Patsy Cline

Singer

Born Virginia Patterson Hensley on Sept. 8, 1932 in Winchester, VA

Died March 5, 1963 in Camden, Tenn.

Thanks to her exquisite recordings in the late 1950s and early '60s of such torch songs as "Crazy" and "I Fall to Pieces," Patsy Cline remains one of the most captivating and influential vocalists in all of pop music.
Her aggressive, emotional style — which incorporated elements of country, blues and pop—has been an influence on a wide range of singers, from Linda Ronstadt and k.d. lang to Wynonna Judd and LeAnn Rimes.

Though Cline's story has been told through both a film ("Sweet Dreams," with Jessica Lange as Cline) and a stage production (the touring "Always . . . Patsy Cline"), most of the singer's fans know her music best through her formal studio recordings.

— Robert Hilburn in the Los Angeles Times Aug. 2, 1997