Hodges
3. WHO CAN I COUNT ON
Sammy Masters
4. YOU TOOK HIM OFF MY HANDS
Harlan Howard – Wynn Stewart – Skeets McDonald
5. YOUR KINDA LOVE
Roy Drucky – Alex Zanetis
6. DOES YOUR HEART BEAT FOR ME
Russ Morgan – Arnold Johnson – Mitchell Parish

The paper on which were printed the grim, black headlines of the day following the plane crash is yellowing fast with the passing of the months. And most of the nation’s disc jockeys have finally ceased to mention, as they introduce each of her records, how suddenly, tragically she was snatched from us in the prime of her career, the prime of her life.

Now – at last – Patsy can be remembered as Patsy, herself, would have wanted to be remembered.

She will be remembered at home in Winchester, Virginia, as the tyke of just four tender years, the brown-haired little charmer who won a tap-dancing contest in giving the first real sign of the kid of talent which was one day to make her a star. Twelve years later she had matured into a singer of great promise, as so readily recognized by Wally Fowler, whose Oak Ridge Quartet was then a regular feature of the Grand Old Opry. Wally’s assurance to Patsy’s mother that the pretty youngster’s talent was of real professional caliber won the mother’s permission for her to go to Nashville and tackler a career in earnest.

She will be remembered by viewers of the Arthur Godfrey nighttime television show of January 21, 1957, then the highest-rated program of all, when Patsy introduced “Walking After Midnight,” and launched her DECCA recording of the song on a skyrocketing course to the top of every popularity chart for weeks and months thereafter.

She will be remembered by those who came to the benefit performances in Kansas City, Kansas, that chill march afternoon and evening, when she was at her most brilliant on stage. Some who were looking on from the wings tell us that Patsy had never seemed more a glow with enjoyment in entertaining her fans.

This PORTRAIT is the finest kind of “remembering” music where Patsy Cline is concerned. Like the enthusiasm she exhibited in the final performance of her life, this also is Patsy “At Her Most Brilliant.”

All that Patsy was, she is. For her enormous appeal to the so-called “Pop” and “Country” record fans combined is predicted by insiders of the music world to far outlive the vast majority of the “fad” talents, the over-night sensations who shoot toward the moon like a space capsule, but whose orbit is pitifully brief. There is truly a bit of Patsy’s soul in every song she sang, every song she still sings for us now. Few ever came face to face with a recording-studio microphone so consumed with the desire to let emotions well up in the deepest reaches of her heart and then let them burst forth to kiss and caress every note. “In A Ballad by Patsy,” as one close friend said not long ago,” it was as though every note were wrapped in love.”

So it has been with every Patsy Cline album. But so it is especially with these choices from the music she has left us. “Crazy Arms” and “Someday You’ll Want Me To Want You” are perfect examples, but then the same is true of “Faded Love” and “I’ll Sail My Ship Alone,” and all the others as well. Everything here is a reflection of the greatness of Patsy.

This is Patsy to be enjoyed as Patsy, herself, would have wished.

COUNTRY HALL OF FAME

On January 21st, 1957, a talented little gal stood in front of the CBS television cameras and sang a song. The vocalist was Patsy Cline, the cameras were shooting the Arthur Godfrey “Talent Scout” program, and the song was “walkin’ After Midnight.” When the time came for the studio audience to vote for a winner, the applause put Patsy right on top.

Evidently it wasn’t only the studio audience that liked the way Patsy sang “Walkin’ After Midnight” – for during the next few months her recordings of the tune was among the nation’s best sellers. This record, incidentally, had been rushed out to meet the instant demand that followed the Godfrey program.

Patsy is a native of Winchester, Virginia. Her first public performance was at the age of four, when she took first prize for tap-dancing in an amateur contest. When she was eight she received a piano for her birthday, and her interest in singing grew as she learned to accompany herself at the keyboard. Throughout her childhood, Patsy was active in all church choir performances, and at sixteen her vocals activities expanded to include school plays, benefits, and even club appearances.

