Patsy Cline: The Making of an Icon
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Patsy Cline: The Making of an Icon BY Douglas Gomery, Patsy Cline remains a much beloved singer, even though she died in 1963. Unlike most singers from the past, she has not plunged into obscurity; this book seeks to explain her rise to stardom and continued popularity. How was Patsy Cline able to transcend class and poverty to become the country music singer that non-country music fans embraced? Thus far, everything written about Patsy Cline has been based on unverifiable interviews. This book uses data from archives, letters, and court records – and is fully annotated. Since it is about Patsy Cline’s long term popularity, it does not end with her death in 1963. Indeed, the extraordinary rise of popularity of Patsy Cline only commenced in 1980. In this book, one learns how Patsy Cline learned to sing, and analyzes Patsy Cline recordings -- such as "Crazy" – as complex popular music. Patsy Cline recordings represent great popular singing, generating interest across generations. So this book divides into two halves – the first part on how she came to create the 102 songs she recorded in a studio, and second half tracing her dramatic rise in iconic status.
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About the Book
Patsy Cline remains a much beloved singer, even though she died in 1963. By 1996, Patsy Cline had become such an icon that The New York Times magazine positioned her among a pantheon of women celebrities who transcended any single cultural genre. A series of essays on "Heroine Worship" included Patsy Cline with such "feminine icons" as Eleanor Roosevelt, Martha Graham, Indira Gandhi, Aretha Franklin, and Jackie Onassis. The making of an icon is a cultural process that transcends traditional biographical analysis. One does not need to know the whole life story of the subject to understand how the subject became an icon. This book explores how Patsy Cline transcended class and poverty to become the country music singer that non-country music fans embraced. It goes beyond a traditional biography to explore the years beyond her death. “This is the first thoroughly researched book on Patsy Cline. It is true to Patsy and her legacy.” Judy Sue Huyett-Kempf President, Celebrating Patsy Cline The Patsy Cline Historic House Winchester, Virginia Douglas Gomery taught mass media history at the University of Wisconsin, Northwestern University, New York University, the University of Utrecht the Netherlands), and the University of Maryland. He retired in 2005 to become the Official Historian for Celebrating Patsy Cline and Resident Scholar at the Library of American Broadcasting.
About the Author
Douglas Gomery taught mass media history at the University of Wisconsin, Northwestern University, New York University, the University of Utrecht the Netherlands), and the University of Maryland. He retired in 2005 to become the Official Historian for Celebrating Patsy Cline and Resident Scholar at the Library of American Broadcasting.