A CLOSER WALK WITH PATSY CLINE

Although she will never be replaced, A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline is a tribute to her spirit and a celebration of the music of her life. One of the all-time legends of country music, Patsy Cline was born Virginia Patterson Hensley, September 8, 1932, in Virginia. Always spunky and devoted to music, she quit school at the age of fifteen to work in a drug store and help support her single mother and younger brother and sister. In return, her mother dedicated her spare time to helping Patsy's career, and drove her to Nashville when she was only sixteen for her first Grand Ole Opry audition.

Patsy was never shy about self-promotion and impressed everyone the moment they heard her. Ironically, her music talent was never really rewarded until Walkin' After Midnight, which was recorded ten years after she began singing professionally. Her incredible music rendition of this song on the Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts in 1957 not only won the contest, but finally set her on the road to the acclaim she deserved. It was followed three years later by the memorable I Fall to Pieces. Then came Crazy (written by Willie Nelson), She's Got You, Leavin' on Your Mind, Sweet Dreams, and Faded Love. Her last single release was A Closer Walk with Thee. She realized her lifetime ambition of joining the Grand Ole Opry in 1960 and won ten awards at the WSM Country Music Festival.

In the early 1960's Patsy's life began settling down-just as her career began to pick up. Two children, a dream home, and a stack of hit records were finally hers, but she would not be able to enjoy them long. Patsy Cline died in an airplane crash March 5, 1963, while hurrying back to her family after a benefit concert in Kansas City.

Patsy's enduring musical legacy is witnessed by the fact that she is the number one juke-box play in the world. Her Greatest Hits album has sold over 9 million copies, and has been in first place for over 200 weeks of her 700 weeks on Billboard's "Top Country Catalog Albums." On March 1, 1995, Patsy was memorialized with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and on August 3rd, 1999, she was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame.