Patsy Cline’s life and career were cut short in a plane crash six decades ago. But her musical legacy endures and her influence palpable in a star-packed tribute concert appearing Friday night on PBS.
“Great Performances – Patsy Cline: Walkin’ After Midnight,” scheduled to be broadcast at 9 p.m. Friday on PBS (check local listings) is a 90-minute program featuring a talented roster of musical guests performing songs Cline made famous – or songs written about the singer.
Wynonna Judd plays a key part in the concert, recorded in April at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn., delivering a rendition of “Sweet Dreams (of You),” midway through the program. She returns to close the show with “Crazy,” the Willie Nelson-penned song which earned Cline a hit on the country and pop charts in 1961.
Other performers include Ashley McBryde, Crystal Gayle, Mickey Guyton, Kristin Chenoweth, Rita Wilson, Kellie Pickler, Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, Grace Potter, Beverly D’Angelo, who portrayed Cline in the 1980 film “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” and Mandy Barnett, who performed Cline songs in the 1990s jukebox musical “Always…Patsy Cline” at the Ryman.
Before performing the song “I Fall to Pieces,” Chenoweth, who starred in the Broadway production of “Wicked” and appears in the new film version, said it was her first time on the historic Ryman stage.
Chenoweth recalled how as a young singer, she remembered the first time she heard “the voice,” Chenoweth said. “I learned by listening to her.”
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Pat Benatar: Patsy Cline ‘transcends’ country music
The mix of country legends with modern country artists, plus rockers such as Potter, Benatar with husband and musical partner Giraldo made sense, because Patsy Cline “transcends the genre,” Benatar told USA TODAY. “She’s an icon.”
Benatar and guitar virtuoso Giraldo – they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022 – chose to perform the 1962 song “Imagine That,” after demoing several songs ahead of the concert. “I found that one in particular was kind of sassy and it just felt better when I sang it,” she said.
They were “really honored and happy to be part of it,” Benatar said. “I loved Patsy … I always loved her so much. So it was really great to be able to get in there and sing a song. You know, I’ve never done anything like that with her music, so it was kind of fun.”
Who was Patsy Cline?
Born Virginia Patterson Hensley on September 8, 1932 in Winchester, Virginia, she took the stage name “Patsy” at the age of 20, according to the Country Music Hall of Fame, which in 1973 made her the first female solo artist inducted.
She had a major hit with “Walkin’ After Midnight,” released in March 1957, and became a regular at the Grand Old Opry in January 1960. As “I Fall to Pieces” was making its way up the charts, Cline and her brother Sam Hensley Jr., survived a near-fatal head-on car collision in June 1961.
Just six weeks after that, Cline performed “Crazy” on the Opry stage, with the help of crutches.
She died at the age of 30 in a plane crash on March 5, 1963 near Camden, Tenn., returning from a benefit concert in Kansas City, Missouri. Also perishing in the crash: Randy Hughes, who was Cline’s manager Randy Hughes, and musicians Lloyd “Cowboy” Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins.
Cline’s other hits include “She’s Got You,” and, released after her death, “Leavin’ on Your Mind” and “Sweet Dreams (of You)”
“It’s just amazing what she accomplished in the very short time she was there and especially in the era that she lived in, that’s very empowering and you feel that connection tremendously when you listen to her music,” Benatar said. “It was just a beautiful night and a really purposeful and spectacular tribute to her.”
How to watch ‘Great Performances: Patsy Cline: Walkin’ After Midnight’
The program will appear on local PBS stations on Friday at 9 p.m. local time. You can also find the program in the PBS app or watch it on pbs.org/gperf.
During the program, you will also see archival video interviews from Loretta Lynn, Dottie West, Roy Clark, Owen Bradley, and Cline’s late second husband, Charlie Dick.
Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider.
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