“It’s my time”: the tragic fateful death of Patsy Cline
An artist’s death is always tragic, particularly when it leaves so many unanswered questions about their work and unfulfilled potential for further creation. Back in the 1950s and ’60s, the relatively primitive nature of commercial air travel claimed the lives of many promising young artists and established stars, including the likes of Otis Redding, Buddy Holly, and country music icon Patsy Cline. All of those deaths remain heartbreaking to this day, but Cline stands out for just how easily it could have been avoided.
Emerging from Virginia during the late 1940s while still a teenager, Cline was an incredibly unique performer within the sphere of country music. Most prominent country artists at the time were men, who all stuck rigidly to the tight parameters of traditional country music and Southern tradition. In contrast, Cline was never afraid to explore the influence of other musical styles, namely gospel and rockabilly, which came to define her sound during the 1950s – the peak of her performing career.
Aside from the unique diversity in Cline’s music, much of the singer’s appeal came from her truly gifted vocals. Listen to any recording made by Cline during the late 1950s and early ’60s, and you will find that the Virginia-born artist had an incredibly emotive performance style, capable of conveying gut-wrenching feelings even if the words she was singing were fairly simple. Cline was clearly destined to become a vocalist, and her groundbreaking success in country music certainly reflected that fact.
In 1961, as Cline was beginning to reach the peak of her success, her time on Earth was very nearly cut short. Not far from her Nashville home, Cline and her brother – who were travelling together to buy fabric – were struck head-on by another car, throwing Cline into the windshield of the vehicle. In the crash, the country star suffered serious injuries to her face, in addition to a broken wrist, dislocated hip, and a laceration on her forehead, which very nearly killed her. In fact, when Cline was brought to the hospital, she was not expected to pull through. Against all the odds, the singer lived.
At the time of the accident, Cline’s husband, Charlie Dick, claimed she had told him, “Jesus was here, Charlie. Don’t worry. He took my hand and told me, ‘No, not now. I have other things for you to do.'” In the years that followed, that quote became all the more relevant, with Cline’s performing career going from strength to strength, seeing her become one of America’s defining country music stars. Tragically, though, that success would be short-lived.
In March of 1963, Cline performed a show at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall, Kansas City, Kansas. Ironically, the show was a benefit concert following the death of disc jockey ‘Cactus’ Jack Call. Following the show, however, heavy fog prevented Cline and her fellow performers from flying back home to Nashville. Fellow performer Dottie West offered Cline a ride in her car back to Nashville, but the country singer refused, reportedly saying, “Don’t worry about me, Hoss. When it’s my time to go, it’s my time.”
On March 5th, two days after the benefit gig in Kansas, Cline embarked on her journey home. After refuelling in Arkansas and then landing in Dyersburg, flight conditions were very treacherous. However, pilot Randy Hughes refused the warnings he was given about high winds, and so Cline, along with fellow musicians Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins, boarded a plane to Nashville and never made it home.
The plane crashed in heavy weather at around 6:20pm, just over ten minutes after departure. Everyone onboard, including Cline, was killed instantly upon impact, with their bodies being discovered in the early hours of the morning. This gruesome crash provided a heartbreaking end to one of the most promising and beloved vocalists of the period. It did not, however, impact the timeless beauty of her recordings.
Despite her truly tragic demise, Cline remains one of America’s all-time greatest country singers, and her work largely eclipsed the country scene to become coveted by music fans across the spectrum. Even after her death, Cline’s music continued to be released and re-issued, with many subsequent generations finding solace in her rich and emotionally affecting vocals. It seems likely that her work will continue to be loved for many years to come.
