AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Patsy Cline

Artist:Patsy Cline

Song:Crazy

Album:Crazy: The Collection

Despite Patsy Cline's career being curtailed due to a 1963 plane crash, she is still considered to be one of the all time greats of country music. The 1961 single Crazy is her signature song. It was a top five country hit and a top ten pop hit. She was born Virginia Patterson Hensley Sept. 8, 1932 in Winchester, VA. Her mother was 16 when Patsy was born. Her father was a blacksmith who couldn't find work. So they were poor. Patsy told Loretta Lynn that her father sexually abused her. Patsy was 13 years old when she was hospitalized with rheumatic fever. Upon her recovery, she suddenly had this big booming voice. So she started performing at local clubs and the local radio station. Patsy auditioned unsuccessfully for the Grand Ole Opry at age 15. She joined Bill Peer's Melody Boys and Girls in 1952. That was when she met her first husband Gerald Cline and changed her stage name to Patsy Cline. Patsy signed with Four Star Records in 1954. Four Star was a small label that leased recordings to Decca. So Decca house producer Owen Bradley was brought in to produce. The problem was Four Star owner Bill McCall chose all the songs. And except for the 1957 single Walkin' After Midnight, Patsy's Four Star recordings were unsuccessful. This has mostly been blamed on mediocre songs. Patsy met her second husband Charlie Dick in 1956. And he seemed to have a better handle on what kind of songs she should be recording. After Patsy sang Walkin' After Midnight on a 1957 episode of Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, it was a big hit. Subsequent singles did not do well. After marrying Charlie Dick and having a daughter, Patsy moved to Nashville in 1960 and signed with manager Randy Hughes. He helped her become a Grand Ole Opry member. Then she left Four Star for Decca. Owen Bradley was still her producer. But he chose better songs. I Fall to Pieces was a top five country hit in 1961. Then on June 14, Patsy almost died in a car accident. After her recovery, Crazy was released and reached #2 on the Country Singles chart and #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. Crazy was written by Willie Nelson. It was his first hit. Nelson recorded a demo. Dick really liked the song and insisted Patsy record it. Patsy recorded three albums for Decca. And then she died in a plane crash on Mar. 5, 1963 at age 30. Randy Hughes was the pilot and the weather was bad. They probably shouldn't have been flying. There are tons of Patsy Cline comps out there. I recommend this 2CD budget comp from the British reissue label Edsel, Here's Patsy Cline performing Crazy on a 1961 episode of Grand Ole Opry.