Soon thereafter, Patsy had the “Big Break” that led her successfully along the road to stardom. Wally Fowler, of “Grand Ole Opry” fame, was appearing at the Palace Theater in Winchester. Pasty managed to audition for him, and not only was she given a guest spot on the bill, but Fowler was so impressed with the teenager that he persuaded her parents to let her go to Nashville – often called “Music City, USA” – to try her luck.

It was by no means a Cinderella success story, but while in Nashville and even after she returned to Virginia, Patsy made many friends in the music business. They had faith in her, and helped her in every way possible.

Patsy’s success with “Walkin’ After Midnight” was followed by hit after hit; “Three Cigarettes In An Ashtray” and “Ain’t No Wheels On This Ship” are hallmarks in a career that zoomed at top speed and brought success, fame and fortune to this girl who sang with great sincerity. It’s this sincerity and a long string of hits that got her nominated to the “Country Music Hall Of Fame” this collection stands in tribute to a talent that will never be forgotten.

SIDE A
WALKIN’ AFTER MIDNIGHT
HIDIN’ OUT
FINGERPRINTS
I’M BLUE AGAIN
HUNGRY FOR LOVE
LIFE’S RAILWAY TO HEAVEN
A STRANGER IN MY ARMS
COME ON IN

SIDE B
AIN’T NO WHEELS ON THIS SHIP
A CHURCH, A COURTROOM, THEN GOODBYE
LOVESICK BLUES
TODAY, TOMORROW, AND FOREVER
THREE CIGARETTES IN AN ASHTRAY
I CRIED ALL THE WAY TO THE ALTAR
THE HEART YOU BREAK
A POOR MAN’S ROSES

GOLDEN HITS

SIDE ONE
JUST OUT OF REACH
AIN’T NO WHEELS ON THIS SHIP
STOP THE WORLD
IF I COULD SEE THE WORLD
I CAN’T FORGET
I CA SEE AN ANGEL

SIDE TWO
WALKING AFTER MIDNIGHT
TOO MANY SECRETS
THREE CIGARETTES IN AN ASHTRAY
IN CARE OF THE BLUES
HUNGRY FOR LOVE
I DON’T WANTA

All tunes are published by 4 Star Publishing Co.

What are the ingredients of a successful singing career? This Album - Patsy Cline's first for Everest Records - hold the answer.

To herald the occasion of joining Everest's artist roster, Patsy offers an array of songs closely identified with her meteoric rise in popularity. Within these selections and the manner in which she performs them can be found the essence of her appeal.

The songs in this album embrace many moods. Only an artist with her rare versatility can capture each with such conviction. She is just as much at home in a bright, rhythmically contagious number as she is in a soulful, Blues-tinged ballad. Her vocal versatility is further evidenced in the fact that she handles with equal ease and proficiency both "Pop" and "Country & Western" selections.

Perhaps the most unusual factor that makes Patsy stand apart from so many in the current crop of vocal performers can be found in her singing style. She does not have to resort to vocal tricks in putting a song across. Her style is straight-forward, and down-to-earth. It's the feeling that she puts into a performance, and not the use of vocal devices that makes her singing count.

A style such as this is achieved only after years of experience. Despite her youth, Patsy is a veteran in the vocal arts. She started singing at the age of four. Her ability to hold an audience received early recognition, for at that age she walked away with honors at an amateur contest. By the time she reached the age of eight, she was accompanying herself at the piano. She was a regular member of the church choir in her hometown of Winchester, Virginia until she was sixteen.

Soon after that, the songbird of Virginia's Shenandoah Valley spread her wings to eventually become one of America’s favorites. After playing benefits, she started to appear at nightclubs and was heard by Wally Fowler. She appeared on his show, as well as, "Grand Ol' Opry," and rapidly was becoming a darling of the Country & Western field.

Then, in 1957, Patsy Cline appeared on Arthur Godfrey's TV "Talent Scouts" program which she won, and with it, won the hearts of all who heard her. It is significant that Patsy would include in this album her memorable rendition of "Walking After Midnight" - The song she sang on the Godfrey show that made her an overnight favorite.

