Virginia Patterson Hensley, born Patsy Cline; American singer (September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963). She was one of the first country music artists to move into pop music, and she is regarded as one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. During her eight-year recording career, Cline had several major hits, including two Billboard Hot Country and Western Sides number-one singles.
Her first Four Star singles, “A Church, a Courtroom, Then Goodbye” (1955) and “I’ve Loved and Lost Again,” both had limited success. On Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts in 1957, Cline made her first appearance on national television. Her first major hit, “Walkin’ After Midnight,” debuted on both the country and pop charts after she performed it.
Patsy Cline parents: Meet Hilda Virginia, Samuel Lawerence Hensley
Cline was born Virginia Patterson Hensley on September 8, 1932, in Winchester, Virginia, to Samuel Lawerence Hensley and Hilda Virginia (née Patterson).
After her daughter’s death, Cline’s mother, Hilda Hensley, continued to reside in Winchester, Virginia. She lived across the street from the family’s former residence on South Kent Street and rented it out. Hensley briefly spent time in Virginia raising her two grandchildren after Cline’s death. Hensley kept a closet full of stage costumes for her daughter, including a dress with sequins that Cline wore when she performed in Las Vegas in 1962.
Samuel Hensley, Cline’s father, passed away in 1956 from lung cancer. In 1947, Hensley left the family. “Mama, I know what all he did, but it seems he’s really sick and may not make it,” Cline said to her mother shortly before he passed away after learning that he was seriously ill. I want to go see him in spite of everything.” Cline and her mother paid him a visit at a West Virginia hospital in Martinsburg.
