PBS is 'Crazy' for Patsy Cline

PASADENA, Calif. — Decades after her death, country fans are still crazy about Patsy Cline.

Her career spanned only six years, from her first hit in 1957 to her death in 1963 in a plane crash at the age of 30. But in those half-dozen years, she changed the course of country music — and American music, leaving behind such classics as Walkin' After Midnight, Sweet Dreams and Crazy. Which is why PBS's American Masters is examining her life and work in its March special Patsy Cline.

"I consider her the Adele of that time," singer Mickey Guyton told television critics. "When you hear her, you don't necessarily associate her with country. You just hear that amazing voice."

But never doubt, Guyton says: Cline was a country singer. "Country music is telling a story and expressing emotion, and that's what she did."

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Country music fans, says Guyton, know Cline and probably always will, because country is careful to pay attention to its history. But she fears people outside of country will lose touch with Cline, which is one reason she's happy American Masters is airing this film.

"As artists, we have a responsibility to honor and treasure artists like Patsy," says Guyton.

Director and producer Barbara Hall says she's certainly happy American Masters made this film: "I've been pitching it for seven years."

If she had to fight to get the film made, that may be fitting, as Cline had to fight every step of her career. "She was probably the ultimate feminist," says Hall, "and if she was sitting right here, she probably wouldn't call herself a feminist...She just did what she knew she was born to do, and wouldn't take no for an answer."

Hall says she was given access to a treasure trove of material and performances, some of which hasn't been heard for years. Her favorite clip? Cline's live performance of Walkin' on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. "Hearing her excitement when she won...I felt like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm in the room with her.'"

Beverly D'Angelo, who started out as a rockabilly singer before she became an actress, played Cline in Coal Miner's Daughter. "My segue into acting had everything to do with Patsy Cline, because I could learn about her through her songs...It was in portraying Patsy that I found myself as an actress."

Where does D'Angelo think Cline would be now, if she had lived — would she still be performing at 85? "Who knows? But the good news is it holds up. You can listen to the songs she recorded in the '60s, and they still resonate today."