What are the ingredients of a successful singing career? This album holds the answer.

LEE ZHITO

GREATEST HITS

Patsy Cline isn’t just a name fleetingly mentioned in the history of Country Music - she’s an entire chapter, all by herself!

Hers is the Country-Blues voice that shall never be stilled, for there are many albums to keep Patsy’s remarkable compassion-in-song with us forever. But this one has been purposefully designed to be treasured above all the others: This, more than any of those albums which have gone before it, brings you a classic collection of the songs which were unquestionably her greatest.

“Walking After Midnight” is remembered as the first record to call worldwide attention to Patsy, although many of us had known her, adored her, for years before the world at large became aware of the towering talent she possessed. “Walking After Midnight” did not make her a full-fledged star until the spring of 1957, but there are those folks who were lucky enough to have first heard he in 1948 and to have followed her career through appearances on such shows as the “Old Dominion Barn Dance,” “Louisiana Hayride,” the “Big D Jamboree,” Ozark Jubilee,” the “Jimmy Dean Show” of the mid-1950’s and, finally, as the peak of her performing lifetime was reached, on the “Grand Ole Opry.”

“Crazy”, “I Fall To Pieces” and “She’s Got You” – all of which are featured in this album, of course – were three of the highest points of Patsy’s stardom. But, for those who can honestly count themselves among her most loyal admirers, those three were no finer examples of her ability to arouse her audiences than the lesser known “So Wrong’, “Faded Love” and “You’re Stronger Than Me”.

She has left us also the magic touch of her blues treatment of “Sweet Dreams” (Of You) and “Back in Baby’s Arms”, and of a song that many find to be the most appealing of any she ever sang, “Leavin’ On Your Mind”.

Owen Bradley, Red Foley, Arthur Godfrey and, in fact, every person who gave Patsy’s budding career a boost felt compelled to do so, because each recognized from the very first moment she sang for him that hers was an exceptional voice that had to be given the opportunity for a wider audience. And yet it was not the voice alone, more important, they knew, it was the heart of this girl which made the songs she sang have such an overpowering effect on all who listened.

The Patsy Cline enshrined in the hearts of our generation will go on and on gathering tens of thousands of new admirers in the years to come. Many who are too young to have watched her rise to fame will discover Patsy for the first time in this collection of her hits. Here they will hear twelve of the greatest reasons why her name has earned far more than just passing mention in the annals of Country Blues . . . why hers is an entire chapter in Country Music history, all by itself.

All vocals with chorus and instrumental accompaniment

SIDE ONE
1. WALKING AFTER MIDNIGHT . . . . . . . .2:00
Don Hecht – Alan Block
2. SWEET DREAMS (OF YOU) . . . . . . . . . 2:33
Don Gibson
3. CRAZY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2:41
Willie Nelson
4. I FALL TO PIECES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:47
Hank Cochran – Harlan Howard
5. SO WRONG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:58
Carl Perkins
6. STRANGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mel Tillis – Fred Burch

SIDE TWO
1. BACK IN BABY’S ARMS . . . . . . . . . . .
Bob Montgomery
2. SHE’S GOT YOU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2:58
Hank Cochran
3. FADED LOVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:43
John Wills – Bob Wills
4. WHY CAN’T HE BE YOU . . . . . . . . . . . .3:21
Hank Cochran
5. YOU’RE STRONGER THAN ME . . . . . . 2:51
Hank Cochran – Jimmy Key
6. LEAVIN’ ON YOUR MIND . . . . . . . . . . 2:24
Wayne Walker – Webb Pierce
All Selections BMI

GREATEST COUNTY

While still in her teens, Patsy was heard by Jimmy Dean and signed to appear on his TV show in Washington, D.C., where she was an immediate success.

Patsy Cline continued her climb to stardom appearing on many television and radio shows including Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts and his regular network radio show.

