Editing Patsy Cline (section)

==Artistry==
===Influences===
Cline was influenced by various music artists. Among her earliest influences were [[pop music|pop]] singers of the 1940s and 1950s. These included [[Kay Starr]],<ref name="Kay Starr">{{cite web |last1=Hurst |first1=Jack |title=A Real 'Patsy' |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1996-12-01-9612010253-story.html |website=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=December 1996 |access-date=September 16, 2019}}</ref> [[Helen Morgan (singer)|Helen Morgan]],<ref name="Country Music Hall of Fame"/> [[Patti Page]],<ref name="Patti Page">{{cite news |last1=Sylvester |first1=Bruce |title=Remembering Patti Page with a 2003 Interview |url=https://www.goldminemag.com/blogs/remembering-patti-page-with-a-2003-interview |newspaper=Goldmine Magazine: Record Collector & Music Memorabilia |access-date=September 16, 2019}}</ref> and [[Kate Smith]].<ref name="Kate Smith">{{cite web |last1=Hughes |first1=Mike |title=Life of indomitable country-western singer Patsy Cline told on PBS |url=https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/entertainment/television/2017/03/08/life-indomitable-country-western-singer-patsy-cline-told-pbs/98796888/ |website=Lansing State Journal |access-date=September 16, 2019}}</ref> Patti Page recollected that Cline's husband said to her, "I just wish Patsy could have met you because she just adored you and listened to you all the time and wanted to be like you."<ref name="Patti Page"/> Among her primary influences was Kay Starr, of whom Cline was a "fervent devotee" according to ''[[The Washington Post]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Kay Starr, ferociously expressive singer who had a pop hit with 'Wheel of Fortune' dies at 94 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/kay-starr-ferociously-expressive-singer-who-had-pop-hit-with-wheel-of-fortune-dies-at-94/2016/11/03/e456531a-a21d-11e6-a44d-cc2898cfab06_story.html |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=September 16, 2019}}</ref> Jack Hurst of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' remarked that "Her rich, powerful voice, obviously influenced by that of pop's Kay Starr, has continued and perhaps even grown in popularity over the decades."<ref name="Kay Starr"/> Cline was also attracted to country music radio programs, notably the Grand Ole Opry. According to Mary Bufwack and Robert Oermann, Cline became "obsessed" with the program at a young age. Cline's mother Hilda Hensley commented on her daughter's admiration, "I know she never wanted anything so badly as to be a star on the Grand Ole Opry..."{{sfn|Oermann, Robert K.|Bufwack, Mary A.|2003|p=219}} Among performers from the program she admired was [[Patsy Montana]].<ref name="Kate Smith"/> Cline was also influenced by other types of performers including early [[rockabilly]] artist [[Charline Arthur]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Koster|first=Rick|title=Texas Music|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n6URPV7oISsC&pg=PA32|year=2000|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=9780312254254|page=32}}</ref>

===Voice and style===
Cline possessed a [[contralto]] voice. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' writer Richard Corliss called her voice "bold".<ref name="Time">{{cite magazine |last1=Corliss |first1=Richard |title=Music: Inclined to be Just Like Patsy |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,985010,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629002043/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,985010,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 29, 2011 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=September 16, 2019}}</ref> Her voice has also been praised for its display of emotion. Kurt Wolff called it one of the most "emotionally expressive voices in modern country music".{{sfn|Wolff, Kurt|2000|p=302}} Tony Gabrielle of the ''[[Daily Press (Virginia)|Daily Press]]'' wrote that Cline had "a voice of tremendous emotional power."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gabrielle |first1=Tony |title=Next Best Thing to Patsy Cline |url=https://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-xpm-20001124-2000-11-24-0011240129-story.html |website=[[Daily Press (Virginia)|Daily Press]] |date=November 24, 2000 |access-date=September 16, 2019}}</ref> Cline was at times taken by her own emotion. Husband Charlie Dick recounted that Cline's producer [[Owen Bradley]] told him to leave a recording session because she was very emotional and he didn't want to disturb the mood. Cline was once quoted in describing the emotion she felt, saying, "Oh Lord, I sing just like I hurt inside."<ref name="Time"/>

