Once upon a time... wait a minute, this is a true story, not a fairy tale! And while this isn't a fairy tale (there aren't any frogs in this story), there may be a snake or two.
Virginia Patterson Hensley was born on September 8, 1932 in Gore, Virginia to Sam Hensley, a blacksmith, and his wife, Hilda Virginia (Patterson) Hensley.
courtesy Nellie Patterson
Virginia Patterson Hensley, age 8
"Mama, I wanna be a dancer
like her!"1
Little "Ginny," as she was called, idolized Shirley Temple, and at the age
of 4, had taught herself to tap dance so well that she won a local talent show,
accompanied by "On the Good Ship Lollipop." Then she fell in love with her
half-sister Tempie's piano playing.
"I'm gonna play like that one
day!"1
Hilda arranged for piano lessons for her little girl, but the teacher felt that Ginny
had such a natural ear for music, that formal lessons would do more harm than good.
By the age of 7, Ginny could be found either playing on the piano or listening to country
music on the radio. Her goal: to be a star on the Grand Ole Opry!
courtesy Country Weekly Magazine
From a letter to Treva Miller
At one point, Ginny fell ill with
rheumatic fever:
"You might say it was my return to the living that launched me as a singer.
In childhood, I developed a serious throat infection, and my heart stopped beating.
I was placed in an oxygen tent, and doctors brought me back to life. I
recovered from the illness with a voice that boomed forth like Kate Smith's!"4
Ginny had no patience for formal schooling ~ and due to her family's frequent moves, she attended a different school almost every year. The only class she didn't get a D minus in was... geography! Anyway, the gal had bigger fish to fry....
courtesy Margaret Jones
Ginny Hensley, 7th grade
Credits: 1-Mark Bego, 2-Trudy Stamper, 3-Joan & Brian Gray,
4-Margaret Jones, 5-Buddy Killen
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