Written by Olivia English. 23 February 2016.
Willie Nelson wasn’t always the legend he is today. In fact, he was only a struggling artist in 1961 when his song “Crazy”, originally called “Stupid”, was recorded and released by Patsy Cline. Then, and only then, did he gain his fame, and Patsy Cline’s continued to grow alongside him. While she was already seen as a country music superstar, this was the biggest hit of her career, followed in rank by others such as “She’s Got You”.
Originally written by Nelson and his friend, Oliver English, this song was initially written to be performed by country singer Billy Walker, but (luckily for Patsy) Walker turned it down because it was “a girl’s song”; a hopeless love ballad. The lyrics whole-heartedly profess the love of one person for their significant other, who has since left them for someone new. Reaching number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles in 1961, Cline’s version of “Crazy” perfectly showcased her vocal talent and became one of her signature songs after spending 21 weeks on the charts. Luckily for Willie Nelson, this also became one of his most legendary songs, especially after he made his own cover a year later and put it on his debut album, …And Then I Wrote.
Patsy Cline, too, was not always the star she is remembered to be. Her birth name was Virginia Patterson Hensley, and she started singing when she was just a teenager. Her father had a drinking problem that put strain on her parents’ marriage, and they decided to split up when she was only fifteen years old. Her father’s absence caused some financial issues for Cline and her mother, so she dropped out of high school and started singing in local clubs and working odd jobs during the day to help pay the bills. At the age of sixteen, Cline was already entering herself into singing contests and performing on local radio stations.
In 1948, Wally Fowler, a gospel and country singer-songwriter who was a regular on the Grand Ole Opry at the time, came to Cline’s hometown for a show. She managed to get backstage and sing for Fowler, and made such an impression that he brought her to an audition to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry herself. Unfortunately, the representatives didn’t yet believe in her ability to make it in the big leagues.
Cline returned home and continued to sing locally, where she met Bill Peer in 1952. Peer was a disc jockey and musician and was in the business of running bands. He decided to hire Cline as lead vocalist of his band, the Melody Boys and Girls. This was huge for Cline, but there was a catch. Peer wasn’t a fan of her name, and after mistakenly believing that her middle name was Patricia, convinced her to begin going by Patsy Hensley. A year later, Patsy married a man by the name of Gerald Cline whom she had met at one of her shows, thus the widely known name of Patsy Cline.
Peer lead Cline into national exposure by signing her with Four-Star records. Unfortunately, Four-Star had been previously owned by Gene Autry, and the president of Gene Autry was a man named William A. McCall. McCall was a rather disliked man in the world of music, and had slyly roped Cline into a two year contract. Under this contract, she was required to record any material chosen by McCall, and was only allowed to record songs published by him. During her time with Four-Star, though, Cline came out with her first huge hit, “Walkin’ After Midnight”. She performed this song as her first television performance while competing on a show called Talent Scouts(hyperlink). After winning first place and appearing on this show regularly for the weeks following, the song made it onto the top ten charts for both pop and country, and was even released as a single.
Cline’s career began to take off, but her busy schedule and her determination to further her success put a strain on her marriage and ultimately lead to her decision to divorce her first husband four years after the marriage began. Things would not come to a halt for long, though, for Cline’s romantic life. Only two months later, she wed Charlie Dick on September 15, 1957 and chose to slow down for a short period of time and back away from her career while she had children. Little did she know, her new husband would end up playing a key role in her huge musical success when she returned to the music business.
One unsuspecting evening, Willie Nelson actually met Cline’s husband, Charlie Dick, at a bar and gave him a recording of “Crazy” to take home to his wife. Ironically, the lovesick lyrics of the single are nearly the opposite of Cline’s own love life. In fact, the chorus, “Crazy for thinking that my love could hold you/I’m crazy for trying/And crazy for crying/And I’m crazy for loving/You” could be used to describe her first husband’s feelings toward the divorce. When her current husband brought the song home to her, Cline initially hated the song because of the way it was sort of spoken, rather than sung, on the particular tape. Cline argued that she “couldn’t sing like that”. Her producer, however, had a vision for the song in ballad form and convinced Cline to record this version.
The song had a complex melody that worked beautifully with Cline’s unmistakable voice and became the biggest hit of her career. More than thirty years later, Willie Nelson explained that her version of the song was his favorite song of his that anyone had ever recorded because “it was a lot of magic.”
“I Fall to Pieces” was another one of Cline’s huge hits, and is still considered a song that set the stage for commercial Nashville country. Cline was actually invited to join the Grand Ole Opry in 1960 and performed this song only a year later.
The following year was the year that she would finally record “Crazy”. As we’ve learned, though, Cline’s life was far from being free of hardship and trauma. Only two months before she was set to record “Crazy”, she was involved in a horrible car wreck and was thrown through the windshield of the car. She survived, but came away from the crash with a broken rib. She arrived at the first recording session unable to sing the highest notes of the song due to her injury, and had to return two weeks later to try again – on crutches. Cline even performed this song at the Grande Ole Opry on the same crutches!
Patsy Cline has gone down in history as one of the first artists to create the crossover between country and pop, especially as a woman. She received huge recognition in both genres, but to some extent was not able to fully commit to one. She dabbled in true rockabilly and even “churchy tear-weepers”, but due to her extraordinarily strict contract with Four-Star, Cline was pretty stuck in her current sound until after the contract expired. Over the years, there has even been some controversy over the recognition she’s received as a pop artist. Some believe that Cline should not have been so much in the pop spotlight in comparison to other artists of the time. Brenda Lee had more success than Cline in the pop market, but unlike Cline whose target was a more adult or mature audience, Lee’s music was aimed toward a younger crowd. Regardless, the final four of Cline’s top ten country singles did not even crack the pop Top 40 chart, further backing the notion that her music was continuously more popular and more successful when aimed toward country listeners.
Sadly, Cline passed away at age 30 only two years after releasing “Crazy” in a tragic plane crash. In August of 2012, The Country Music Hall of Fame held a ten month exhibit for Cline and her song specifically: Patsy Cline: Crazy For Loving You. The exhibit featured her costumes, photos and videos, as well as showing her personal story as a wife, mother and performer through her own words. CMT describes her as having the most legendary aura of any female singer. This is, in part, due to her early passing, but above all, the legend of Patsy Cline and her huge success from “Crazy” after powering through all of her hardships in life will live on forever in the world of country music.
Works Cited
“Crazy by patsy Cline Songfacts.” Crazy by Patsy Cline Songfacts. 2016 Songfacts, LLC. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.
Editors, Biography.com. “Patsy Cline Biography.” Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.
“Patsy Cline Bio | Patsy Cline Career.” CMT Artists. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.
“Patsy Cline: Crazy for Loving You.” Country Music Hall of Fame. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.
Patay, Matthew. “Biography.” IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.