Patsy Cline: On the Record

Albums were still a new concept in country music, and Patsy's first contract only allowed her to record songs from one publisher. Albums cost money to produce and Patsy's sales weren't steady until 1961. Decca probably couldn't justify the expense without a guarantee on returns, especially since the label was not in full control of Patsy's output until late 1960. Her last sessions were produced for a new album due in March 1963.

 

thank you.
ok but didn't patsy release a ton of singles that were never included in albums? surely she did not release only 30 songs for decca between 1957 and 1963? i'm no expert but it jumps out at me that her label released an album in 57 and the next one wasn't until 61? that seems pretty shocking to me...

 

Decca wasn't in control. You could say that Patsy was on loan. 4 Star was paying Decca to record Patsy and to manufacture and distribute her material, but 4 Star had final authority on all A&R matters between 1955-1960. If they didn't want to pony up the money for an album, then Patsy didn't get an album. But if Patsy was signed directly to Decca, there's no guarantee of more albums from this period, because everybody involved was still trying to find her record-selling sound. The quality of the 4 Star material was the biggest problem, though.

 

Hutch,,thats about what it amounts to. Musicfan and crystalised know a lot more about it then I do. But I think after walkin after midnight success in 1957... there were quite a few singles released but none made the charts to justify an album. Remember it was the 45 era.

 

ok i did not know that .. on the first decca album i think i hear her sound already though but i am not that knowledgeable on this which is why i was asking..thanks

amazing to learn

 

Well there ya go crystalised beat me too it

 

Patsy's talent is on the early records, but she could only take mediocre lyrics so far. Today, Sony owns rights to the 4 Star stuff, and Universal owns the Decca stuff, even though it was all recorded by Decca. That's because of the licensing deal.

 

Exactly. Country music was still a singles market in the late 1950s. Only established artists (Ray Price, Faron Young, Don Gibson, etc.) were getting albums, and that's because these guys "found a sound" and were charting singles. Back then it was too risky for a record label to put out more than one album of an artist without chart activity. Country music was a regional market and not as mainstream as it is today. Patsy's licensing deal just complicated things further and made albums even less likely. "Walkin' After Midnight" was the only reason she got her first album as early as she did.

 

Date: January 8, 1959
Location: Bradley Studios, 804 16th Avenue South, Nashville TN.
Owen Bradley (pdr), Patsy Cline (v), The Jordanaires (bkv, hnd), Hank Garland, Grady Martin (eg), Floyd Cramer (p), Bob Moore (b), Harold Bradley (ebx), Buddy Harman (d)

Session information courteous of patsyclinediscography.com

I'm Moving Along - 2:08 (Johnny Starr)
I'm Blue Again - 2:08 (Buster Beam, Lawton Jiles, W.S. Stevenson)
Love, Love, Love Me Honey Do - 2:05 (Buster Beam, Lawton Jiles, W.S. Stevenson)

Patsy's next session at the beginning of 1959 marked a series of firsts.

It was the first session after Patsy’s maternity leave. She had given birth to her first child in August ’58 and it had been nearly a full year she had recorded any music. Additionally, these songs marked her first collaboration with famed Nashville male vocal quartet, The Jordanaires, and it would be Patsy’s first recording session recorded in stereo.

By now, it had been nearly two years since her winning television appearance on Arthur Godfrey’s Talents Scouts. The lack of follow-up hit singles since “Walkin’ After Midnight” no doubt frustrated Patsy and, by 1959, she was desperate for a hit. Therefore, it comes as no surprise, she began to scrutinize songs and arrangements. In fact, she initially resisted the addition of The Jordanaires to her records. Patsy considered the Anita Kerr Singers intrusive enough. How would she be heard now with four grown men singing behind her or, in Patsy’s words, “covering her up?” It would take hearing the results of the January 1959 sessions before Patsy embraced the change.

The session opens with “I’m Moving Along”. It’s a bouncy, kiss-off number that prominently features the Jordanaires and Patsy’s delivery is full of confidence and sparkle. Unreleased during Patsy’s lifetime, the song finally saw the light of day on one of her posthumous albums. An underrated song all around.

Next up was, “I’m Blue Again.” Her vocal prowess was in full force and the song was the perfect example of the country-blues sound tailored made for Patsy. It was one of her best recordings to date but unfortunately ended up buried on the B-side of a single. A huge misstep by the record label.

