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<"b00007m9nn2999"> About the Artist
"Death cannot kill what never dies." This phrase aptly describes the career of Virginia Patterson Hensley AKA Patsy Cline. From 1954 to her death in 1963, Patsy Cline recorded no more than 100 songs. Yet, that relatively small catalog of material has given rise to her status as a country music legend.

The story of the impoverished Hensley family from Gore, Virginia and little Virginia Hensley’s subsequent rise to stardom has been glamorized numerous times in books, film and lore. But let’s back up a little.

In 1948, at age 16, with her family, Virginia Hensley took her first trip to Nashville on the advice of Grand Ole Opry member Wally Fowler. She made a positive impression on Roy Acuff, among others. They wanted more people to hear her. Unfortunately, the Hensley family could stay only that day leaving young Virginia dejected, but not hopeless.

She returned home and continued performing in the beer joints, taverns and clubs - the only available local venues for an aspiring country chanteuse to hone her craft. Enter Bill Peer. Not only did Mr. Peer give Virginia Hensley a job singing in his band, he gave her the stage name "Patsy," mistakenly assuming this to be her middle name.

Another man entered her life and eventually suggested she take another name as well…his. Gerald Cline became her husband in 1953 and Patsy Cline, the persona, was born.

It was also in ’53 that Virginia Hensley made her second trip to Nashville, but this time as Patsy Cline. Thanks (a lot) to the venerable Ernest Tubb, Patsy received some over due exposure by appearing on ET’s Midnight Jamboree.

For Patsy, the next 18 months included important industry contacts, talent contest victories, radio show appearances and demo tapes. One such tape found its way to Bill McCall and, in September 1954, he signed Patsy Cline to a recording contract with his 4- Star record label. The next year, McCall leased Cline’s rights to Decca Records where Owen Bradley began producing her. Music Mill Entertainment compiled this project of a raw and very country talent, Patsy Cline Country, from these 4-Star sessions.

1957 was the breakthrough year for Patsy. She moved to Nashville with her new husband, Charlie Dick and had her first hit. "Walking After Midnight" was originally intended for pop singer Kay Starr. However, Starr’s label rejected the song. Fortunately, Patsy eventually recorded it using her unquestionable style and turned a pop song into a country classic. "Midnight" and the B-side, "A Poor Man’s Roses," became her first hits on both the country and pop charts.

It was 1960 before Patsy Cline was able to follow this success. That year brought with it the end of the 4-Star deal, a membership to her esteemed Grand Ole Opry and a new exclusive Decca recording contract. During this three-year period, she had her biggest hits and developed from her late ‘50’s cowgirl persona into a more polished and sophisticated image.

Glamorized in the 1985 film Sweet Dreams were the tumultuous life and tragic death of Patsy Cline. Even though her mortal body is gone, an immortal body of work she leaves behind as a legacy. That legacy includes being the first female performer inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1973 and being one of the best-selling country artists of all time. Just below the March 3rd, 1963 date of death on her tombstone reads the inscription "Death cannot kill what never dies."

Country, Music, Patsy Cline, Country, Country & Western, Nashville Sound/Countrypolitan, Pop, Rockabilly, Traditional Country, United States of America

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