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Musicheads Essential Artist: Patsy Cline

For paving the way for women in country music and beyond, Patsy Cline is a Musicheads Essential Artist
For paving the way for women in country music and beyond, Patsy Cline is a Musicheads Essential ArtistCourtesy of the artist / MPR graphic
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May 19, 2015

March is Women's History Month. To celebrate, each weekday this month we'll be spotlighting a different artist with special coverage on air and online. For Monday, March 9, we're shining a light on Patsy Cline.

Patsy Cline is important, well, because she was a country music pioneer.

She scored her first hit in 1957, with "Walkin' After Midnight," and the hits just continued to churn out for her. She experienced country music stardom for just five short years, but in those years, the impact she had on the industry was extremely significant.

Songs like "I Fall to Pieces," "She's Got You," "Crazy" (which was one of her signature songs), and the 1963 hit "Sweet Dreams" — which she recorded just shortly before she was killed in a plane crash at the age of 30.

Patsy Cline was the first woman to be a headliner in the very male-dominated world of country music. In doing that, she paved the way for other women in the genre, artists like Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton.

Cline's music is significant to the history of the Nashville sound, and her legacy hasn't just touched country music but all styles. In all genres, you can find someone who has cited Patsy Cline as a huge influence.

Patsy Cline, a woman who refused to stand behind the men, found her place in the spotlight.