One of the greatest singers in the history of country music, Patsy
Cline also helped blaze a trail for female singers to assert
themselves as an integral part of the
Nashville-dominated country music industry. She was not alone in
this regard; Kitty Wells had become a star several years before
Cline's big hits in the early '60s. Brenda Lee, who shared Cline's
producer, did just as much to create a country-pop crossover during
the same era; Skeeter Davis briefly enjoyed similar success. Cline
has the most legendary aura of any female country singer, however,
perhaps due to an early death that cut her off just after she had
entered her prime.
Cline began recording in the mid-'50s, and although she recorded
quite a bit of material between 1955 and 1960 (17 singles in all),
only one of them was a hit. That song, "Walkin' After Midnight," was
both a classic and a Top 20 pop smash. Those who are accustomed to
Cline's famous early-'60s hits are in for a bit of a shock when
surveying her '50s sessions (which have been reissued on several
Rhino compilations). At times she sang flat-out rockabilly; she also
tried some churchy tear-weepers. She couldn't follow up "Walkin'
After Midnight," however, in part because of an exploitative deal
that limited her to songs from one publishing company.
Circumstances were not wholly to blame for Cline's commercial
failures. She would have never made it as a rockabilly singer,
lacking the conviction of Wanda Jackson or the spunk of Brenda Lee.
In fact, in comparison with her best work, she sounds rather stiff
and ill-at-ease on most of her early singles. Things took a radical
turn for the better on all fronts in 1960, when her initial contract
expired. With the help of producer Owen Bradley (who had worked on
her sessions all along), Cline began selecting material that was both
more suitable and of a higher quality than her previous outings.
"I Fall to Pieces," cut at the very first session where Cline was at
liberty to record what she wanted, was the turning point in her
career. Reaching number one in the country charts and number 12 pop,
it was the first of several country-pop crossovers she was to enjoy
over the next couple of years. More important, it set a prototype for
commercial Nashville country at its best. Owen Bradley crafted lush
orchestral arrangements, with weeping strings and backup vocals by
the Jordanaires, that owed more to pop (in the best sense) than
country.
The country elements were provided by the cream of Nashville's
session musicians, including guitarist Hank Garland, pianist Floyd
Cramer, and drummer Buddy Harmon. Cline's voice sounded richer, more
confident, and more mature, with ageless wise and vulnerable
qualities that have enabled her records to maintain their appeal with
subsequent generations. When k.d. lang recorded her 1988 album
Shadowland with Owen Bradley, it was this phase of Cline's career
that she was specifically attempting to emulate.
It's arguable that too much has been made of Cline's crossover appeal
to the pop market. Brenda Lee, whose records were graced with similar
Bradley productions, was actually more successful in this area
(although her records were likely targeted toward a younger
audience). Cline's appeal was undeniably more adult, but she was
always more successful with country listeners. Her final four Top Ten
country singles, in fact, didn't make the pop Top 40.
Despite a severe auto accident in 1961, Cline remained hot through
1961 and 1962, with "Crazy" and "She's Got You" both becoming big
country and pop hits. Much of her achingly romantic material was
supplied by fresh talent like Hank Cochran, Harlan Howard, and Willie
Nelson (who penned "Crazy"). Although her commercial momentum had
faded slightly, she was still at the top of her game when she died in
a plane crash in March of 1963, at the age of 30. She was only a big
star for a couple of years, but her influence was and remains huge.
While the standards of professionalism on her recordings have been
emulated ever since, they've rarely been complemented by as much
palpable, at times heartbreaking emotion in the performances. For
those who could do without some of more elaborate arrangements of her
later years, many of her relatively unadorned appearances on radio
broadcasts have been thankfully preserved and issued. ~ Richie
Unterberger, All Music Guide
The most popular female country singer in recording history, Patsy
Cline has achieved icon status since her tragic early death at age
thirty in 1963. Cline is invariably invoked as a standard for female
vocalists, and she has inspired scores of singers including k. d.
lang, Loretta Lynn, Linda Ronstadt, Trisha Yearwood, and Wynonna
Judd. Her brief career produced the #1 jukebox hit of all
time, "Crazy" (written by Willie Nelson) and her unique, crying style
and vocal impeccability have established her reputation as the
quintessential torch singer.
