LOS ANGELES (MCA Nashville/UMe) - Patsy Cline is one of the most popular and influential female singers in music history - the first woman inducted into the Country
Music Hall Of Fame and #11 on VH1's "100 Greatest Women Of Rock & Roll." Her 1973 12-selection Greatest Hits is still the best-selling hits package by a woman. Now her 22 greatest recordings, each digitally remastered, have been brought together on Patsy Cline - The Definitive Collection (MCA Nashville/UMe), released June 22, 2004.
A new series dedicated to country artists, the first slate of The Definitive Collection releases includes compilations for Cline, George Jones, Billy Ray Cyrus, Sammy Kershaw, The Mavericks, and Don Williams.
Amazingly, Cline's entire body of work consists of barely over 100 tracks, each produced by the renowned Owen Bradley. Her fifth single was her first hit (coincidentally, so was George Jones's) when in 1957 Decca issued "Walkin' After Midnight" and it not only soared to No 2 country but crossed over to pop (No 12). The Definitive Collection includes that original single and its B-side, "A Poor Man's Roses (Or A Rich Man's Gold)" (No 14 country), rather than her more cosmopolitan and familiar 1961 re-recordings.
Her plaintive style came into full bloom in 1960 with "Lovesick Blues" and "I Fall to Pieces." The latter, penned by esteemed songsmiths Harlan Howard and Hank Cochran, hit No 1 country and No 12 pop. Her renditions of Cole Porter's "True Love" and Bob Wills' "San Antonio Rose" were first heard on her 1961 album PATSY CLINE SHOWCASE.
Later that year, "Crazy," composed by Willie Nelson, reached No 2 country, would be her lone pop Top 10 (No 9) and is said to be the most-played jukebox single of all time. After "Strange" (co-written by Mel Tillis), she returned to No 1 with Cochran's "She's Got You" (No 14 pop).
"So Wrong," another Tillis work (with Carl Perkins), peaked at No 14 in 1962. That year she also recorded "Heartaches," "Half As Much," Howard's "When I Get Thru With You (You'll Love Me Too)" (No 10), "Imagine That" (No 21), Cochran's "Why Can't He Be You" and "When You Need A Laugh," Webb Pierce's "Leavin' On Your Mind" (No 8), and "Back In Baby's Arms."
In early 1963, she recorded Wills' "Faded Love" (No 7), Irving Berlin's "Always" (No 18 when re-released in 1980), Howard's "He Called Me Baby" (No 23) and "Sweet Dreams (Of You)" (No 5).
On March 6, 1963, Cline perished in a private plane crash. She was just 30 years old. "Sweet Dreams (Of You)," issued five weeks later, would provide the title to her 1985 film biography.
Today, Patsy Cline's voice remains one of music's most recognizable and adored.
