December
6, 2005:
Fellow calling himself "miker3870" recently noted the following trivia about Patsy and Elvis. I myself have always been a strong believer in the Patsy-Elvis connection, although I can never quite put a finger on it and express it. Here is his list:
Besides being a fan of Patsy's, I am also a fan of Elvis Presley as well. I found that these two late, great artists have many things in common:
(1) Both were born on the 8th day, but in different months. (Patsy was born on September 8, 1932, while Elvis was born on January 8, 1935.)
(2) Both worked with the Jordanaires.
(3) Both had a parent die during their lifetimes.
(4) Both had a surviving parent outlive the both of them. (Vernon Presley outlived his son by two years, while Patsy's mother, Hilda, outlived her daughter by 35 years.)
(5) Both their first names were their surviving parents' middle name. (Vernon's middle name was Elvis, while Patsy was named after her mother, whose middle name was Virginia.
Hmmm, that list reminds me of the Lincoln-Kennedy thing. What do you want to bet there are other tidbits like this about Patsy and Elvis, if you dig deep enough?
I can also think of some major differences, i.e. what happened to their legacies after they died.
An interesting item has crossed my desk. An auction has just begun at It's Only Rock'nRoll with a poster for what would have been Patsy's next concert after the Kansas City benefit. Check it out for yourself -- go to the link and look for the "Auction" link and you'll want to bring up Lot #1152. And while I am unable to endorse anything like this -- bid at your own risk -- it certainly is intriguing:
courtesy It's
Only Rock'nRoll
Richard has this to share (thanks!):
I live in the Kansas City area. The local paper is the Kansas City Star. The Sunday edition comes with a supplement called The Star Magazine. Two weeks ago, November 27, 2005, The Star Magazine had a feature article about Mildred Keith. She is the lady that took the last photograph of Patsy. Mildred told how she used to go to all the shows and take photos of the performers. She described how she met Patsy that night and how she got to take that famous photo. The article showed many of Mildred's other photos, too. I thought maybe it would be of interest to you. You can see the text of the article here on-line.
I really enjoy your website.
Richard
Speaking of which, here is Mildred's diamond masterpiece:
courtesy Mildred Keith
...but it looks far better in its large, full glory, i.e. on the cover of Singing Girl from the Shenandoah Valley!
November 29, 2005:
Yikes, it's been almost a month since I last posted... wha' hoppen? Well, Christmas gets underway at our house in November, so my apologies for my absence of late. Here are a few notes of interest for y'all.
Patsifan Wag has been working his hind end off trying to locate some Patsy roses for us. This is getting nuts! Every time we think we've got a lead, something falls through. Year after year. Unfortunately, Veseys will no longer be carrying the rose. Experts are now telling us that the rose is out of commerce completely. Here's a quote from one of them:
Now, that doesn't mean someone somewhere might not have it. It was hybridized by Jack Christensen of southern California, who is now "retired." The Armstrong Nurseries in California carry some of his roses that no one else carries; perhaps it is there. But, as this rose is from 1983, it is probably not out there. When they are not available somewhere it usually means that it is not a very good rose.
Ouch. I don't like the sound of that, do y'all? She goes on to add that she knows a fella out west who may be willing to share some cuttings so we can start our own gardens. Will most certainly stay on top of that developing story and let y'all know if we get any success in that department.
You know, I just love hearing from y'all about how y'all were Patsified. This is from McCade:
Patsy Cline was so great. I fell in love with her when I was like 4 years old, my mom used to play her greatest hits album, and she said I wouldn't eat my dinner unless "Back In Baby's Arms" was playing!... I'd have to say my all-time favorite is "Three Cigarettes In An Ashtray" (plus every other song she's done, LOL).
I always dig it anytime someone is directly inspired by Patsy to create art. Bill Cox dug out this article from the Athens News-Courier in Alabama:
Local author writes book of 31 tales of dark fantasy
by Charlotte Fulton
Chris Fuqua -- whose books run the gamut from a diary written to an unborn child, to a work of non-fiction about how divorced dads maintain relationships with their children, to a history of the Muscle Shoals music industry -- has just released a collection of short stories in his genre of choice, dark fantasy.
"Walking After Midnight: Tales of Dark Faith" contains 31 stories Fuqua wrote over the past quarter-century. All have been previously published except for two or three, and those, says Fuqua, "are cross-genre, what I call 'mainstream strange.'"
<snip>
"I think people who like psychological stuff will like these stories," adds Fuqua. "Most of them are not horror in the sense of the blood-and-gore standard. Most of my stories deal with the dark side of human nature, and I'd say 90 percent of them have an element of optimism."
<snip>
The title story, "Walking After Midnight," had its name derived from a Patsy Cline song; another, "Eyes of a Child," got its name from a Cline lyric. Those, explains Fuqua, were in deference to Karl Edward Wagner, an avid Cline fan and Fuqua's close associate and friend. "Walking" was the first of Fuqua's stories selected for publication in DAW Books' "The Year's Best Horror Stories" anthology, edited by Wagner. Fuqua's book is dedicated to the now-deceased Wagner.
"Walking After Midnight: Tales of Dark Faith," is available as a print book or e-book here . Cost is $14.99 plus shipping; orders over $25 get free shipping.