Cline's short life reads like the heart-torn lyrics of many of
the ballads she recorded. Born Virginia Patterson Hensley in
Winchester, Virginia, in the midst of the Depression, she
demonstrated musical proclivity at an early age—a talent inherited
from her father, an accomplished amateur singer, whom Cline later
confessed sexually abused her as a child. The family moved nineteen
times around the state of Virginia before "Ginny," as she was known
in her youth, reached age fifteen. A perpetual outsider, Cline
dropped out of school at age fifteen to support her family after her
father deserted them. They settled in Winchester, the Shenandoah
Valley town with which she would grow to have a love-hate
relationship.
Haunted by her early experiences, the teenaged Cline directed
herself toward a career as a singer with unbending single-mindedness.
She sang in juke joints in the Winchester area and did a nightclub
cabaret act a` la Helen Morgan, the tear-stained pop chanteuse of the
1920s said to be one of Cline's primary influences (along with Kay
Starr, Kate Smith and Charline Arthur). She also appeared in amateur
musicals, talent shows, and on local radio station WINC.
By age twenty Cline connected with local country bandleader Bill
Peer, an association that nurtured her desire to become a country
music star. She adopted the name "Patsy" after her middle name,
Patterson, possibly in a nod to singer Patsy Montana, whose feisty
cowgirl persona anticipated both Cline's spunk and early stage
costuming. She married her first husband, staid Gerald Cline, on
March 7, 1953, but she found the relationship unfulfilling and they
divorced four years later.
During this period Cline made inroads into the thriving
Washington, D. C., country music scene masterminded by country
music's "media magician," Connie B. Gay. Beginning in the fall of
1954, Gay spotlighted Cline as a featured soloist on his Town &
Country regional TV broadcasts, which included Jimmy Dean as host,
along with Roy Clark, George Hamilton IV, Billy Grammer, Dale Turner,
and Mary Klick. Through her web of Washington contacts Cline landed
her first recording contract in September 1954, with Bill McCall's
Pasadena, California-based Four Star Records, an association that
lasted six years and was to become the single greatest hindrance to
her career. Cline alleged that McCall swindled her out of record
earnings and gave her substandard material to record.
Cline's debut single, the country weeper "A Church, a Courtroom
and Then Goodbye," sold poorly when released in July 1955 on the
Decca label's Coral subsidiary (by lease arrangement between McCall
and Decca A&R man Paul Cohen). Cohen turned production over to his
protégé and eventual successor, Owen Bradley, who became Cline's
guiding light for the duration of her recording career.
Cline's first four singles flopped, but the "hillbilly with
oomph" act she developed on TV and in personal appearances earned her
regional fame. Her recording stalemate ended when she made her
national TV debut on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts show on January
21, 1957, singing "Walkin' After Midnight," which hit #2 country and
#12 pop. Cline rode high on the hit for the next year, doing personal
appearances and performing regularly on Godfrey's weekly CBS
broadcast Arthur Godfrey and Friends and on ABC's Country Music
Jubilee, but there were no follow-up hits. Her September 1957
marriage to second husband Charlie Dick resulted in a tumultuous
relationship glamorized in Sweet Dreams, the 1985 film of Cline's
life, starring Jessica Lange. By the end of 1957 Cline had retreated
into semi-retirement.
After giving birth to a daughter (Julia) in August 1958, Cline
moved to Nashville and signed with manager Randy Hughes, who
attempted to revive her stone-cold career by booking one-nighters
across the country and helping her ride out her Four Star contract.
Back to working $50 gigs, she was at the nadir of her career when the
Grand Ole Opry belatedly made her a member on January 9, 1960. That
summer she signed with Decca, and Bradley began to direct her towards
becoming a leading exponent of the emergent Nashville Sound,
beginning with her recording of the Harlan Howard-Hank Cochran
tune "I Fall to Pieces." Cline initially fought Bradley's lush
arrangements, which featured backings by the Jordanaires.