Patsy entered the Pop field but she preferred and was dedicated to Country Music. She joined the “Grand Old Opry” show in 1959 and became known as the “Darling of the Country and Western field.”

Patsy Cline was constantly singing and performing on records, TV, radio and traveled to all 50 states making personal appearance.

She had just finished a benefit performance in Kansas City, Kansas and was returning to her beloved Virginia when death struck so suddenly. A light plane carrying Patsy Cline along with two other fine Opry stars, Cowboy Copas and Haskshaw Hawkins, crashed, killing all three.

Included in this album are some of Patsy Cline’s Greatest Hits: “Walkin’ After Midnight”, “Three Cigarettes In An Ashtray”, and “I Can See An Angel Walkin’ “, to name but a few.

We are proud to bring you this album, featuring Holly Lane, in a tribute to Patsy Cline who will always be remembered as one of the great Country Music stars.

THE PATSY CLINE STORY

The Best of Patsy Cline

Patsy Cline was country music’s greatest tragedienne. She was the hard-luck kid, hillbilly equivalent of Edith Piaf, Billie Holiday, and maybe a little Judy Garland. Like all of them, Patsy lived hard, and more than her share of bad luck, and a considerable amount of fame. Like all of them, raw emotion seeped through every note she sang. And, like all of them, her influence has far exceeded what success she enjoyed alive.

Virginia Patterson Hensley was her name; born in Winchester, Virginia, on September 8, 1932. Her parents were poor enough that, in her mid-teens, she dropped out of school to support them, her brother Sam, and sister, Silvia Mae. At nights, she sang anywhere people would let her: in church or on street corners, at home or in honky-tonks, with bands or without. For a couple of dollars a night, or for nothing. The routine seldom varied: after work, Patsy’s mother would pick her up at the drugstore, and take her to wherever there was an opportunity to sign. They’d return home well after closing time, allowing Patsy a few hours’ sleep before it was time to return to the drugstore.

When Patsy was sixteen, she, her mother, sister, and a family friend drove to Nashville, seeking some sort of a big break. They slept outdoors, on park benches, to help cut down on expenses. Somehow, Patsy was heard by Roy Acuff, who had her perform on his radio program after an afternoon audition. The station, WSM – home of the Grand Ole Opry – asked her to stay another day to audition as a possible regular. But the family couldn’t afford to take the extra time; they’d barely enough gas money for the trip home.

Back in Winchester, Patsy managed to convince bandleader Bill Peer to let her join his Melody Playboys as vocalist. The band became popular around Winchester; Patsy became more popular still. But whenever an opportunity to leave Peer for more money presented itself, Patsy would remain loyal. Hindsight tells us that her sense of responsibility may have held her career back by several years. But we’ll never know.

In 1953, Patsy married one Gerald Cline. It was by all evidence an unhappy union, and lasted only three years. During that time, Patsy’s reputation grew, and she appeared on a number of regional TV shows, from the Louisiana Hayride and Old Dominion Barn Dance to the Ozark Jubilee and Jimmy Dean Show, from Washington, D.C. She divorced Cline, and on September 15, 1957 married Charlie Dick, a Korean War veteran also from Winchester. That marriage was destined to last.

While a local star, Patsy had auditioned for a slot on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts program. Godfrey’s producers wanted Patsy, it’s said, but not her band. She went home, refusing to appear without them.

At about the same time, she signed a contract with Four Star Records. She recorded a number of singles, all of them unsuccessful. Patsy landed another opportunity to sing on the Godfrey show; this time, she accepted. The son, sung on the nationally-televised program of January 28, 1957, was “Walkin’ After Midnight.” That did it. Her record of the tune, released on Decca, reached the #3 position of Billboard’s country chart.

1958 found Patsy confused about her career, which was blooming, and her marriage, which was strong and happy. She temporarily dropped out of show business, on the crest of a major hit, to settle down with Charlie and their new-born daughter, Julia.

