Patsy Cline Fans, This News Will Make Your Day
"Timeless" is a word that's inseparable from Patsy Cline. More than 50 years after her death, Patsy's music continues to touch and inspire fans through its enormous emotional depth, and the debate she sparked around pop-country crossover music is still going on today. Few musicians can hope for such a lasting legacy.
A new PBS documentary aims to shine a light on that legacy and celebrate Patsy's iconic career. Narrated by Rosanne Cash, Patsy Cline: American Masters premiered nationwide on March 4 as an hour-long special featuring some of Patsy's most famous fans, including Reba McEntire, Nashville creator Callie Khouri, and actress Beverly D'Angelo, according to Billboard. They discuss the impact Patsy has made on the industry, while country music historians explain how Patsy shifted the genre as a woman. The film also shows rare performances of classic songs such as "Walkin' After Midnight," "Crazy," "Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray," and more.
While her early records were full-on twangy country, Patsy later paired with country superproducer Owen Bradley and signed a new contract at Decca that allowed her to branch out and spread her artistic wings. She went on to synthesize country, pop, and rock in a brand new way to create the Nashville Sound, according to PBS.
"I think maybe she would have become a Barbra Streisand," director Barbara J. Hall says in the film. "She showed that she could not just be pigeonholed. She earned her chops listening to big bands, she went country western, then she went country pop, then she went pop."
Patsy defied female conventions of the 1950s through her unique fashion sense, her decision to divorce, her overwhelming support of other female artists, and her relentless fight for equal treatment of her Nashville peers when it came to radio airplay. She was at the peak of her success when she died tragically in a 1963 plane crash at the age of 30.
"For me, her story exceeds her musical accomplishments," Hall told PBS. "She is in a rare class of women who simply set out to achieve their dreams and through those efforts left an indelible mark."
Check the PBS website to find an upcoming schedule of when the documentary will reair.
(h/t Billboard)
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