Cline gave birth to a son (Randy) in January 1961 and survived a
near-fatal car accident in June as "Pieces" slowly started its climb
up the charts, reaching #1 country in August and #12 pop eight months
after its release. Cline maintained her chart momentum with the Top
Ten hits "Crazy" and "She's Got You" and with albums like Patsy Cline
Showcase and Sentimentally Yours. Other highlights included
appearances at Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and Dick Clark's
American Bandstand. Cline joined "The Johnny Cash Show" as the
touring group's star female vocalist in January 1962, and over the
next fourteen months she played about fifteen or twenty dates with
Cash's "family," which then included Don Gibson, George Jones, Carl
Perkins, June Carter, Barbara Mandrell, Gordon Terry, and Johnny
Western.
Cline related premonitions of her death to close friends
Loretta Lynn, Dottie West, and June Carter as early as September
1962. Her last public performance was a benefit in Kansas City, March
3, 1963. Returning home, she was killed in a plane crash that also
took the lives of pilot Randy Hughes and fellow Opry stars Cowboy
Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins. Released posthumously, Cline's
singles "Leavin' on Your Mind" and "Sweet Dreams" both charted Top
Ten. Numerous new recordings have appeared since her death, and she
has remained one of the MCA label's most consistent sellers. The
subject of both Sweet Dreams and the hit 1990s play Always . . .
Patsy Cline, she was voted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in
1973.
Virginia Patterson Hensley, better known to the Country Music world as Patsy
Cline, was born in Winchester, VA on September 8, 1932. She was the oldest of
Sam and Hilda Hensley's three children.
At the age of 13, Patsy developed a serious illness that almost took her life.
Cline was quoted in 1957 as saying, "I had a serious bout with rheumatic fever
when I was thirteen. I developed a terrible throat infection and my heart even
stopped beating. The doctor put me in an oxygen tent. You might say it was my
return to the living after several days that launched me as a singer.The fever
affected my throat and when I recovered I had this booming voice like Kate
Smith's."
In June 1961, Patsy had another brush with fate. She and her brother Sam were
involved in a head-on car accident. The force of the impact sent Patsy through
the windshield nearly killing her. It was during her recovery in the hospital
that her friendship with Loretta Lynn was forged. Patsy heard Lynn singing a
tribute to her on a broadcast from the Ernest Tubb Record Shop. Lynn sang
Patsy's hit, "I Fall To Pieces," so well that Patsy sent her husband, Charlie
Dick, to fetch this singer because she wanted to meet this girl. Thus, a
beautiful friendship was formed.
Patsy's career spanned eight years on two record labels with approximately 100
tracks recorded. She recorded with Four Star Records from 1955-1960 and then
with Decca Records from 1960-1963.
Her first big hit was "Walkin' After Midnight" in 1957. This was released
after a successful appearance on the Arthur Godfrey Talent Show. Her next hit
didn't come until four years later with "I Fall To Pieces." After that, the
hits were more frequent and she became an overnight sensation. Her producer,
Owen Bradley, was a pioneer of the Nashville Sound. Most of the songs that he
presented to Patsy were met with disapproval. He told her to "sing them your
way" and she took these songs and made them into her own. We will always
associate such great songs as "Crazy," "Sweet Dreams," "Walkin' After
Midnight," "I Fall To Pieces," "Faded Love," and "She's Got You" with the
great Patsy Cline.
Many young artists today pay tribute to Patsy by singing her songs. There have
been many movies, books and stage productions which pay tribute to the legend.
Her music has influenced many over the years since her death. One of the most
critically acclaimed tributes to Patsy Cline is Ted Swindley's stage musical
production, "Always... Patsy Cline" starring Mandy Barnett and Tere Myers,
which ran for several years at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The show's
success in Nashville prompted a travelling show which received even more rave
reviews. The cast was different, but the show itself went over very well.
Patsy's life tragically ended on March 5, 1963 when the airplane, in which she
was a passenger, crashed in the mountains near Camden, TN. The plane was owned
and piloted by her manager, Randy Hughes. The other two passengers
were "Cowboy" Lloyd Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins. They had been in Kansas City
performing in a benefit show for the family of a local disc jockey. The
weather was too bad to fly so they had to spend the night after the show. They
waited all of the next day and Patsy was going to drive back with her good
friend Dottie West, but the weather cleared up enough to fly, so she left with
her entourage. They were last seen at the airfield in Dyersburg, TN,
approximately 90 miles from Nashville, where they'd stopped to refuel. The
airport manager suggested that they stay the night after advising of high
winds and inclement weather along the flight path, but Hughes responded, "I've
already come this far. We'll be there before you know it." Unfortunately, they
never made it to Nashville.