The retirement didn’t last, thanks to Charlie. Realizing that Patsy needed encouragement, he moved the family to Nashville and found employment with a printer – allowing Patsy to join the Grand Ole Opry at last.

In 1960, Patsy released her recording, “I Fall to Pieces.” The first of several songs by composer Hank Cochran, she would record. It proved to be an idea vehicle for her throbbing, heartfelt voice. After many weeks of intensive airplay, the song became Patsy’s first #1 record.

Even then, tragedy was not far away. On June 14, 1961, just as “I Fall to Pieces” was beginning its ascent, Patsy was critically injured in an automobile accident. She was hospitalized for months, finally returning to work on crutches.

After “I Fall to Pieces,’ the hits continued unabated. Many of them are on this album: “Crazy,” “She’s Got You,” ‘Imagine That,” “So Wrong,’ ‘Leavin’ On Your Mind,” and “Sweet Dreams” all made the Top 20; most of them in the top half. “Crazy,” a Willie Nelson tune, made #2. “She’s Got You,” another Hank Cochran song, made #1. Patsy toured the nation, playing major showplaces and making top money. Her friends included such stars-to-be as Dottie West and Loretta Lynn. She bought a Cadillac, a new home with gold dust imbedded in the wall paint, and saw that her parents and – by then – two children would be well taken care of.

Patsy also took care of her friends. That Christian attitude would bring her ultimate tragedy.

A friend, disc jockey Cactus Jack McCall, had died in a car crash. Several Nashville entertainers said that they’d appear at a benefit for McCall’s widow, in Kansas City, Missouri. Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper drove. Lloyd, “Cowboy” Copas, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Patsy, and her manager and pilot, Randy Hughes, flew in Hughes’ light plane. Billy Walker flew by commercial airliner, as there was no room for him in the plane.

They left on Sunday, March 3, 1963. Patsy’s current record was “Leavin’ On Your Mind.” The Hughes plane never made it to Kansas City. Three days later, what was left of it and the passengers were found by a search party, on top of a mountain near Camden, Tennessee.

The Legacy
It’s been fourteen years, now. Patsy was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1973. She has become a legend outside of country music circles, as more and more people discover her and her songs. Linda Ronstadt has enjoyed success with “I Fall to Pieces,” in a version that Patsy would recognize immediately. Emmylou Harris’
Hit rendition of “Sweet Dreams” would not have existed had it not been for Patsy’s recording of the Don Gibson tune. And, Patsy’s old friend Loretta Lynn released an album of songs associated with Cline that became one of the best-selling albums in her career so far. These may be only the beginnings of a full-scale revival of interest in Patsy Cline – which would be just fine.
- by Todd Everett

Devotees, fans, family and friends were deeply and sincerely saddened by the tragic plane crash that claimed the life of songstress Patsy Cline, bringing her incomparable singing career to an abrupt conclusion. Patsy has left an emptiness . . . a void among female vocalists that is almost impossible to fill. Nevertheless, her recordings live on, as revealed in this extraordinary collection, perpetuating her talent and popularity for posterity.

FIRST RECORD
SIDE I

HEARTACHES
SHE’S GOT YOU
WALKING AFTER MIDNIGHT
STRANGE
LEAVIN’ ON YOUR MIND
SOUTH OF THE BORDER

SIDE II

FOOLIN’ ‘ROUND
I FALL TO PIECES
A POOR MAN’S ROSES
TRA LE LA LE LA TRIANGLE
TRUE LOVE
IMAGINE THAT

SECOND RECORD
SIDE 1

BACK IN BABY’S ARMS
CRAZY
YOU’RE STRONGER THAN ME
SEVEN LONELY DAYS
SWEET DREAMS
YOUR CHEATIN’ HEART

SIDE II
SAN ANTONIO ROSE
WHY CAN’T HE BE YOU
THE WAYWARD WIND
SO WRONG
I LOVE YOU SO MUCH IT HURTS
YOU BELONG TO ME

MUSIC IS THE OXYGEN OF MY WORLD

Monday, January 4, 2010

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