ABSTRACT
American country music singer, born Virginia Hensley in Winchester, Virginia. She was known both for her traditional country singing (with yodeling and growling), and for the country-pop style of the 1950s. She recorded first on the Four Star label in 1955, then moved to Decca. Her first big hit was “Walkin’after Midnight” in 1957 (Decca 30221). “I Fall to Pieces” (Decca 31205; reissued as MCA 51038; 1980),and the Willie Nelson song “Crazy” (Decca 31317) were two 1961 records that reached top hit status. She had 14 other chart songs, some of which were released posthumously. Loretta Lynn was a frequent touring partner. After her death in an air crash, Decca issued the Patsy Cline Story album (DXSB7176), which appeared on the Cash Box chart for eight weeks. In 1973 she was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Her career was the subject of a 1985 film, Sweet Dreams (Jessica Lange in the Cline role; the title coming from another of her songs). Cline was also portrayed (more effectively, by Beverly D’Angelo) in the 1980 film about Lynn’s life, Coal Miner’s Daughter. A stage re-creation by singer Rainie Cole, Always, Patsy Cline, was presented in 1991. Cline’s Four Star recordings were
reissued on LP by Rhino in 1989 on three records; these were later released on CD by Platinum Disc. MCA has reissued Cline’s Decca recordings in various different packages over the years.
