Virginia Patterson Hensley was born on September 8, 1932.
With dreams of stardom at an early age she admired stars
such as Judy Garland and Shirley Temple and credited Kay Starr
and Hank Williams for influencing her career.

Appearing on the nationally televised “Arthur Godfrey’s Talent
Scouts” program in 1957 Patsy Cline sang a pop tune, “Walkin’
After Midnight,” and won. The song became an instant hit
with both country and pop music fans. She continued
with the country hit, “A Poor Man’s Roses”

In 1961 Patsy’s “I Fall to Pieces” and a song written by
Willie Nelson, “Crazy” along with “She’s Got You” established
her as a major star on Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry.

Ironically, with her “Leavin’ On Your Mind,” in the country
music top ten and Patsy Cline just 30 years of age, she would
die in a private plane crash on March 3, 1963. Two more hits
followed her death, “Sweet Dreams of You,” and “Faded Love.”

During her short career of only five and a half years, Patsy Cline
was awarded 12 prestigious awards for her achievements in music
and three more following her death. She was buried in her
hometown of Winchester, Virginia where a bell tower, erected
in her memory, plays hymns daily at 6:00 p.m., the hour of her
death. Her mother had her grave marked with a simple bronze
plaque, which reads: “Death Cannot Kill What Never Dies: Love”.
A memorial marks the place where the plane crashed
outside of Camden, Tennessee.

While Patsy Cline’s life may have ended, her fan following
certainly didn’t as her life and career have acquired almost
iconic status, so that she has become a bigger star
in death than she was in life.