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"I guess I can say that I was one
of the luckiest girls in the world to get to know my real hero. She was a
precious person." ~Dottie West
Dottie
met Patsy on April 1, 1961, backstage at the Grand Ole Opry. Patsy
showed a genuine interest in her career, and in a matter of minutes, they
were like old friends. "I absolutely idolized Patsy," Dottie said.
" I felt that she was the greatest singer...I know that
she was just the best. Patsy invited me over
to her house," Dottie recalled, "and, before you knew it, we were visiting
and calling each other as soon as we'd come off the road. I wasn't
busy in those days, to say the least." |
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Dottie would become
busier thanks to Patsy. She occasionally used Bill as a touring musician
and Dottie to help with wardrobe and hair. Dottie would watch Patsy's show
from the wings and learned how to work an audience.
Patsy would also invite
Dottie to her recording sessions. Dottie would sit in the corner booth and
eat French Fries and whatever, and listen to her sing. Jan Howard and
Brenda Lee were also frequent guests. Dottie remembered at those sessions
that, "Patsy would say [to producer Owen Bradley], 'Well, Hoss, can't we do it
over?' She never seemed happy with what she had just done, and yet it was
so fantastic!
"I learned so much from
watching her sing. She completely reinvented me as a singer. One
thing I'll always remember her saying to me was,
'If you can't do it with feeling - don't!' I always
remembered that."
Just a
few months after Patsy and Dottie met, Patsy was involved in a near-fatal
car accident. |
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Listening to
Patsy's
playback
(Cabin Fever
Video) |
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On
Wednesday, June 14, 1961, Patsy and her brother, Sam, went to a local
shopping center in downtown Madison, Tennessee. A storm was heading
their way and Patsy wanted to get home before it started. While Sam
was driving, Patsy was showing him places of interest along the Hills Lane
section of Old Hickory Boulevard, including her former house. At 4:43,
tragedy struck.
According to Patsy's recount of the story, the road they were on dipped into
a valley before it went up a little hill on the other side. Two cars
were in the opposite lane when the second car tried to pass the car in
front. Although the road was clearly marked with a double yellow line,
the driver gunned the car and tried to get around, only hitting Patsy's car
in the process - head on.
Sam had minor injuries, but Patsy
was severely injured. She had gone through the
windshield and back. Her right hip was knocked out of its
socket; her right wrist was fractured; and a grotesque cut ran from just
above the hairline on her left side, across her forehead to her left
eyebrow, across her nose and into the right eyebrow. |
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(Cabin
Fever
Video) |
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Dottie just happened to have the radio on when the news hit. The
accident had happened just a few blocks from where she and Bill were living,
so she hurried over. "I was a mess. My hair was in curlers and I
didn't have on any makeup. I just dropped everything, jumped in the
car, and drove like crazy to the site."
When Dottie arrived, she found Patsy sitting on the side of the road.
She was horrified by what she saw, "but what I saw there showed me a lot
about the real Patsy." She had cut an artery and was a bloody mess.
But even as bad as she was, she kept
insisting that they treat the others first and get them
to the hospital.
(Years later, when Dottie had her fatal accident, she too, insisted that the
driver be treated before her.)
They
finally got Patsy into the ambulance and Dottie rode with her to the
hospital. "On the way there I picked the glass from the windshield out
of her hair. I was amazed that she was still alive. I tried not
to look at her because I didn't want her to see me crying. She made
jokes all the way there. I marveled at her strength. I thought,
'My God. This lady is absolutely amazing!'"
Patsy
made it through the crash, but was afraid to ride in cars the rest of her
life. And since the crash, she had a foreboding feeling that she would
not live to see her 30th birthday - and would often tell Dottie so.
Patsy did live to see her 30th birthday, much to Dottie's relief.
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Two weeks
before Patsy died, she called Dottie frantically asking her to come over.
She'd had another knock-down-drag-out fight with Charlie. Worried, Dottie
hurried over.
Patsy
told her what had happened and, after a few drinks, was calming down.
After pouring another drink, she went to a shelf and pulled down a bulging
scrapbook that she and Dottie had been working on. They had been
constantly compiling articles about Patsy, sheet music, reviews, chart listings,
trade ads, and photos taken with other stars such as Ferlin Husky, Faron Young,
Jimmy Dean, and even Elvis. Patsy loved Elvis and kept "my special
portrait" inside the back cover. They talked and reminisced over the
pictures and clippings. Patsy excused herself and when she came back she
gave the scrapbook to Dottie. Dottie refused at first, but there was no
arguing with "the Cline."
Dottie took the
book home and thumbed through the pages again. There
she found a note and a check from Patsy. "I know
you're having it hard and that you're not working. You
can use this to pay the rent. Love, Patsy."
Dottie had no idea how Patsy had known. "That night I
had just enough money to put a dollar's
worth of gas in
the car. We [Dottie and her husband Bill] had been
trying to get enough money together to pay the rent and
hadn't been able to."
(Dottie saved the scrapbook from her burning house. She later
returned it to Julie Dick Fudge, Patsy's daughter. She has since restored
it.) |
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Patsy's husband Charlie with the scrapbook
Crook & Chase tribute to Patsy Cline 1993 |
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On
March 3rd, 1963, Patsy performed at a benefit concert for popular Kansas
City deejay, Jack "Cactus Jack" Call, who had died in January. Also
slated to be on the show were Opry greats Roy Acuff, Cowboy Copas, Wilma Lee
and Stoney Cooper, Dottie West, George Jones, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Billy
Walker, and WSM radio personality Ralph Emery. Mr. Acuff and Mr. Emery
had to cancel at the last minute. The show took place
at the Kansas City Memorial Building. Shows were at
2:00, 5:15 & 8:15 p.m. Oddly enough, Patsy's name did not appear in the local paper's ad--just on the actual program. |
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That
night Patsy closed the show. She sang all her
big hits and included new ones from her February sessions, "Sweet Dreams"
and "Faded Love." "I never missed the opportunity to watch Patsy
perform," Dottie said. "I went out front and saw the whole set.
