Country Music Legends
Patsy Cline was born Virginia Patterson Hensley on September 8, 1932, in Winchester, VA. She is known for her strong, expressive contralto and her influence on country music and other genres, especially for women. Cline died in an airplane crash in 1963 at the age of 30. Let’s remember her on her birthday today with her song “Crazy.”
The song “Crazy” was written by Willie Nelson. Evidently, Patsy Cline did not care for the song initially when a young Nelson was shopping it around. However, the story goes that her producer Owen Bradley loved it as did her husband Charlie Dick. Cline was in a very bad car accidently shortly before she recorded “Crazy.” At the first session, a broken rib prevented her from hitting the high notes. However, she was able to do so two weeks later while standing on crutches. “Crazy” became one of Cline’s biggest hits. In late 1961 and then 1962, the song went to #2 on the U.C. Country Chart and Adult Contemporary Chart as well as #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Amusement and Music Operators Association says that “Crazy” is the most-played song on jukeboxes in the U.S. (The second is “Old Time Rock and Roll” by Bob Seger. The third is “House Dog” by Elvis Presley).
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I don’t recall ever hearing Patsy on the NYC rock stations I listened to in the late 50’s – early 60’s. I didn’t discover Patsy Cline til the late 70’s when Linda Ronstadt graced the cover of Time Magazine. The Feb 28, 1977 issue featured Linda on the cover with “Torchy Rock” after her name. The article mentioned her cover of Patsy Cline’s “Crazy”. That got me to look into Patsy’s music. She was great.