In her too short life and career, Patsy achieved many honors that most people
only dream of. She was a member of the hallowed Grand Ole Opry and had many
hits on both the country and pop charts. Ten years after her death, Patsy
Cline was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the greatest honor
bestowed upon a country singer. She was the first woman to receive this honor.
Patsy's graveside marker says it the best, "Death can not kill what never
dies..." Patsy's music and spirit will live forever. She was, and is, one of
the greatest voices in country music history.
Written by Sherry Anderson, Countrypolitan.com, January 2001.
Bio's of Our Gal
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Patsy Cline, Country Singer
Born: 8 September 1932
Birthplace: Winchester, Virginia
Died: 5 March 1963 (airplane crash)
Best Known As: Country and pop sensation who sang "Crazy"
Name at birth: Virginia Patterson Hensley
In 1957 Patsy Cline appeared on the popular TV program Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts and sang " Walkin' After Midnight." The song went on to make both the country and pop charts, and Cline's career took off. She was the first female country star to cross over into pop, with hits that included "I Fall To Pieces" and "Crazy." In 1963 she was killed in a plane crash; in 1973 she was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.
DID YOU KNOW:
"I Fall To Pieces" is alleged to be Bill Clinton's favorite song.
Patsy Cline
Alternative Name: Virginia Patterson Hensley
Genre: Country
Active: '50s, '60s
Instruments: Vocals, Piano
Biography
One of the greatest singers in the history of country music, Patsy Cline also helped blaze a trail for female singers to assert themselves as an integral part of the Nashville-dominated country music industry. She was not alone in this regard; Kitty Wells had become a star several years before Cline's big hits in the early '60s. Brenda Lee, who shared Cline's producer, did just as much to create a country-pop crossover during the same era; Skeeter Davis briefly enjoyed similar success. Cline has the most legendary aura of any female country singer, however, perhaps due to an early death that cut her off just after she had entered her prime.
Cline began recording in the mid-'50s, and although she recorded quite a bit of material between 1955 and 1960 (17 singles in all), only one of them was a hit. That song, "Walkin' After Midnight," was both a classic and a Top 20 pop smash. Those who are accustomed to Cline's famous early-'60s hits are in for a bit of a shock when surveying her '50s sessions (which have been reissued on several Rhino compilations). At times she sang flat-out rockabilly; she also tried some churchy tear-weepers. She couldn't follow up "Walkin' After Midnight," however, in part because of an exploitative deal that limited her to songs from one publishing company.
Circumstances were not wholly to blame for Cline's commercial failures. She would have never made it as a rockabilly singer, lacking the conviction of Wanda Jackson or the spunk of Brenda Lee. In fact, in comparison with her best work, she sounds rather stiff and ill-at-ease on most of her early singles. Things took a radical turn for the better on all fronts in 1960, when her initial contract expired. With the help of producer Owen Bradley (who had worked on her sessions all along), Cline began selecting material that was both more suitable and of a higher quality than her previous outings.
"I Fall to Pieces," cut at the very first session where Cline was at liberty to record what she wanted, was the turning point in her career. Reaching number one in the country charts and number 12 pop, it was the first of several country-pop crossovers she was to enjoy over the next couple of years. More important, it set a prototype for commercial Nashville country at its best. Owen Bradley crafted lush orchestral arrangements, with weeping strings and backup vocals by the Jordanaires, that owed more to pop (in the best sense) than country.
The country elements were provided by the cream of Nashville's session musicians, including guitarist Hank Garland, pianist Floyd Cramer, and drummer Buddy Harmon. Cline's voice sounded richer, more confident, and more mature, with ageless wise and vulnerable qualities that have enabled her records to maintain their appeal with subsequent generations. When k.d. lang recorded her 1988 album Shadowland with Owen Bradley, it was this phase of Cline's career that she was specifically attempting to emulate.
