In 1952, Ginny coaxed Jumbo into introducing her to Bill Peer, a very popular local country bandleader with "His Melody Boys and Girls." Upon their first meeting, Ginny simply asked Bill if she could sing with his band! He acquiesced, and on September 27, 1952, Ginny showed up at the Brunswick Moose Hall in full cowgirl regalia!
"Hey there, you remember me?
Well, I'm ready!"1
(to Bill
Peer, September 27, 1952)
That night, Ginny Hensley wowed yet another eager crowd. And she changed her name: Bill felt that "Ginny" and "Virginia" were too old-fashioned, and when Ginny volunteered her middle name, "Patterson," Bill christened her "Patsy Hensley" on the spot.
courtesy Archive Photos
Ginny becomes Patsy Hensley
Two weeks later, Patsy Hensley met another important man: Gerald Cline.
"My, you're quite a big
man."1
(Patsy's
first words to Gerald Cline, 1952)
"Which of you is the
fastest?"1
(Patsy's remark to
Gerald when he bragged about his fast car)
By December 1952, Patsy and Gerald announced their engagement, and on March 7, 1953, they were married in Frederick, Maryland. That night, she performed at the Brunswick Moose Hall as usual, but this time, she was PATSY CLINE!
On April 10, 1953, the Clines and the Peers drove to Nashville to shake things up. Peer (now Patsy's manager) knew Ernest Tubb, so not only did they get to watch the Opry show from the wings, Ernest actually invited Patsy to sing two songs with him on his midnight jamboree!
courtesy Larry Peer
Mrs. Patsy Cline on April 10, 1953
That summer, Patsy entered the National Country Music Championship Contest in Warrenton, Virginia. She sang "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home," but did not win. But Peer was booking his troupe into clubs in Washington D.C., and they were building a nice following.
"I thought I left you in the
parking lot!"1
(Patsy's rejoinder
to a heckler in the audience)
"Ole PC's finished."4
(after
singing 2 songs at a show, receiving a tepid reception)
In late 1953, Bill began recording demo disks with Patsy and sending the disks out to different labels.
In August 1954, Patsy again entered the National Country Music Championship Contest in Warrenton. This time, she and the boys performed "Faded Love" and won! And who was at the event but Connie B. Gay, who had a very popular radio show, a TV show, and innumerable contacts in the business. He hired her for dates with the Texas Wildcats, and asked her to be a regular on his radio and TV shows. This was a definite turning point for her career and for her finances, since she was still supporting her mother and two younger siblings.
Then in late 1954, Peer was contacted about a recording contract for Patsy by a record producer named Bill McCall, who would later prove to be a snake... hey, maybe this is a fairy tale after all!
On September 30, 1954, Patsy signed her first recording contract with Four Star Records. Unfortunately, it was a lousy deal ~ Patsy would be forced to record only Bill McCall's music selections, and would only receive 2.34% of the gross of any sales (the standard at the time was 5%). All session costs would be deducted from Patsy's meager percentage. If a song did become a hit, the money it generated would be used to write off the costs of unsuccessful songs. In the meantime, each song that was recorded would earn her fifty bucks.
In late October/early November 1954, the gang went to New York to record 4 demos, as well as audition for the national TV show, Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. Paul Cohen, the A&R man at Decca, was interested in hearing what Patsy sounded like in a professional studio environment.
Patsy's audition for Godfrey's producer went well, but they only wanted Patsy, not the band. This band was not Peer's regular gang, who had day jobs to worry about, but a hastily thrown-together local trio. At any rate, Patsy refused to go on the show without them, so she was told to come back another time as a solo act.
The four demos were cut, and here, Bill "The Snake" McCall gets even slimier. Paul Cohen was so impressed with the results that he wanted to flat-out buy Patsy's contract from McCall, but McCall fixed a deal for himself whereby Patsy continued with her lame Four Star contract, but he'd have his gal on a cha-cha label like Decca, plugging McCall's music selections! On top of that, McCall collected the normal 5% from Decca but still paid Patsy her paltry 2.34%, less "expenses" of course, which could be anything his rubber calculator churned out.
While he was screwing his singers, McCall was also screwing his songwriters: he'd purchase a song's controlling rights, change a note here, a word there, and ta-da! He was now the song's "co-writer," thus entitling him to half the song's income! The Snake (as Patsy would later call him) hid behind the moniker, "W.S. Stevenson" on such ventures.
courtesy William R. Rinker
Patsy Cline, ca. 1955
Spring of 1955: Peer got a local car dealership to sponsor a car for Patsy in the Apple Blossom Festival parade. In full cowgirl regalia, Patsy let Winchester know that she was somebody!
In late May 1955, it was time for Patsy to fly to Nashville for the studio sessions on her first commercial flight! It was during this trip that she met someone who would become very important in her life: producer Owen Bradley.
Credits: 1-Mark Bego, 2-Trudy Stamper, 3-Joan & Brian Gray,
4-Margaret Jones, 5-Buddy Killen
Copyright © 1998 Patsified! All rights reserved.