It all turned to shit Forty-five years ago today

Singer Patsy Cline was killed in a plane crash on March 5, 1963, near Camden, Tennessee. She was 30. Born Virginia Patterson Hensley on September 8, 1932, in Winchester, Virginia, Patsy's family moved around a lot. She was a talented child who enjoyed singing and dancing.

At 13, she became a choir singer in the Baptist church. Fate stepped in when she contracted rheumatic fever. After she recovered, the disease had somehow affected her throat. Cline said she had a booming voice like Kate Smith's. With her newfound voice, Cline began singing on local radio shows and at dances. Four Star Records eventually noticed her in 1954 when she was offered a recording contract.
Now married to Gerald Cline, she changed her name to Patsy. Cline was still doing local events when she met Charlie Dick, fell in love, and married him after divorcing Cline.


Cline had her first hit record in 1956, Walkin' after Midnight. It became a best seller after she sung it on the Arthur Godfrey Show. Several hits followed after that, including I Fall to Pieces, Crazy, and Sweet Dreams (released after her death.)


Cline's last concert was held in Kansas City on March 3, 1963. It was a benefit to raise money for a local family. Her plane, flown by her manager Randy Hughes, made it to Dyersburg, Tennessee. But enroute from Dyersburg to Nashville, the plane crashed and all aboard were killed. Along with Cline and her manager, singers Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins were also killed.

(thanks to our friend the Internet, for that. Hey cutting and pasting is hard work!!!)