April 5, 2001:
Last night I was running errands and listening to an AM classic country station. I seldom listen to the radio anymore, apart from talk radio, because I prefer my own music to anything any DJ out there has to play. But this time I made an exception. As I pulled into the parking lot, this DJ said, "Coming up next, Ray Price and Patsy Cline!" Woo-hoo! I had no choice but to sit through Ray's piece just so I could hear Patsy's (not that I dislike Ray, but I was running behind and really needed to get into that dang store). I expected "Crazy" or "I Fall to Pieces," but I was taken by total surprise when the DJ played "When I Get Thru With You!" I've never, ever, ever heard that one played on the radio! And even though I really needed to get into that dang store, I waited until The Cline was finished. It's rude to turn Patsy off in the middle of a song, and I wouldn't do it even if the car was on fire. You do that, too?
March 31, 2001:
Believe it or not, I rarely listen to Patsy when I'm trying to concentrate on something, because her voice is so hypnotic that I find it impossible to concentrate on anything BUT her voice when she's singing. I make listening to Patsy an event, as opposed to just background noise. However, I do understand those of you who simply need to hear her voice in your ears in the background of your day, too!
Here's a Patsy thought: have you ever tried to remind yourself that Patsy was an ordinary human being, but your right brain won't let your left brain get away with such a ridiculous thought?
Here's another Patsy thought. It occurred to me that Patsy should have done yet another type of dub: one in which she sings as 4 Jordanaires. In other words, she would sing as her own backup singers, in 4-part harmony, just like the Jordanaires. Would that have been cool, or what??
March 5, 2001:
This site is 3 years old today; our hearts have been broken for 38.
"It was in the springtime that you said goodbye...."
February 14, 2001:
... As for any comparison of Patsy with "whatever" is on the scene today (call it what you will), I proffer this challenge to any singer out there: cut a record the way Patsy used to do it. Don't use any fancy equipment. Don't record each instrument, each little note, on a different track, using only the "best" ones for your finished product. Put the musicians and your "singer" in one room together, playing and singing all at the same time as an artistic unit. Now when you are finished, let's compare your finished product with ANY recording of Patsy's (your choice). Then let's talk about ART and SOUL. Mmkay?
January 31, 2001:
One thing I've learned about Patsy is that her magic doesn't work unless you share her with others. I've heard tale after tale of people being Patsified who generally don't care for her style of music, or for country music, or for anything from the past!
For me, when I display her at my site, I feel like a butterfly collector displaying a living, breathing, beautiful, rare butterfly to other butterfly collectors. I don't know how else to describe it, but each photo of Patsy is incredibly, incredibly dear to me. It's like she is my child, my baby, and I want everyone to love her as much as I do. I LOVE it when my site creates a new Patsifan! That's why I fill it with all of the emotion & enthusiasm that Patsy inspires in me.
November 23, 2000:
A few comments re: the Opry show tonight. First of all, at the beginning of the show, when they were running through the names of folks we'd be seeing perform tonight, I got teary-eyed when they came to the folks whose last names begin with "C" and there was no Patsy Cline. It's not fair that she's not there tonight! But I guess for most Patsifans, at least those of us who are more sensitive than the average bear, alot of time is spent saying "it's not fair." Every time I listen to my favorite Patsy song, "Leavin On Your Mind," my thoughts about its luscious perfection are interwoven with "it's not fair." Secondly, this is absolutely no reflection on Trisha Yearwood, she has a terrific voice, but I just can't hear any other woman but Patsy sing a Patsy song. It simply sounds "off" to me if it ain't PC; as if something is wrong, and only Patsy can correct it. However, I really don't have trouble hearing a man sing a Patsy song. I can't explain it! Thirdly, anytime Patsy is shown on a TV show, those of us with Patsy websites see our hits skyrocket afterwards, and it fills my heart with joy because I know that what's happening is that somewhere out there, there are new Patsifans being made. Patsy, we love you and are thinking about you HARD tonight.
January 6, 2000:
The San Antonio News-Express invited my participation for this article about Patsy.