It's arguable that too much has been made of Cline's crossover appeal to the pop market. Brenda Lee, whose records were graced with similar Bradley productions, was actually more successful in this area (although her records were likely targeted toward a younger audience). Cline's appeal was undeniably more adult, but she was always more successful with country listeners. Her final four Top Ten country singles, in fact, didn't make the pop Top 40.
Despite a severe auto accident in 1961, Cline remained hot through 1961 and 1962, with "Crazy" and "She's Got You" both becoming big country and pop hits. Much of her achingly romantic material was supplied by fresh talent like Hank Cochran, Harlan Howard, and Willie Nelson (who penned "Crazy"). Although her commercial momentum had faded slightly, she was still at the top of her game when she died in a plane crash in March of 1963, at the age of 30. She was only a big star for a couple of years, but her influence was and remains huge. While the standards of professionalism on her recordings have been emulated ever since, they've rarely been complemented by as much palpable, at times heartbreaking emotion in the performances. For those who could do without some of more elaborate arrangements of her later years, many of her relatively unadorned appearances on radio broadcasts have been thankfully preserved and issued. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
Cline, Patsy
(born Sept. 8, 1932, Winchester, Va., U.S.-died March 5, 1963, near Camden, Tenn.) U.S. singer. Cline sang with country music groups as a teenager. She began recording in the mid-1950s and won first place on Arthur Godfrey's television show with “Walking After Midnight” (1957), a hit that made her the first female country singer to cross over into pop music. In 1960 she joined the Grand Ole Opry. After recovering from injuries sustained in a car crash, she returned in 1962 with hits such as “I Fall to Pieces” and “Crazy.” She was killed in an airplane crash.
Cline, Patsy, 1932–63, American country singer, b. Winchester, Va., as Virginia Patterson Hensley. She began singing locally while still in her teens and signed her first recording contract in 1953, but did not become well known until after the release of her first hit, “Walkin' after Midnight” (1957). Cline became a regular performer on radio's Grand Ole Opry in 1960. While remaining a country artist, she was the first female vocalist to successfully cross over to the pop charts. Among her other hits are “I Fall to Pieces” (1961), “Crazy” (1961), and “She's Got You” (1962). Cline was killed in a plane crash at the age of 30. Her strong, golden-toned voice and expressive, sometimes sobbing style influenced a wide range of singers including Dottie West, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton, and K. D. Lang. Cline was posthumously named (1992) to the Country Music Hall of Fame and given (1995) a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Patsy Cline (September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963) was an American country music singer.
Born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Winchester, Virginia, United States, she received her first contract as a country singer in 1953 and, despite her short life, would become one of the most influential singers in the history of American popular music. Cline was the last name of her first husband, Gerald Cline, a construction industry mogul, whom she married in 1953 and divorced in 1957.
That same year, Cline married Charles Allen Dick, who worked as a linotype operator for the Winchester Star. They had a daughter, Julia Simadore Dick (b. 1958; now known as Julie Fudge), and a son, Allen Randolph "Randy" Dick (b. 1961).
Rise to fame
Cline rocketed to fame after she performed her breakthrough hit "Walkin' After Midnight" (1957) on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, written by Don Hecht and Alan Block. She became a mainstay on the country music showcase Grand Ole Opry in 1960. Though she began her career recording rockabilly, it became clear that Cline's voice was best suited for pop/country crossover tunes, especially love songs. Some signature songs are "Crazy" (written by Willie Nelson but forever linked to Cline), "She's Got You", "I Fall To Pieces", and Don Gibson's "Sweet Dreams".
Car accident
On June 14, 1961, Patsy Cline and her brother were involved in a head-on car collision. The impact of the accident threw Patsy through the windshield, nearly killing her. Suffering from a jagged cut across her forehead that required stitches, a broken wrist, and a dislocated hip, she spent a month in the hospital. When she left the hospital, her forehead was still visibly scarred.
Death
Cline died in a plane crash at Camden, Tennessee while returning from Kansas City, Missouri at the age of 30, in 1963. Also killed in the crash were three other country music figures who were fairly well-known at the time, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Randy Hughes, and Cowboy Copas. Hughes, Cline's manager, was the plane's pilot. Country singer Jack Anglin died in an automobile accident while driving to her funeral.