As usual, Patsy was magnificent. She never gave an audience short
shrift. No matter how late it was or if the show was running overtime,
she did all her big songs. She had the audience on their feet
screaming for more."
Dottie
also remembered the dress Patsy wore at that last performance. "She
was standing there in this draped chiffon dress, and she was just beautiful.
As I watched her, I thought, 'My God. She sings like an angel and she
looks like one.' " |
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Bill
and Dottie made it back to Nashville late Monday night. Patsy, Randy,
Hawkshaw Hawkins and Cowboy Copas left Kansas City
early Tuesday afternoon. They followed the storm to Little Rock and
landed there to wait. They went from there to Dyersburg to refuel and
then headed home. The weather report was still bad, but Randy wanted
to go on. They taxied off at 6:07 p.m.
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Dottie
was in deep sleep when Grandmother West knocked on the bedroom door.
Visibly upset, Mrs. West told Dottie of the phone call she just received.
"The plane Randy was flying crashed. It's crashed and they
think for sure it's the one Patsy's in!"
Dottie, in disbelief, woke Bill and turned on the radio.
There had to be survivors, so they started making
frantic phone calls. "I had to know," Dottie said.
"And, my God, it was true."
"I
couldn't bring myself to believe that she was gone. It wasn't easy
accepting her death, nor would it be easy to go on without her. But I
had to."
"I still
miss her. I know she's dancing with the angels and singing in heaven's
band. I think of her often, but try not to cry. I thank God she
was a part of my life." |
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Patsy was born
in Gore, VA
Her given name was Virginia Patterson Hensley
Patsy won a dance contest when she was 4 years old
Patsy played the piano
Sang with a local groups - Gene Shiner's Metronomes and Bill
Peer & The Melody Boys
Patsy's stage name came from her middle name, Patterson
Patsy's first record label was 4-Star in 1953
Patsy married Gerald Cline in 1953
Patsy moved to Decca records and began her very successful
recording career with producer Owen Bradly in 1960
Walkin' After Midnight was originally written for pop
star, Kay Starr
Patsy appeared on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts on
January 21, 1957 - she won!
With her success on AGTS, Walkin' After Midnight
reached #3 on the Country Chart and #15 on the Pop Chart
Patsy married Charlie Dick in 1957
On January 9, 1960, Patsy fulfills her dream by becoming a
member of the Grand Ole Opry
I Fall To Pieces was her first #1 record
Patsy received three standing ovations the first time she
performed Crazy at the Opry
Patsy played
Carnage Hall
Johnny Cash
was her favorite Country singer - Kay Starr was her favorite
Pop singer
Patsy played the Mint Casino In Las Vegas in November of
1962.
Patsy and Charlie have two children, Randy and Julia (Julie)
Cowboy Copas,
Hawkshaw Hawkins and Randy Hughes died in the plane along
with Patsy in 1963
Patsy was the
first solo female vocalist to be inducted into the Country
Music Hall of Fame in Nashville
She was immortalized on the big screen in 1985 by Jessica
Lange in the movie Sweet Dreams
Patsy is only the second woman in country music history
to be awarded a "diamond" award -- for sales of 10 million
records (Patsy Cline Greatest Hits)
Patsy has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame
Patsy remains one of MCA's (who bought Decca) top 5 selling
artists
Patsy had 2 #1 Country Singles
She had 9 Top Ten singles
One Top Ten Pop hit
Her biggest single was She's Got You from 1962
Patsy had 3 Top Ten Country Albums
The National Academy of Recording Arts And Sciences awarded
Patsy with their Lifetime Achievement Award
Patsy was posthumously award the first Golden Voice Award
for a female artist (Dottie was the second!)
* Patsy
Cline
* Golden Hits
* In Memorandum
* A Legend
* Reflections
* Showcase
* Sentimentally Yours
* Here's Patsy Cline
* Country Music Hall Of Fame
* The Patsy Cline Story
* Portrait
* That's How A Heartache Begins
* Here's Patsy Cline
* Greatest Hits
* The
Patsy Cline Collection - 4 cd
* Live At The Opry I & II
* Live At The Cimarron Ballroom
* Birth Of A Star (from
appearances on the Arthur Godfrey Show)
* Always
* Remembering (With Jim Reeves)
* Patsy Cline 12 Greatest Hits
* Sweet Dreams Soundtrack
* The Definitive Collection
* 25 All-Time Greatest Hits - The 4-Star Years
* Remembering Patsy Cline
Other:
*
Always...Patsy Cline - The Original Cast Album
* Remembering Patsy Cline
* Duets
* The Real Patsy
Cline
*
Patsy Cline - Remembering Patsy
*
Legends Of Country - Loretta Lynn And Patsy Cline
* Sweet Dreams Still - Anthology
*
Patsy: The Life And Times Of Patsy Cline
* Honky Tonk Angel
* Remembering Patsy
* Love Always, Patsy
* The Real Patsy Cline
* I Fall To Pieces
* Patsy Cline
* Patsy Cline, Singing Girl From
The Shenandoah Valley
* Patsy Cline: An Intimate Bio |
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