9.04.2010

PATSY CLINE'S PLANE CRASH: MARCH 5, 1963

Miss Patsy Cline

Patsy Cline
Born: September 8, 1932 in Winchester, Virginia
Married: Gerald Cline (1953), Charlie Dick (1957)
Children: Julie (1958), Randy (1961).
Residence: 815 Nella Drive, Goodlettsville, TN
Occupation: Country and pop singer
Deceased: Mar 5, 1963 near Camden, TN

Patsy Cline

Patsy Cline was born as Virginia Patterson Hensley on September 8, 1932, in Winchester, Virginia. She is my favorite woman country singer of all time. She was brassy and courageous. She didn't just open the doors for the millions of pop/country women singers to come after her, she took her cowgirl boots and kicked the tar outta those doors! No one stopped Patsy Cline...

She did pack so much living into those short years she was alive. She almost died several times due to illness and accidents. Her legendary heart and kindness lives on and of course that fabulous voice lives on for the ages.

A fantastic fansite A Tribute to Patsy Cline tells her story very well. Her shocking death in a small plane crash stunned the world and robbed us of one of the most beautiful voices in popular music.



In 2005 her album "Patsy Cline's Greatest Hits" was certified by the RIAA as Diamond, meaning it had reached sales of 10 million copies. Among her many honors, she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6160 Hollywood Blvd, she was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1973, in 1993 she was honored with her image on a United States postage stamp and in 1995, she was awarded posthumously a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Great Fan page on Myspace HERE
 

We got to see her Hall of Fame exhibit in Nashville and tour the studio where Owen Bradley produced those great Patsy hit songs. Also one of my most fun tours was through the Ryman Auditorium and I got to stand on the stage where Patsy once stood.

Here is a great video on female vocalists like Edith Piaf and Patsy Cline



This was before they cut the circle of wood to put in the new Grand Ole Opry at Opryland. People in Nashville still talk about the very special talent that Patsy possessed.


Patsy boarded a small plane to fly home from a gig in Kansas City and the story goes something like this:

The remains of four country music personalities,including three nationally known Grand Ole Opry stars, were found this morning in the scattered bits of a private plane which crashed in rugged woodlands near here.

The victims were Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas, Hawkshaw Hawkins, and Randy Hughes,believed to be the pilot of the ill-fated aircraft. The wreckage was discovered about 6 a.m. after a night-long search by Highway Patrol, Civil Defense and local officers.Parts of the yellow plane were scattered over a 60-yard area a mile off Highway 70 about three miles west of Camden.

The wreckage was between the highway and a ranger tower, which had served as a base of operations for searchers. "The plane left Dyersburg about 6 p.m. Tuesday for a flight to Nashville. The entertainers had been in Kansas City for a benefit performance for the late Cactus Jack Call, a disc jockey. Sam Webb, whose farm is near the dense woodlands said he saw a plane circling his home about 7 p.m. and that it was "revving up its motor. . . going fast and then slow, like it was attempting to climb."


Webb said the plane left his sight and then he heard something "like it struck the top of some trees." The weather in the area at the time of the accident was termed "extremely turbulent." Investigators of the Civil Aeronautics Board were enroute to the crash scene to make a detailed probe of the wreckage in an effort to learn the cause of the smashup.  

Full Story HERE
 

9 comments:

Richard Brown said...

Kim my dad (Jack D. Brown) was sales manager for Decca records out of Memphis back in those days. One of his stories was taking one of Patsey's 45's down to the radio station and giving it to George Kline, George had a couple of stacks of 45's and he put it on the back stack, my dad asked him what that stack was and he told him if things got kind of slow he would play something off of that stack. My dad took the 45 back and then the plane crashed and George called my dad and asked for the 45, my dad told him to go to the record shop and buy it!! My dad didn't like smart asses!! I always thought the 45 was I Fall To Pieces, but I don't think the timeline is right for that. Richard.

Marilyn Bettencourt said...

love all your great articles...thanks!

Dee Gilbert said...

Kim,
I LOVE Patsy! Kim I was JUST writing in my manuscript about how The house where I lived turning into a wild place with people that all I could do was listen to my Patsy Cline tape and hide in the bathroom with my tape player with her voice to soothe me.Dave's favorite song was 'Sweet Dream's Of You" If I ever kareoke, I always do my fav, "She's got you" I liked the movie about her life.You never cease to amaze me with these good stories! AMAZING KIMMER!

Tom Wall said...

"She sure was swell, dont'cha think?"

Retro Kimmer said...

Yes I love Patsy... @Richard what a great story about your dad.. Did you grow up in Memphis it's one of my most favorite cities where I used to work. @ Marilyn thank you so much!@ Dee can't wait to see you next week!

Retro Kimmer said...

Patsy swore like a truck driver and really was one of the boys. That's one of the things I loved about her, she was no prissy singer with a huge ego. She bought the song writers lovely gifts for her hits. Nobody did that!

Richard said...

Hey Kim, yes born and raised in Memphis until we moved to Cincy Ohio in 67, then back to Memphis in 75. Thanks, Richard.

Tom Wall said...

"Kim - I didn't know that about her - she had a little nasty, realistic edge and a bit of kindness about her that you simply cannot fake. Thanks for sharing this!

John Fay said...

"Deep Respects!! Top Class... thanks for reminder Kim. JF"

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