page_title: Patsy Cline
section_title: 1961–1963: Career peak
hierarchical_section_title: Patsy Cline / Career / 1961–1963: Career peak
caption_attribution_description: English: Country Pop singer Patsy Cline performed at the The Mint Las Vegas in Downtown Las Vegas during November and December 1962. She was the first major country singer to perform in Vegas. She received great reviews at her shows. A return trip in early 1963 was in the works, however, Patsy was killed in a private plane crash in March 1963. Today the Mint casino site is Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel.
context_page_description: Patsy Cline was an American singer. She is considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century and was one of the first country music artists to successfully cross over into pop music. Cline had several major hits during her eight-year recording career, including two number-one hits on the Billboard Hot Country and Western Sides chart.
  Cline's first professional performances began at the local WINC radio station when she was fifteen. In the early 1950s, Cline began appearing in a local band led by performer Bill Peer. Various local appearances led to featured performances on Connie B. Gay's Town and Country television broadcasts. It also led to the signing of her first recording contract with the Four Star label in 1954. She had minor success with her earliest Four Star singles including "A Church, A Courtroom and Goodbye" and "I've Loved and Lost Again". In 1957 however, Cline made her first national television appearance on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. After performing "Walkin' After Midnight", the single would become her first major hit on both the country and pop charts.
context_section_description: Cline returned to her career six weeks after her 1961 car accident. Her first public appearance was on the Grand Ole Opry where she assured fans she would continue performing. She said to the audience that night, "You're wonderful. I'll tell you one thing: the greatest gift, I think, that you folks coulda given me was the encouragement that you gave me. Right at the very time I needed you the most, you came through with the flying-est colors. And I just want to say you'll just never know how happy you made this ol' country gal." Cline's follow-up single to "I Fall to Pieces" was the song "Crazy". It was written by Willie Nelson, whose version of the song was first heard by Dick. When Dick brought the song to Cline she did not like it. When Dick encouraged her to record "Crazy", Cline replied, "I don't care what you say. I don't like it and I ain't gonna record it. And that's that." Bradley liked the song and set the date for its recording for August 17. When Cline got to Bradley's studio, he convinced her to record it. She listened to Nelson's version of "Crazy" and decided she was going to perform it differently. Nelson's version included a spoken section that Cline removed. She cut additional material on August 17 and when she got to "Crazy", it became difficult to perform. Because Cline was still recovering from the accident, performing the song's high notes caused rib pain. Giving her time to rest, Bradley sent her home while musicians laid down the track without her. A week later she returned and recorded her vocal in a single take.
  "Crazy" was released as a single in October 1961, debuting on the Billboard country charts in November. It would peak at number 2 there and number 9 on the same publication's pop charts. "Crazy" would also become Cline's biggest pop hit. "Crazy" has since been called a country music standard. Cline's vocal performance and the song's production have received positive praise over time. Cub Koda of AllMusic noted the "ache" in her voice that makes the song stand out: "Cline's reading of the lyric is filled with an aching world weariness that transforms the tune into one of the first big crossover hits without even trying hard." Country music historian Paul Kingsbury also highlighted her "ache", saying in 2007, "Cline's hit recording swings with such velvety finesse, and her voice throbs and aches so exquisitely, that the entire production sounds absolutely effortless." Jhoni Jackon of Paste Magazine called the recording "iconic", highlighting the "pain" Cline had in her vocal technique. Her second studio album Patsy Cline Showcase was released in late 1961. The album featured both major hits from that year and re-recorded versions of "Walkin' After Midnight" and "A Poor Man's Roses (Or a Rich Man's Gold)".
  "Crazy" and Cline's further Decca recordings have received critical praise. Mary Bufwack and Robert Oermann noted "Her thrilling voice invariably invested these with new depth. Patsy's dramatic volume control, stretched-note effects, sobs, pauses and unique ways of holding back, then bursting into full-throated phrases also breathed new life into country chestnuts like "San Antonio Rose", "Blue Moon of Kentucky" and "Half as Much". Richie Unterberger of AllMusic commented that her voice "sounded richer, more confident, and more mature, with ageless wise and vulnerable qualities that have enabled her records to maintain their appeal with subsequent generations." Kurt Wolff of Country Music the Rough Guide reported that Owen Bradley recognized potential in Cline's and once he gained studio control, he smoothed arrangements and "refine her voice into an instrument of torch-singing glory."
  In November 1961, she was invited to perform as part of the Grand Ole Opry's show at Carnegie Hall in New York City. She was joined by Opry stars Minnie Pearl, Grandpa Jones, Jim Reeves, Bill Monroe, Marty Robbins, and Faron Young. Despite positive reviews, The New York Times reporter Dorothy Kilgallen commented, "everybody should get out of town because the hillbillies are coming!" The comment upset Cline 
caption: Patsy Cline in front of the Merri-Mint Theatre in Las Vegas, Nevada, late 1962
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