The Life and Times of Patsy Cline by Margaret Jones
Patsy Cline’s brief reign as one of her era’s top country-pop crossover singers was nearly cut even shorter by own choices. When granted an audition by Arthur Godfrey, whose TV variety show was Ed Sullivan’s only rival, “Walkin’ After Midnight” was the song she least wanted to sing. Good thing she backed down. With its exposure on Godfrey’s show, “Walkin’ After Midnight” topped the country and pop charts in 1957. She didn’t like “I Fall to Pieces” either, but it became a classic in her hands. This long out of print biography, out now in paperback, details her abused childhood, the lack of support from her Virginia small town, her ascent to the Grand Ole Opry and, in 1963, her death when the light plane carrying her between gigs crashed in another Buddy Holly-style accident. Her most popular songs are part of country music’s canon; her career set an example for a younger generation of female singers on their way up.
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