‘She makes me feel seen’: John Grant on the greatness of Patsy Cline – and her five finest songs

As he prepares a concert of Cline’s music, the singer-songwriter delves into the tragic life and melancholy musicianship of an American great Patsy Cline was really ballsy, very sure of herself and her voice. She became one of the most successful artists of all time, but it took her a long time. She grew up poor in Virginia. Her mother and father didn’t have a good relationship and she told a couple of her friends that her father had sexually molested her. When she was 13, she was hospitalised with a nearly fatal infection, and afterwards had this hoarseness which gave her a really booming voice. After singing in the church choir with her mother, Cline sang in contests and begged to get backstage and meet people so that she could audition for them. She had a lot of conviction in her talents and what she wanted to do, and fought for it. She ended up moving to Nashville to work with 4 Star, a small record company, where she released her first couple of minor hits, including A Church, A Courtroom and then Goodbye. Continue reading...