November 29, 1999:
Welcome to another installment of "Why Today's Singers Are Not in Patsy Cline's League!" Detroit Free Press writer Greg Crawford hit the nail on the head about LeAnn Rimes, as far as I'm concerned. I have nothing at all against Rimes; she is a talented singer whom I enjoy listening to. But it always bugs me when she is declared the New Patsy Cline. Thankfully, Crawford explained it to me. Here is what he wrote in yesterday's edition re: LeAnn's latest CD:
LeAnn Rimes' voice is just right for the '90s. Like the decade that's drawing to a close, it's technically awesome but emotionally empty. When Rimes sings country songs about heartache and sorrow, we believe her about as much as we believe Bill Clinton when he says, "I feel your pain." Thus, it's unfortunate that she has chosen some of the most heartrending songs of the last 50 years for her new album. The 17-year-old Rimes rushes in where wise singers fear to tread, shamelessly raiding the songbooks of Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, Ray Charles and (brace yourself) Janis Joplin. Rimes doesn't actually sing songs like "Your Cheatin Heart" and "I Fall to Pieces," mind you; she just does a splendid job of mimicking the masters on arrangements that are nearly identical to the originals. She yodels on cue on "Lovesick Blues," nails all the right sighs and quivers on "Faded Love," and moans and slurs her words in all the right places on "Me and Bobby McGee." The result? A disc that's all pipes and no pathos. Rimes and papa-producer Wilbur C. Rimes have faltered at making a compelling album, but they've thrown a swell karaoke party.
Nuff said.
August 3, 1999:
Well, it looks like Sugarface got her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today!
courtesy CNN
TNN's Crook & Chase show will have a spot about the festivities tomorrow night (Wednesday). All I can say is congrats, baby doll, it's been a long time comin!
[Click here for more pics and info, including a pic sent from Steve at Luck Media from the Duets CD listening/launching party, which was held later in the evening.] And just think, we have 2 CD volumes left to go, folks!
July 9, 1999:
I've been informed by Charles at VH1 that we can most likely expect Patsy to appear on their "100 Greatest Women in Rock" countdown on either July 29th or 30th at 9:00pm EST. Keep a lookout for it and check your local listings. If you miss it, he assured me that they'll be repeating it!
June 30, 1999:
You’ve heard the rumor, now get the facts: Michael Blakey of Private I/Mercury Records contacted me with some information about an exciting project in the works! Set for release on September 14, 1999 is a Patsy musical treat that is guaranteed to knock your socks off: Patsy sings duets with some of the greatest talents in country music! Blakey, the project’s producer, has applied the latest technology in this undertaking ~ you’ve never heard anything like it, and no other previous Patsy duet/overdub project can compare to this one. Even Patsy's husband has heartily endorsed the sound you’ll hear… he says it’s as if Patsy is standing and singing right in front of you! There are nuances in these songs that you haven’t heard before. Blakey played many song snippets for me, and I’ll vouch for this. Song tracks were recut/reconstructed note by note… flavorings and strings were added… some of the old “gang” made a reappearance… and the result is one of the richest, fullest sounds your ears have ever devoured.
The project is almost complete, with just one artist left to record (I ain’t tellin who). What an honor to leave your vocal imprint alongside HERS!! I think that the song selections and some of the artist choices will pleasantly shock y'all. The first single is set to be released on August 23, 1999 (the song title and Patsy’s “guest artist” are a surprise). Gary Snyder is putting together some incredibly creative multimedia pieces to accompany this endeavor and enhance your enjoyment, as well as all sorts of exciting "companion goodies" for you to purchase. The icing on the cake? I know y’all are gonna like this, so get ready… to commemorate this incredible event, you’ll have a chance to obtain a limited edition framed copy of Patsy’s original 1954 recording contract for your own collection! Ahhh, the signature that launched a million sighs….
But the main question is, IS THE WORLD READY FOR FURTHER PATSIFICATION?? Because with a project of this magnitude, that is dadgum sure to happen, my friends!
The official announcement is forthcoming very soon ~ keep checking the Luck Media website! And let's all spread the word about this heavenly project!
June 4, 1999:
Another little note from the "Why Today's Singers Are Not in Patsy Cline's League" file. An article in today's Detroit Free Press about hot new country star Jo Dee Messina gives us this lovely little quote:
Every show, Messina has her personal assistant take snapshots from the back of the stage.
