Oklahoma's 'Singing Rage' Patti Page remembered in anniversary musical 'Flipside'

To the world, Patti Page became known as one of the top-selling female vocalists of all time, a sultry-voiced songstress who earned the colorful nickname the "The Singing Rage" by crooning lasting hits like "Tennessee Waltz," “Doggie in the Window” and “Old Cape Cod."

But no matter where her almost seven-decade music career took her, the Oklahoma native never stopped being who she was from the time she was born: Clara Ann Fowler.

"The reason we love her is for Clara Ann. It's the heart that is inside of her that comes out in her voice that is undeniable. You cannot listen to her and not hear her soul," said local singer and actor Leah Coleman.

Coleman will play Clara Ann Fowler, opposite fellow University of Central Oklahoma alumnus Emily Pace's Patti Page, in the 10th anniversary production of “Flipside: The Patti Page Story." The homegrown musical is returning to its home state — and Page's — for performances June 23-26 at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church as part of UCO's Broadway Tonight series.

"I can't believe it's been 10 years since we did it, because that has gone like that," said "Flipside" writer and producer Greg White, snapping his fingers.

"In that 10 years, we've been able to ride the success of it, and I really am hoping that this is going to be a whole new chapter for 'Flipside.'"

Who was Patti Page?

Born Clara Ann Fowler Nov. 8, 1927, in Claremore, the future hitmaker was still a teenager when she started singing professionally at Tulsa radio station KTUL, adopting her stage name from one of the station's sponsors, the Page Milk Company.

"I asked her, 'What's your biggest regret?' ... And she said, 'I should never have given up my name,'" recalled White, who is also head of UCO's musical theater division and executive director for Broadway Tonight.

"There were other Patti Pages before her because Patti Page was a jingle name for the Page Milk Company. She had just stepped into that role at the radio station, so when Jack Rael heard her on the radio ... he was attracted to her voice, but also kept the name."

Rael gave up his career as a band leader to become her manager, and a year later, Page signed a contract with Mercury Records and began appearing in Chicago nightclubs. She made music history with one of her early hits: 1948's "Confess" was the first song to use vocal overdubbing, with Page backing up herself on the record.

Inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural 1997 class, Page recorded more than 1,000 songs, had 111 singles make the Billboard charts and earned 24 top 10 hits, including four No. 1s. She also appeared in movies — including co-starring with Burt Lancaster in his Oscar-winning turn as “Elmer Gantry" and opposite fellow Oklahoman James Garner in “Boy's Night Out” — and in musical theater with the comedy "Annie Get Your Gun."

"Patti Page was hugely significant: The No. 1-selling female vocalist from 1950 to 1997. Celine Dion knocked her off the top of the list," said Jeff Moore, executive director of the under-construction OKPOP Museum in Tulsa, where Page's collection will be housed.

"She sold a million copies of sheet music for 'Tennessee Waltz.' ... But the timing of her career made it so that it's difficult for people today to understand the magnitude."

'Flipside' musical shares Oklahoma singer's impressive legacy

After 51 years of performing, Page won her first Grammy in 1999 for traditional pop vocal performance for “Live at Carnegie Hall — The 50th Anniversary Concert." She was bestowed a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award a month after her death on Jan. 1, 2013, at the age of 85.

A lifelong Page fan, White found his inspiration for "Flipside" with biopic musicals “A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline" and “Always … Patsy Cline." He pitched the concept to Page's manager, Michael Glynn, when the singer returned to her home state in 2007 to perform on the Oklahoma Centennial Spectacular.

"I don't even know if you can think of anyone today that scaled the heights that Patti scaled. Let's say Beyoncé, but my parents aren't fans of Beyoncé. And everyone knew who Patti Page was, and she was popular with everyone," White said. "It was a different time in pop culture, but she's the only musical artist that ever had her own show on all three networks. ... So, I love that we can keep that legacy alive."

To create the show, he delved into Page's extensive musical catalog, watched numerous clips from her performances and TV shows and interviewed Page and her sister, Peggy Layton.

The show's concept and title come from Page's signature smash, 1950's "Tennessee Waltz," a song she longed to record but that her label rejected. With Christmas approaching, Mercury Records wanted her to record “Boogie Woogie Santa Claus," eventually letting her record "Tennessee Waltz" for the flipside.

While the yuletide A-side has largely been forgotten, the B-side "Tennessee Waltz" became an early country crossover hit and sold more than 10 million copies, ranking at the time behind only Bing Crosby's "White Christmas."

"'Boogie Woogie Santa Claus' is entirely overproduced. If you've ever listened to it, it's every bell, it's every whistle, so it's very garish. And the flipside is 'Tennessee Waltz,' and it's very simple. It's her singing harmony with herself, and of course, that's the piece that skyrocketed," White said.

"The thesis of it all is no matter what the industry produces, why we love Patti is Clara Ann. ... The show is about the rise of her fame, but always reaching back, trying to go back to the authentic self."

Creator hopes anniversary production brings new energy to 'Flipside'

Since its 2012 premiere at UCO, "Flipside" has toured regionally and nationally, earned 18 awards at the National Kennedy Center Festival in Washington, D.C., and played off-Broadway at the prestigious 59E59.

"I still hear from some of those people that came and saw the show that will email me and say 'When is the show coming back?' and 'Where can we see the show?' So, I feel like there's still life to be had in the show ... and I'm hoping that this (anniversary production) puts a new sort of energy behind 'Flipside,'" White said.

Showcasing 28 songs in its 90-minute runtime, the anniversary production will feature Erin Heatly, Mark Johnson, Kassie Carroll and Justin Larman, with musical direction by Sandra Thompson. Both Pace and Coleman will sing and share the stage as the two sides of the famous singer.

"It's a whole story of introspection in the spotlight, and you get to watch her through the story relive these memories. There's times when she talks to herself," Coleman said.

"I'm just more excited about this production than I've ever been about a show. I've been performing my entire life, and I've never been so excited to tell a story."

'FLIPSIDE: THE PATTI PAGE STORY' 

When: 7:30 p.m. June 23-25 and 2 p.m. June 25-26. 

Where: St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 222 NW 15 St. 

Tickets: www.uco.edu/cfad/mitchell-hall/tickets.  

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma's 'Singing Rage' Patti Page remembered in musical 'Flipside'