April
9, 2006:
Patsifan Priscilla always has interesting items to share with us. I was aware of Matraca Berg's Patsy connection, but the rest of this info is quite new to me. Those researchers out there who are always writing to ask about Patsy's genealogy will especially appreciate this:
From what I read and heard in the past, award-winning singer/songwriter Matraca Berg is a third cousin to Patsy. She's distantly related to Patsy Cline and both her mother, Icie, and her aunt, Sudie Calloway, were successful backup singers (link at Matraca's website).
I also read that actress Jennifer Love Hewitt [of TV show "Ghost Whisperer"] may also be a cousin of Patsy (link). [Apparently] Hewitt's grandmother, Mrs. Charlotte Shipp, is a third cousin to Patsy. At the bottom of the page, it says: Now do you believe that Cousin Love and Cousin Patsy might share a family tree with U.S. President Harry S. Truman and the famous western outlaw Jesse James? Well... to be continued.
What do you think of all this? Quite interesting, I think. I already knew about Matraca Berg, but I just found out about Jennifer Love Hewitt the other day and I was somewhat surprised.
How sad to see that the James Dean museum in Indiana has closed.
March 26, 2006:
This article from the Charlotte Observer, written by Mary C. Schulken, is a really interesting article in two ways. First of all, look how it starts:
Summer nights came un-air-conditioned where I grew up. The hot air smothered you like a pillow. To move meant to sweat. So you lay still and listened.
Peepers piped. Crickets howled. Then the voice of Patsy Cline cut through the thick, wet dark:
Sweet dreams of you Every night I go through
My Daddy slept with his transistor radio. He kept it on his pillow, strap twirled 'round his arm. Once he started snoring, I would creep in, turn it off and put it under the bed so he wouldn't throw it to kingdom come in the night.
I am no devotee to today's freeze-dried, Grammy-fied country music. But when you grow up being told Chet Atkins is classical and "Hee-Haw" is sacred, you are grounded in the genre....
The article itself is about the selection of Charlotte for NASCAR's Hall of Fame, and the problems inherent in deciding what type of museum you want -- how to tell the story -- and how to sustain it financially. She talks about how the Country Music Hall of Fame moved her, and makes some comparisons and conclusions that I find intriguing. She wraps up the piece at the end with Patsy, too!
It's only available online for a limited time, so read it as soon as you can.
March 24, 2006:
Some neat stuff to share today.
Jimmy Walker wants to make sure the following is share far and wide:
Stephen Shutts is currently selling a set of 12 letters and postcards that Patsy wrote to Treva Miller. The letters are from the collection of Mike Freeman and Cindy Hazen. They published several of the letters in the book, "Love Always, Letters to a Fan."
At this time, three of them are up for sale starting at $700.00 (a postcard). The price depends on length and content.
I realize many people can't afford this but I am sending this FYI. Maybe people will want to pool their money to buy one.
He also working to sell the house Elvis owned before he moved into Graceland from Audabon Dr. Here is his email address.
An interesting item from the inbox:
Please sign the petition to add Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins to the Country Music Hall of Fame! On March 5th, 1963 a plane crashed in the hills of Tennessee, taking the lives of Cowboy Copas, Patsy Cline and Hawkshaw Hawkins.In 43 years, Patsy Cline's name is always remembered, but Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins have been been all but forgotten. There were no finer honky tonk singers in the 1940's thru the 1960's, but they are always forgotten. I want to change that! Please sign this petition and let the Country Music Foundation know you feel it is time to change this oversight!
It's true that there are many quarters in PatsyLand, and in the world of country music, where Hawk and Copas seem to have been forgotten, and Patsy would be the first to put her name on this petition. But Hawk and Copas are certainly not forgotten in this corner of PatsyLand... they're honored in my Tragedy section here at Patsified! and even more so at Guy's fabulous tribute at his website... check it out.
March 11, 2006
I've gotten eleventy-hunnerd emails from y'all this week encouraging me to post the following link, so I'd dang sure better do it, right? Sorry I had a busy, busy week this week. Here ya go: Patsy is one of the five finalists at Country Weekly's Country's Greatest Female Artist, and her Greatest Hits album is one of the five finalists for Greatest Country Album -- check it out here. Patsifan Priscilla noted that of all of the artists (male or female), Patsy is the only deceased artist. Pretty amazing, if you ask me.
I have to confess that I highly disagree with most of the finalists in the various categories -- way too much focus on modern stuff, my gosh. In my opinion, these are not the greatest. So to see Patsy included by fans who obviously love the modern stuff... wow.
Vote before March 25th to be counted!
How many of y'all were able to tune in at Super Oldies last Sunday afternoon? It was one of the most phenomenal Patsy shows I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. Many folks wrote to me expressing their excitement, too. It was presented so beautifully and made Patsy sound absolutely fresh. There is no doubt in my mind that people were Patsified and re-Patsified that afternoon. I hear that some folks apparently celebrated the day with beer and partying, but to some of us, March 5th requires something a little more respectful -- something that focuses solely on the music and the wonder of Patsy Cline.
Beware of expensive eBay ripoffs like this one. Two thousand bucks?? A wise Patsy collector who has consulted with my Collectors page would already know exactly why this auction is for suckers. (Three quick hints: Patsy was a last-minute addition to the show, there are no posters with her name or face on them; concert posters of the time never had the year on them; the word "commemorative" means it was made after the event occurred.)
A few Saturdays ago, Sidekick and I were tie-dying some t-shirts in the basement and listening to Patsy. After "Your Kinda Love" finished, he asked, "Hey, is that song called 'I Don't Understand Your Kinda Love?'" Patsy only sings that phrase 95 times in that song, I think it would be difficult to imagine that song title not containing "Your Kinda Love."
Also, on March 5th when we were listening to the show at Super Oldies, when "Sweet Dreams" got fired up, Sidekick asked, "Mom, is that opera?" Hey, Patsy coulda done it if she'd wanted to.
Check it out at The Lighter Side -- the Elvis camera. This camera automatically inserts your image next to the King's with every shot. Patsy would have loved this, wouldn't she? It can be yours for just $18.98!
March 4, 2006:
Many of us have seen this picture before, for example, it's in the Tennessean newspaper article in the Tragedy section here at this site. But Patsifan Greg Mundy was kind enough to scan this 13x9 photo to share with us on this weekend of remembrance.
It's fitting for this photo to be named "uphill" because I imagine that it's the hardest hill these gentlemen in the photo had ever had to climb. The sun streaming through the newly-budding trees just adds to the pain, doesn't it? The clarity of this photo makes it, sadly, all the more real. Thank you, Greg, for your consideration of the rest of us fans and focusing our attention where it needs to be right now.
As we reflect on Patsy and her friends on this sad weekend, Philip Martin sent along this interesting tidbit:
I was able to locate the woman in Dyersburg, Tennessee who was the young waitress in March of 1963 in the restaurant at the airport when Patsy and her fellow passengers stopped to re-fuel and get something to eat. To hear her describe that evening was like it had just happened. She remarked, "Patsy came into the restaurant. She was wearing all red... red dress, red coat, red shoes. I thought I was going to faint. It's just a good thing I wasn't holding a pot of hot coffee. Patsy was so nice. She ordered a shrimp salad and ice tea. Randy Hughes didn't eat. He just talked on the phone the whole time. The other two had corned beef and cabbage."
Folks, you simply must take some time to tune in tomorrow, Sunday, March 5th to that fantastic online radio station, Super Oldies, because our buddy Shawn is going to be spinning a tribute to Patsy, Hawkshaw and Cowboy Copas from 3:00pm-6:00pm Central Time. Bill Cox and I have assisted him in putting together some super rare stuff and just plain fun stuff we know you're going to enjoy. It's free to listen, but do keep in mind the fact that Shawn's station is wholly dependent upon the kindness of donors.
A very nice article in the Telegraph about Dolly Parton, Country Girl Who Conquered the World, is one that everyone should read in its entirety; but I was intrigued by this particular paragraph:
In a genre where girl singers such as Tammy Wynette and Patsy Cline ran themselves ragged trying to conform to Southern female stereotypes and hang on to their men, Parton moved blithely, marrying successfully and privately aged 20, and keeping hold of the reigns of her career.
I understand what the writer is saying, but I don't quite agree with it. Lord, Patsy was anything but a Southern female stereotype! Think of how many people in Winchester hated her guts precisely because she wouldn't conform; many of them still do to this day. Patsy lived a very unconventional life for her time. Now, I won't deny that Patsy apparently did dream of a traditional life: it's pretty plain that her wishes for her career obviously clashed with her wishes for a happy marriage and a house with a white picket fence. And while I do believe she ran herself ragged trying to satisfy the demands of all of the different departments of her life, she never lost hold of the reins of her career at any time once she teamed up with Owen Bradley, in my opinion. Her career was always first, and folks can argue about why (because music was always first in her life or because she was driven by a need for financial stability for her children), but it was first.
Patsifan Priscilla keeps sending interesting stuff: here's a nice little page on the diner which hosted Patsy and her friends in Dyersburg, TN on that fateful day. Here's the interior:
By the way, Priscilla has a great idea:
You know, I think "Sweet Dreams" should be in the Grammy Hall of Fame. Patsy already has two in there -- "I Fall To Pieces" and "Crazy." But "Sweet Dreams" definitely belongs in there, so maybe we should starting bugging the Grammy folks.
A note from Patsifan Grey Caudle about some upcoming fun in Boonville, North Carolina:
Boonville Heritage Days Will Be June 16th And June 17th. We are looking for vendors and sponsors at this time. Check out the website here.
Thanks for your help.
February 16, 2006
This just in from Patsifan Priscilla:
Howdy!