Today's performers are in it for a different reason than Patsy was in it, I guess. Patsy wanted her listeners to understand that she knew their hearts, and felt their pain, and she sang it all out for us. She hurt with us ~ and in a coupla songs, she rejoiced with us! She cared about us. I know she cared about her career; but somehow, it seemed like she loved us, as well. And not just as warm bodies who were there just to "look at her," or to massage her ego, but as unique human beings! She was there for us, not the other way around!
The egos that saturate show biz today never cease to amaze me!
December 11, 1998:
As our hearts break over the loss of Mom Hensley, Patsy's beloved mother, we must also remember the good times they had together. Hilda Hensley was no less than Patsy's very favorite person on this earth. She and her mother were more like best friends than mother/daughter, as they were only 16 years apart. We must remember the joyous reunion that awaits them now!
December 9, 1998:
Today a friend of mine asked to hear all about my website. I told him as much as I could tell a *non-Patsifan* (poor soul), and he then said, "So... has Patsy ever visited your site herself?" I paused for a long moment. I desperately wanted to say, "Yes! Yes, she visits once a week, and we have a great time! She emails all of her fans regularly, she is just a helluva dame! Currently she's working on an autobiography and will soon release her 100th CD. We're all very excited." But instead, I mumbled, "No, unfortunately, we lost Patsy in 1963 to a terrible accident." But of course, my fellow Patsifans, WE know the REAL truth, don't we?! She's *always* right here with us, and we will continue to keep her flame burning!
July 23, 1998:
Now, don't get me wrong. I don't dislike Shania Twain at all, and what follows is not meant to bash her, but merely to point out WHY Patsy Cline's music will live forever.
Shania's concert a few nights ago here in Michigan wasn't a huge success. Critic Brian McCollum points out in his Detroit Free Press review the suspicion that surrounds Shania's previous avoidance of live performances (especially after she bombed at the American Music Awards in 1996). I passed on the opportunity to attend this sold-out concert (my company gets comp tix) ~ but those I know who did attend commented that her body is the only place she isn't flat.
Brian writes that Shania's delivery is "plastic, even disingenuous, in a peppy student-class-president kind of way. After all, is she really supposed to be grinning and squealing 'whoo!' during a biting song called 'Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?' That misplaced emotional delivery could be why she had trouble connecting with an audience that looked....as if it would have been happy listening to these hits on the radio. It certainly wasn't the notoriously raucous Detroit crowd most artists get to enjoy....Twain said from onstage, 'We cannot continue this show if you sit on your butt.'"
Let's examine this. In a live performance, the audience is the crucial member of the show. Without them, you may as well be singing in the shower. Patsy understood deeply that you must connect with people's hearts, face-to-face. You can't hide in a studio; performing is about giving, and you have to get out there and unite with your crowd.
If your crowd knows that you are giving everything to them, they will forgive your mistakes. On those rare occasions in a live performance when Patsy screws up, we don't stop loving her. We love her all the more because we know she's human! Can you imagine if Patsy had been so fearful of making a mistake that she refused to perform live? How selfish! Could we as fans ever have developed this attachment that we have if Patsy hadn't reached out and given us everything that was inside of her? This was a woman who, in 1961, crawled out of a hospital to give herself to us!
I wonder about these singers who think that they can connect with other human beings via note-by-note, piecemeal engineering equipment in a studio.
As for Shania's misplaced emotional delivery ~ Patsy was accused of this very early in her career, but I find it a rarity in Patsy's delivery. She moves me to the bone every time. When she sings, she is THERE. If you can't listen to the words you're singing, how can you expect the audience to do so?
What Patsy created came, not from her exterior beauty, but from deep within her soul. Her music will live forever because she put her entire being into it ~ she held back nothing, she is all there in the music. Betcha didn't know that a recording can capture an entire human soul, eh? It will, if you give it. Now that she is no longer with us physically, her soul is still here for all of us to delight in and to cherish. Thanks, Patsy, for not holding back!