Elaine C. Smith wonders here if loving Patsy is a genetic thing:
CHIPS ARE IN OUR GENES
I see scientists have located what they think is a Scottish or Celtic gene that means that we are more likely to succumb to illnesses such as heart disease and cancer.
Centuries of poverty and malnutrition have taken their toll on our genetic make-up and now even if we move away to the other end of the planet, we are still susceptible to these conditions. You can't escape being Scottish.
I wonder if they have discovered that a love of chips, feeling obliged to sing a Patsy Cline number at the drop of a hat, having a fight and a good greet is also in our Celtic/Scottish genes?
Or is that just my family?
If you love Patsy, you'll love her page at Jim McCoy's site -- in fact, you'll love his entire site, check it out at The Days of Cline and Tubbs and Jim McCoy's Troubadour Lounge.
Now, this column, "Country Music Biopics That'll Have You Crying in Your Beer" contains interesting comments about the movie "Sweet Dreams." Sure, the film has its faults, what film doesn't; but it remains to this day the film that Patsified me and the reason that I am sitting here typing these words tonight. I find it difficult to say too much bad about it! The key was using Patsy's voice, period. How many people have been Patsified by this movie, I ask you??
"SWEET DREAMS" (1985)
Jessica Lange has her hands full playing fiery Patsy Cline, the late great queen of country ballads, but she manages to make this an entertaining ride, especially with Ed Harris along to play her abusive husband and soul mate. The soundtrack is the best, of course, even when it's not-so-seamlessly bumping up against Lange's put-on deep Southern accent.
Pure country ingredient: Want to know why all those songs about lyin' and cheatin' ring so true? Watch.
Song pick: Has to be Cline's enduring rendition of ''Crazy," maybe the sweetest sound that heartache has ever made.
Hats off to: Screenwriter Robert Getchell, who has Cline respond to her manager's assumption that she wants to be Kitty Wells: ''Hell no! I want to be Hank Williams!"
Lip service: Since Jessica Lange is no k.d. lang, it's probably best that the filmmakers stuck with Cline's original recordings.
This person over here, on the other hand, praises the performance of Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash, noting that "...he even gives a good approximation of Cash’s onstage performances, a big plus in this kind movie, as anyone who remembers the unsettling insertion of Patsy Cline’s vocals into the mouth of Jessica Lange in 'Sweet Dreams' (1985) can attest." But see, it's no problem for me, because I just close my eyes and there's Patsy. If Jessica, or any other actress, had sung the role, I would not have given a rat's fine-hair'd backside about that movie or about Patsy Cline or about creating a website, etc. etc. etc. The movie "Sweet Dreams" needs Patsy's vocals in order to haunt you. It needs her voice so that you try your damndest to fight Patsification, you try not to hear her voice as you struggle to get to sleep that night but your darkened bedroom walls are echoing lyrics like "I should hate you the whole night through" and "Wonderin' what in the world did I dooooooo, oh..." and you're punchin' that pillow like a sumbitch and you get up the next morning with circles under your eyes and find your way to a music store so that you can buy a Patsy CD, any Patsy CD (you don't know squat about her CDs eenie-meenie-miney-moe) because you have to have it right now and cannot wait for Amazon to deliver it a week from now and your fingers shake when you tear off that CD plastic (why is CD plastic so impossible) and you cannot find relief until you put that CD in your player and hear THAT voice because HBO isn't going to run the movie again for another two weeks. (pant pant)
THAT is what Patsy's singing voice does to a person, and THAT is why I kowtow to those who made the important decision to use her voice in the film. (Note: anyone else still feel that way about Patsy, even if you've loved her for decades? Because I still feel that way every time I put on a CD!)
Here's an article with an in-depth discussion about the choice to use or not to use an actor's voice in a biopic about a singer, with this quote:
Filmmakers and actors have taken a variety of paths in music biopics over the last 30 years. Jessica Lange didn't attempt to re-create Patsy Cline's voice in "Sweet Dreams" (1985), but nonetheless earned an Oscar nomination.
And here's a film critic who says "Sweet Dreams" is one of his top 5 favorite movies of its genre.
Here's some holiday fun for those of you in the Columbia, California area. From Ted Swindley, well-known to Patsifans as the author of "Always... Patsy Cline", comes a new show, "Honky Tonk Angels Holiday Spectacular." Should be worth checking out, sounds like lots of fun.
October 23, 2005:
Tomorrow, Patsifans in the U.K. can get their very own copy of "Sweet Dreams Still" at Amazon under the title "Greatest Hits." The cover is different, too:
I'm telling ya, everywhere I go, I'm constantly coming across The Blessed... The Patsified. Here's a gardening column from last spring in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, look how it begins:
See 'em and weep — for joy
by Erica Glasener
April 22, 2005When I hear Patsy Cline sing about weeping like a willow, I think of the golden weeping willow, Salix alba 'Tristis', which grows to 80 feet tall, often with branches that sweep down to the ground. She could just as easily have been singing about the classic weeping willow, Salix babylonica, which grows 30 to 50 feet tall and wide. more
The Biography Channel will be showing an updated Patsy biography on November 7th... check your local listings for details! It may likely be an updated version of videos we've seen before, but we'll take it any way we can get it, right hosses? Lucky for me, I don't have a set number of times that I'm allowed to see Patsy on my TV screen. Let 'er roll.
Copyright © 1998 Patsified! All rights reserved.