I think everyone should go to www.countryweekly.com and keep voting for Patsy until they pull the Country's All-Time Greats poll. Patsy has been nominated for Greatest Female Artist and Greatest Album, and you can also do a write-in for Greatest Song (so just write in any of Patsy's hits ....each time list a different hit and rotate). To save time, though, I sit every day and click on Patsy for Greatest Female Artist and Greatest Album over and over until I'm tired of it. Just click Patsy in both categories, click submit, poll goes away, then I download the poll again, and do it all over.
I believe the five finalists will be announced in the March 27 issue, so there's not much time left! Then on May 8, they will announce the results.
We can't let Patsy get beat in the Greatest Female Artist and Greatest Album, now can we?
Thanks, Priscilla. Stuff like this is fun, and even if it seems insignificant, it's important to Patsy's legacy -- we can't let her be forgotten! P.S. The "Back" button works for this poll -- but I do wonder if they give you a cookie and don't count repeated voting? Hmmmm.
February 15, 2006
Now, this is a nice little Valentine's Day poll at the Washington Post: it's the Anti-Valentine playlist. You can pick one song, but there are 3 categories to choose from: Rage, Regret and Revenge. And at this writing, Patsy isn't winning the overall poll, but she is leading in her category (Regret). C'mon and keep voting until they pull the feature -- we can't let Alanis Morissette beat Patsy, can we?
February 11, 2006
An interesting event here from Jim McCoy's Troubadour Lounge:
REMEMBERING
PATSY CLINE WEEKEND
SATURDAY & SUNDAY, MARCH 4th
& 5th 2006
This is our annual tribute to Patsy Cline and a remembrance of her tragic death
42 years ago. We also invite all female singers to pay tribute to the greatest
female vocalist we have known.
There will be live music, food and drinks. Bring a covered dish, The Troubadour
will furnish the meat.
Entrance
to the event is FREE.
Call 304-258-9381 for more info ... or email
Jim.
Here's a little Valentine's Day fun from Patsified! I'll be updating the PatsyCards as soon as I can, so you can send a batch to those you love.
January 20, 2006
It's interesting to me how music scholars can take a song like "Crazy" and break it down and analyze it a thousand ways, compelling you to see it as you never had before. The BBC has at its website an entire section called Sold on Song, which compiles an incredibly diverse mixture of song selections and analyzes each one very extensively. I enjoyed going down the list, finding rather odd choices here and there, and clicking through to find answers to why in the world certain songs capture my attention.
Here's a nice example from the "Crazy" section -- Nick Barraclough quickly sums up why he believes it's such a fabulous tune:
Real Audio
But that's not all there is at the "Crazy" page, not by a longshot, which is why Patsifans will love checking it out. Listen to clips of interviews with Willie Nelson and Owen Bradley talking about this song. There are samples of covers from Nelson, Julio Iglesias and LeAnn Rimes. There's even a place to post feedback and vote on your favorite version. Currently, Patsy's version is winning with 61% -- I think we can do better than that, don't you? Holy cow, this song is jam-packed with all of those fabulous Patsy N-sounds. Those N-sounds alone should catapult her up into the 90% range. I would buy an entire 6-CD collection of Patsy doing nothing but N-sounds.
My only complaint? The link to Patsy's sample doesn't work! I've clicked like crazy (<--ouch) and cannot find a clickable area in or near where such a link is suggested. Let's all let the BBC know how much we love this page and urge them to fix that link!
In case my talking about this juiciest of Patsy songs whets your appetite to hear it right this minute, here's a morsel for you, to tide you over until you get a chance to pop the entire CD into your mouth -- er, CD player:
Real Audio
We've mentioned this before, but that ache-y "ohhh" that Patsy inserts into the song as heard in this sample -- that is not in the lyrics, and that is not Owen's suggestion. That is Patsy Cline, who always knows what to do with a song. She is a professional, and we should always step aside and let the professionals do their jobs, shouldn't we?
The webmaster for the fabulous site Buddy Holly Online has another site to share, and I know y'all are going to love this one just as much... Super Oldies! It's an online radio station that plays the good stuff 24/7. Shawn's had it going for 2 years now, which is pretty damned good for a site that relies on donations to keep it going. He has recently added tons of Patsy off her box set, as well as some of her live tracks, and he says he's had people writing in expressing lots of excitement over the "new" songs of Patsy's which they have never heard before. Shawn says,
When I recently got the box set I was astounded at how good ALL of the tracks were. I think my new favorite is "True Love" -- WOW, shivers! Absolute shivers.
Anyone who is Patsifying people 24/7 needs our support, so don't forget to bookmark him and stop by as often as you can to see what he's got cooking! (He and I are working on a recipe for March 5th, so check back often to find out more.)
I heard from someone
recently who read my Patsification story on my "Personal" page and was
Patsified just from reading about it! Hey, if I'm not mistaken, that's
Patsification in the second degree, isn't it? That is how amazing Patsy
is: you just tell someone about her voice and people swoon!
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