June 4, 1998:
Sometimes as I listen to a CD, it seems like a song is simply a microphone opening up a window to the past, the song is sung, then the window closes up. The magic window opens up again for the next song, and so forth. It's like being transported back in time, but just for a few minutes at a time. You could actually be in the recording session yourself. You wonder what everyone is wearing, where people are sitting or standing, what is the weather like outside, have they been fighting about this song, what kind of mood is Patsy in? I'm always amazed to learn that Patsy didn't like this song or that song, because every song she sings, she sounds as if she adores it, is giving it her all. What an artist! What a dame!
April 17, 1998:
Check out this Patsy autograph which Johnny Franklin has generously given to me ("generously" doesn't do him justice). I'll try to describe what it's like to hold something in your hands that was signed by our dear, beloved Patsy. You study it and think, here is something that Patsy touched and wrote on, and nothing is between me and the ink. I touched it a million times, held it to my cheek a million times. Probably her fingerprints are still on it somewhere! I never in my wildest dreams thought I would EVER have a chance to touch something that Patsy touched. It feels like I am reaching back to the past and connecting with her. I want to know what she was wearing when she wrote this, what songs she was planning to sing that night. And as she signed it, she never in her wildest dreams imagined that 40 years or so into the future, a little ole Texas gal would hold it in her hands and get such a kick out of it! I hope y'all get a kick out of it, too. Thank you, Johnny, for giving me this incredible treasure!
March 9, 1998:
Dontcha just love amazing coincidences? I sure do. Imagine my joy today when a friend approached me with this story. He cleaned out his attic last week and took an entire trailer full of old books down to the recycling center. As the books were being dumped, he happened to see a copy of Ellis Nassour's first edition of Patsy's biography and knew I'd love it, so he presented it to me today! I've desperately wanted this book for a long time. It is in superior condition ~ the only marking is on the inside front page, where someone wrote "Best Friend." Imagine that!
Everyone has been telling me that in Mr. Nassour's book, the Tennyson poem that was inscribed on the funeral program for Patsy's funeral is mentioned. This is the same poem which I found a few weeks ago while looking for ANOTHER Tennyson poem to include on my Personal Tributes page. I found "Crossing the Bar," felt it was very appropriate, and decided to use that instead. I had no idea that Mrs. Hensley had selected the exact same poem 35 years ago. But when I looked it up in the biography today, there it was, the same poem.
I just love amazing coincidences.
March 5, 1998 (date of website launch):
I will never understand how something as seemingly normal as a spring
thunderstorm could take her away from us. Next time it rains, look up in
the sky and perhaps you, too, will find yourself wondering, "This?
THIS? How??" Spring rains are supposed to nurture
life, not take it away. The very idea that something as simple as a sunny
day would have made a difference...! It is incomprehensible to me.
The loss we incurred on this date 35 years ago today, while painful, was merely
a physical one, because the spirit of Patsy Cline can never be stilled.
She is found in her music, her family, her friends, and her fans, carried
forever in our hearts. Her presence, though unseen, continues to have a
tremendous impact ~ oh, yeah! (Say those last words a la Eddy Arnold....)
So,
on this somber date, "Patsified!" officially launches.
Why the title? Because I myself was Patsified, in spite of all of my
resistance over the years. It is my hope that this site will cause some
Patsification
to occur in those lost souls out there who are in
need of it. All I have to do is look at a picture of her, and she seems to
just smile out at us as if to say she knows we're all a buncha damn fools, but
she loves us anyway. She'll be smilin like that long after we're all dead
and in our graves. I just wanna make sure that there will be folks around
to absorb that smile, to bask in its rays, to smile back at it, to enjoy it when
I cannot. I'm jealous of em already!
Some people see things as they are and ask "why?" I prefer to
dream of things that might have been, or have yet to be, and ask "why
not?" I invite you to join with me in imagining a different outcome
of this date 35 years ago. I've never visited Camden, or Patsy's
gravesite. And while both places have deep meaning for any fan, and I'm
sure I'll visit someday, I kinda feel like as long as I don't visit them, then
March 5th, 1963 never happened.
God gave us memories so that we can have roses in winter. Even so, we miss you, darlin, more and more every day, as heaven would miss the stars above....
Copyright © 1998 Patsified! All rights reserved.