Things went into overdrive for the closing of the session with “Love, Love, Love Me Honey Do.” A high-octane rockabilly romp, each verse is more enthusiastic than the previous as Patsy yodels and growls her way through the song’s modulating verses, as she’s carried higher and higher as if she’s defying gravity.

Greatest Hit – “I’m Blue Again”
Greatest Gem – “I’m Moving Along”

 

Love this session and the songs. Im moving along and Love, love, love me do have that Elvis sound clearly with the Jordanaires present IMO.
Did the record label even promote this sessions material? Im blue and moving along sound like chart material to me..excellent vocals by Patsy. She musta been quite frustrated with the outcome of this session. Hell im frustrated for her and I was 3 years old at that time...lol

 

Stylistically, the chorus replacement is a step in the right direction for Patsy's records. These were not the first Patsy Cline masters to receive a stereo mix, although they are her first multi-track recordings (and therefore the earliest to allow for a stereo option later). Mono was still priority and the studio was mixing for singles, although listeners might appreciate the presence that stereo lends to Patsy's records, since it creates an expansive backdrop that enhances the quality of her vocals.

"I'm Blue Again" is a fine example of country blues mixed with equal parts rock and roll. The song might have spawned a blues-themed album if it hit. Regardless, the record boasts a lush arrangement in spite of its simplicity, and the song features an appealing melody with straightforward lyrics that are memorable enough to incite hit potential. Patsy's masterful performance bears more similarities to "Sweet Dreams" than it does the other two recordings of the session. The aural teardrops are at full power, and her vocal delivery is solid yet sincere. The recording bears a delectable yearning, and Patsy is at her captivating finest; "I'm Blue Again" is required listening.

"I'm Moving Along" and "Love, Love, Love Me Honey Do" remained on the shelf in Patsy's lifetime.

Greatest Hit - I'm Blue Again
Greatest Gem - I'm Blue Again

 

Indeed - this was a rock and roll session, similar to the Stereo '57 material.

 

Well...they never released "I'm Moving Along" and "Love, Love, Love Me Honey Do" as singles during Patsy's lifetime, while "I'm Blue Again" was only featured on a B-side of single that flopped. So I'd say no. And it's really a shame.

 

Wow musicfan...so the powers that be take patsy into the studio..record 3 songs..take a listen after the tracks are finished and say there is nothing there to release? They must have had tin ears. Patsy did these songs about as well as can be done. If they thought the song material wasn't good enough they can only blame themselves.
Question...why would 4 stars limit her to their material only? Im guessing if patsy had a hit..they would reap all of the benefits. If it wasn't a 4 star song then they would only get a piece. But isn't a piece better then getting 0 for the questionable material they were handing her?

 

There were five songs in total recorded over two consecutive sessions on January 8th and 9th - resulting in more than enough material for two singles (Two "A" and two "B" sides). However, likely due to Patsy's insistence to release "Cry Not For Me", only one of the five tracks would be relased as an official "A" side, with "I'm Blue Again" appearing on the flip side. If "Cry Not For Me" had not appeared on 45, one of the other songs from this session might have actually seen a release. (Perhaps "Moving Along" seeing as how it was the first track recorded on the first of the two days.)

Ultimately, the lack of hits resulted in a lack of Patsy Cline albums during this time. If more albums has been released, most or all of these five songs would likely have seen the light of day during Patsy's lifetime...although that is pure speculation.

As a general rule, Patsy was not permitted to record non-4 Star copyrights through 1960, although it did happen rarely. The theory about 4 Star reaping all of the benefits from a Patsy 4 Star hit is correct. In fact, one notices the name W.S. Stevenson credited as co-writer on several of Patsy's 4 Star recordings. This was actually tactic used by Bill McCall, the president of 4 Star, wh0 attached his own name to several of the songs using his wife's maiden name (Stevenson) along with the initials of William Shakespeare, if you can believe it. Anything, it seems, to ensure both 4 Star and McCall, personally, profited from any sales of Patsy's records.

 

What is the best sounding CDs of the Four Star recordings? The box set sounds good but some of the songs are missing.

 

The Varese discs use good sources.