Legacy
Were she alive today, Patsy Cline would have four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. After Cline's death, Charlie Dick married and divorced Jamey Ryan, also a singer, and had a son, Charles Allen Dick, Jr.
Cline is interred in the Shenandoah Memorial Park cemetery in her hometown of Winchester, Virginia.
Among her many honors, she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6160 Hollywood Blvd, she was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1973, in 1993 she was honored with her image on a United States postage stamp and in 1995, she was awarded posthumously a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
The 1985 movie Sweet Dreams, starring Jessica Lange as Cline, is based on her adult life and is said by some familiar with her to be fairly accurate in many respects, although some have disputed its portrayal of her mercurial relationship with second husband Charlie Dick (portrayed in the film by Ed Harris). However, its depiction of the plane crash as occurring in high desert mountains totally unlike any terrain found in West Tennessee is wildly inaccurate. Another adaptation of her life is the one-woman musical, A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline which originated in Canada in the 1990s and originally starred Louise Vallance as Cline.
"I Fall to Pieces" was voted #107 on the RIAA list of the Songs of the Century.
In 2005 her album "Patsy Cline's Greatest Hits" was certified by the RIAA as Diamond, meaning it had reached sales of 10 million copies.
In 1980 Patsy Cline was portrayed in the film Coal Miner's Daughter by actress Beverly D'Angelo. The film displayed the close friendship Cline had with fellow country music singer, Loretta Lynn. Despite the amount of songs by Patsy Cline used in the film, D'Angelo did all her own singing.
Trivia
Had Patsy lived to get back to Nashville, the next song she was to record was entitled simply "Blue". After her death, no artist would go near the song. It's rumored several female artists including Patsy's good friend Loretta Lynn were offered the chance, but no one took Patsy's record company up on the offer. The song went unrecorded for over thirty years, until a young LeAnn Rimes was offered the chance to sing the song. To honor Patsy, LeAnn tried to sing the song in Patsy Cline's style. "Blue" would go on to be LeAnn's first top ten single.
Patsy Cline and Sylvia Plath were both born in 1932 and died in 1963. Both artists worked in a male-dominated genre.
"A lot of people say you've got all the loving in the world when you walk out onstage. But hell, that applause don't help you any when you're laying in that bed at night being totally ignored".
"Anybody that'll stand up to The Cline is all right".
"As I walked from the dressing room to the stage up this flight of stairs, all I could think about was all the famous, fantastic people who had walked up those stairs".
"At least we aren't standing on New York street corners with itty-bitty cans in our hands collecting coins to keep up the opera and symphonies".
"At the time I needed you most, you came through with the flyingest colors. You'll never know how happy you made this ole country gal"!
"Baby, they tell me I got one hit of a record"!
"Boys, they can't take my refrigerator now. They'll never get my car now. I paid cash for 'em and they're mine, and I'm keepin' 'em"!
"Can't you guys ever get the beat on this song right? They're awful"!
"Carnegie Hall was real fabulous, but you know, it ain't as big as the Grand Ole Opry".
"Don't worry about me hoss, when it's my time to go, it's my time"!
"Got a 12-year-old girl who plays steel guitar out of this world. She also plays a sax and sings. Looks like a blonde doll. Her name is Barbara Mandrell".
"He's just not man enough to take it, I mean the having me where I am now. But I'm gonna put away as much of this money as I can".
"Here I am just coming off a big record and I go and get pregnant. This is really gonna tie me down".
"Here I am, still fogbound in Kansas City".
"Here's the first record that came out, and here we are listening to the last one".
"Hey hoss, I got to change my firecracker"!
"I can't miss a night's work and let my public down".
"I could spit dust I'm so mad. He wants to put violins on my new session. I'll die before I'll go all the way pop".
"I didn't know there was so many people in this world that knew of me".
"I don't think I'll ever be able to ride in a car again".
"I get pregnant just as fast as Saturday is to Sunday".
"I got a rush as I walked onstage and heard this mob cheering. I could feel the good vibes as I moved up to the microphone".
