Patsy Cline - Anthology (CD) (UK Import)

American singer, born on September 8, 1932, Winchester, Virginia, USA, died on March 5, 1963 near Camden, Tennessee, USA. The first female solo artist to be inducted into The Country Music Hall of Fame ten years after her death in a 1963 private plane accident, Patsy Cline has since been heralded as possibly the most groundbreaking, celebrated and influential female vocalist of the genre due to her unique Country/Pop crossover vocal stylings that helped to birth the Nashville Sound. Although she had been singing in local area venues for years, her professional recording career started in June of 1955 when she traveled to Nashville to record for the Coral label under her 4 Star Records contract which limited her song choices and subsequently her success. Her big break came in January of 1957 when she appeared on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts program singing "Walking After Midnight" and won the contest. When she finally broke free from her 4 Star contract, she was signed to Decca Records Nashville where, under the direction of legendary producer Owen Bradley, she began a string of hit recordings that would historically prove to be timeless in their production including "I Fall to Pieces", "She's Got You", "Crazy", "Leavin' On Your Mind", "Sweet Dreams" and many others. Although she enjoyed the success that the songs were bringing, she also felt conflicted by their stylings as she set out to be a Country singer, later shedding her Nudie-esque cowgirl outfits made by her mother for sleek cocktail dresses and gowns. Bradley understood her voice and her capabilities, pairing her with lush strings and quality songs that crossed over into the pop genre. Cline famously befriended and mentored several up and coming females in the business, included Dottie West, Loretta Lynn, Barbara Mandrell, Brenda Lee and others. In 1960 she became the first to attain Grand Ole Opry membership merely by asking and played Carnegie Hall in an Opry entourage in 1961 after surviving a near fatal car accident. She went on to tour with the likes of George Jones and Johnny Cash, playing the Hollywood Bowl with the later in 1962 before becoming the first woman in Country Music to headline her own show in Las Vegas in December of that year. With many accolades and honors of her day bearing her name while riding the crest of fame, she began to feel a sense of impending doom, confiding in friends that she felt she'd never live to see 30. On March 3, 1963 she played a benefit show in Kansas City with other Country Music stars and boarded her manager's plane bound for Nashville to get home to her sick children on March 5th 1963, but never made it as the plane crashed in severe weather in Camden, Tennessee. She was 30 years old. Upon her death Decca released "The Patsy Cline Story" LP, which featured one of the most contemporary photo covers to grace a Country Music album at that time.

Source: Discogs