 

But, you'd still be missing three studio recordings if you owned the Varese titles:
1. He Will Do For You
2. Ain't No Wheels On This Ship
3. Come On In (1958)

The box set omits 12 cuts. The first Varese disc (25 All-Time Greatest Recordings) gets you most of the way there with 8 of the missing 12. The Rhino volumes get you to 11, spanning three discs. Only the CD editions contain the bonus tracks that get you "He Will Do For You" in the first volume. The missing title is "Come On In." Some of the Rhino tracks have good sound, but the Varese is better overall.



If you must have the dixieland version of "Come On In," it's available on a recent Hickory compilation with the best source and mastering I've ever heard of the song:

 

Crystalised / Musicfan how would you rate say the top 5 sounding discs?

 

The 1959 sessions produced two singles:
Decca 30846 - Yes, I Understand / Cry Not For Me (2/23/1959)
Decca 30929 - Gotta Lot Of Rhythm In My Soul / I'm Blue Again (7/20/1959)

The front sides of these singles were recorded at Patsy's next session. "Cry Not For Me" is a more suitable flip to "Yes, I Understand" than either of the unissued tracks from January 8.

Albums require more sessions, thereby increasing the number of masters. Patsy wasn't selling, so unissued leftovers are actually more likely if albums were being produced.

"W.S." for Shakespeare and "Stevenson" for Robert Louis Stevenson. Ethel Bassey was his wife's name, sometimes used in place of W.S. Stevenson ("If I Could Only Stay Asleep," for example).

 

.crystalised is correct - I knew McCall used his wife's name for song writing credits but forgot it was by using her full name. Thanks for clarifying!

 

Date: January 9, 1959
Location: Bradley Studios, 804 16th Avenue South, Nashville TN.
Owen Bradley (pdr), Patsy Cline (v), The Jordanaires (bkv, hnd), Hank Garland, Grady Martin (eg), Floyd Cramer (p), Bob Moore (b), Harold Bradley (ebx), Farris Coursey (d)

Session information courtesy of patsyclinediscography.com

Yes, I Understand - 2:52 (Buster Beam, Lawton Jiles, W.S. Stevenson)
Gotta Lot Of Rhythm In My Soul - 2:22 (Barbara Vaughan, W.S. Stevenson)

Day two of Patsy's January 1959 sessions would be spent on recording two songs only.

"Yes, I Understand" is a tasteful mid-tempo song with a simplistic and steady backing featuring the Jordanaires. More than any other recording up until this point, "Yes, I Understand" was the closest to the musical formula on which later successes like "I Fall To Pieces" would be based. The biggest difference between the two songs, unfortunately, was the addition of Patsy's own harmony vocals over top of the pre-recorded melody. While she would go on to apply this gimmick to other songs later in her career, "Yes, I Understand" was this first to receive this effect. The results are interesting, although a stereo version of the song released unintentionally on a 1965 posthumous LP without the harmony vocals, is the more masterful of the two recordings. In fact, without the harmony vocals, you can clearly hear the more restrained and understated approach to singing Patsy was becoming increasingly more comfortable with.

The final song, "Gotta Lot of Rhythm In My Soul" can be described as anything but restrained and understated. Not since "Stop, Look and Listen" did Patsy record such a downright hillbilly-sock-hop-rock-around the clock kind of number. It's “boogie-woogie 101” and features several guitar instrumental interludes throughout and even hand claps! The A-team in Nashville certainly ended the session with a bang.

Patsy had high hopes for this session, as evident in a letter she sent to her fan club president, Treva Miller on January 22, 1959:
"I wish you could drop in now and hear my new recordings. I've a demo on each of them. I really have something different this time. The one I recorded with harmony with myself sounds so great, if I do say so because everyone is just flipping over it. It's called Yes, I Understand, and will be my next release I hope."

Patsy got her wish. "Yes, I Understand" b/w "Cry Not For Me" was issued as a Decca single in 1959. "Cry Not For Me" ended up charting briefly in the top 60 in Cashbox magazine indicating some decent airplay in a few of the radio markets in the U.S. that year. It was not the hit Patsy had hoped for, but still, the results of the session proved she was still a relevant artist capable of creating contemporary records. Unfortunately, her next session would not afford this opportunity.

 

Musicfan..I take it you didn't care for patsy harmonizing with herself on Yes, I Understand?

 

I havent heard that tune in awhile...have to give it a listen

 

Why Can't He Be You is my favorite Cline song - back when even minor, filler pop songs had classy melodies and thoughtful lyrics.