"I got me a hit record and I ain't never made a cent from it".
"I got to be constantly reassured that somebody loves me".
"I guess I thought I loved him or something, but he's so dull. It's like he's disinterested".
"I have gotten more than I asked for. All that I ever wanted was to hear my voice on record and have a song among the Top 20".
"I just love this house. I wanted so damn long. Now I have something that's made the waiting worth it. This is my blood, sweat, and tears"!
"I met a fellow last week and I been going out with him. I never thought it was going to happen".
"I never lost consciousness from the time it happened, through the sewing up of my head and until they gave me gas to set my hip. They thought I was gone twice and had to give me three pints of blood".
"I played with Arthur Godfrey for about a year and a half".
"I recorded a song called, I Fall to Pieces, and I was in a car wreck. Now I'm worried because I have a brand-new record, and it's called Crazy"!
"I think I've found out who I am and what we've been looking for. We don't have to search for my identity anymore. This is it-we're doing it"!
"I used to sing or hum along with just about every song I'd hear on the Opry shows".
"I was just a-yelling, but she gunned her car and tried to get around, then ran smack-dab into us. I went through the windshield and flipped back over the car".
"I wish to be put away in a western dress I designed, with my daughter's little gold cross necklace and my son's small white testament in my hands, and my wedding band on".
"I would never have gone anywhere if it hadn't been for Mother's faith and support."
"I'd like to do my first record I ever made, A Church, a Courtroom, and Then Goodbye."
"I'm at that point again where it don't matter where he is to me anymore."
"I'm getting songs ready for another record-be on T.V. coast to coast."
"I'm getting things in shape for the Dick Clar show, but don't know the date yet."
"I'm gonna be something one of these days."
"I'm gonna buy my mom a new stove and refrigerator! "
"I'm gonna walk a little bit of dog."
"I'm having surgery today to have my face cleaned up. But it will take some fancy stitching to make me all beautiful again! "
"I'm not gonna ride home in the car. I'll wait for Randy. I think I'll get home quicker."
"I'm not making up my mind about anything right now. Things are happening so quickly for me, and I'm still in the thinking stage."
"I've become a captive of my own ambitions."
"I've had two bad ones. The third one will be a charm, or it'll kill me!"
"If I made a list of the people I admire, Mom would probably fill up half of it. She could do anything and everything."
"If I wanted to go to Nashville and be on The Grand Ole Opry, the earlier I got started the better! "
"If these two kids weren't here I would never have come home, I'll tell you that for sure."
"In childhood I developed a serious throat infection, and my heart stopped beating. I recovered from that illness with a voice that boomed forth like Kate Smith's!"
"It really did my 'ole heart good, because little did I know who was sitting in the audience a-watching me, 'cause if I had, I wouldn'ta been able to went on, I guarantee you."
"It seems that every time I stick my neck out, I get my foot into something else."
"It sure gives me faith and a wonderful feeling to know how many fans and friends are wanting me well again."
"It's talent and guts they're applauding! "
"Jesus has been in my room. He has taken my hand and told me, No, Not now. I have other things for you to do. "
"Mother would come and pick me up at work and take me wherever I could get a job. Mother didn't trust anybody with me. Usually we'd get home at 3 in the morning."
"My new house is going to have wall-to-wall awards! "
"My record sold 10,000 in Detroit last week alone and is hitting all the pop charts. Swingin', huh?"
"Now don't expect me to be cheery-I'm just as sick as a dog! But when I heard you was buying, I just couldn't resist! I got out of a sick bed! "
"On Saturdays I worked all day in Hunter Gaunt's drugstore in Winchester, and then at night, my mother drove me to Front Royal, where I sang pop tunes."
"Promise me you'll take care of my babies if something happens to me."
"Sitting around the house playing the wife and mother is driving me crazy."
"The jewel of it all-some son-of-a-bitch stole my beautiful black fox fur-trimmed collar and cuffs coat that I paid $350 for last year, and there isn't another one of its kind."
"The one thing I wanted to do more than anything else was sing country music."
"The Princess of Persia was there in the first box to my right. And after the show was over, she came to the fella who was in charge of all the doings, and she told him the most tremendous thing on the show was the Cline girl! "