Patsy Cline: Country magic

If you get a chance to listen toFaded love(1963) by Patsy Cline and you listen carefully at the end, especially when she breathes before the final word, you hear that she has almost started to cry. That was probably because the song was so close to her own life at the time, or maybe it just shows Patsy's genuine feeling and emotion. In I fall to pieces (1961) when Patsy croons --You tell me to find someone else to love, someone who loves me too, the way you used to do... But each time I go out with someone new, you walk by and I fall to pieces-- you can just feel the frailty in her voice. These classics as well as several others of her songs, takes hold of the listeners, evoking strings of emotions. And that's Patsy's magic.

Patsy's recording career divides into two periods: 51 tracks for Four Star Records between 1955-1960 and 51 tracks for Decca between 1960-1963.

In the beginning of her career she was completely into country music, and recorded mostly up-tempo songs, and sometimes used to yodel and growl when she sang. But later on she increasingly ended up singing slower ballads, more pop than country. This accounted for her success, but she was always making sure that she didn't get too much "uptown" pop into her recordings, because she was really a country girl at heart. Regardless, she was one of the pioneering country artistes who crossed over successfully into the pop music genre, making way for a breed of country/pop crossover singers like Shania Twain, Leann Rimes and Garth Brooks.

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. She remained hot through 1961 and 1962, with Crazy and She's got you both becoming big country and pop hits. Among her personal favourites were: A poor man's roses (or a rich man's gold) and Life's railway to heaven.

Unfortunately the diva could only enjoy her super-stardom for a couple of years. She was still at the top of her game when she died in a plane crash on March 5, 1963, at the age of 30. 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. Patsy's legacy continues as dejected, lonesome hearts still render:

You don't love me, it's plain
I should know I'll never wear your ring
I should hate you the whole night through
Instead of having sweet dreams about you

Compiled by Cultural Correspondent