During her early career, Cline recorded in styles such as [[gospel music|gospel]], [[rockabilly]], and [[honky-tonk]].{{sfn|Wolff, Kurt|2000|pp=302–303}}{{sfn|Oermann, Robert K.|Bufwack, Mary A.|2003|p=216}} These styles she cut for [[Four Star Records]] have been considered below the quality of her later work for [[Decca Records]].{{sfn|Wolff, Kurt|2000|pp=302–303}} Steve Leggett of ''[[Allmusic]]'' commented, <blockquote>Her recordings prior to 1960, though, were something else again, and with the exception of 1956's "Walkin' After Midnight" and perhaps one or two other songs, she seemed reined in and stifled as a singer, even though she was working with the same producer, Owen Bradley, who was to produce her 1960s successes. Oh the difference a song makes, because in the end the material she recorded between 1955 and 1960 – all of which is collected on these two discs – was simply too weak for Cline to turn into anything resembling gold, even with her obvious vocal skills.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Leggett |first1=Steve |title=''50 Golden Greats: The Complete Early Recordings'': Review |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/50-golden-greats-the-complete-early-years-mw0000506737 |website=[[Allmusic]] |access-date=16 September 2019}}</ref></blockquote>

Cline's style has been largely associated with the [[Nashville Sound]], a subgenre of country music that linked traditional lyrics with orchestrated pop music styles.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Byworth |editor1-first=Tony |date= 2006|title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Music |location= London|publisher=Flame Tree Publishing |pages=7, 115–117, 169 |isbn=978-1-84451-406-9}}</ref> This new sound helped many of her singles to cross over onto the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and gain a larger audience that did not always listen to country music.{{sfn|Hofstra, Warren R.|2013|p=161}} Her producer, Owen Bradley, built this sound onto her Decca recordings, sensing a potential in her voice that went beyond traditional country music. At first, she resisted the pop-sounding style, but was ultimately convinced to record in this new style.{{sfn|Wolff, Kurt|2000|pp=302–303}} Stephen M. Desuner of ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' explained that Cline has been an identifiable factor with the Nashville Sound: "She essentially rewrote their songs simply by singing them, elevating their words and wringing every one of their rhymes for maximum dramatic potential."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Deusner |first1=Stephen M. |title=Patsy Cline: ''Sentimentally Yours'': Review |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/patsy-cline-sentimentally-yours/ |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |access-date=September 16, 2019}}</ref> Mark Deming of ''[[Allmusic]]'' commented, "Cline and Bradley didn't invent "countrypolitan," but precious few artists managed to meld the sophistication of pop and the emotional honesty of country as brilliantly as this music accomplishes with seemingly effortless grace, and these songs still sound fresh and brilliantly crafted decades after the fact."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Deming |first1=Mark |title=''Patsy Cline's Greatest Hits'': Review |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/patsy-clines-greatest-hits-mw0002556625 |website=[[Allmusic]] |access-date=September 16, 2019}}</ref>

===Image===
Cline's public image changed during the course of her career. She began her career wearing cowgirl dresses and hats designed by her mother. However, as her music crossed over into pop, she began wearing sequined gowns and cocktail dresses.{{sfn|Oermann, Robert K.|Bufwack, Mary A.|2003|p=220}} While she would often wear cowgirl costumes for live performances, she would also wear evening dresses for television and metropolitan performances. For her 1957 performance on ''Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts'', the show's producer insisted that Cline wear an evening dress instead of the fringed cowgirl attire she had intended to wear.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jordan |first1=Larry |title=Renembering Patsy Cline|quote= Her last show was in Kansas City 35 years ago this Spring. Fans remember country music's best female singer of all time. |url=http://www.midtod.com/98autumn/patsy.phtml |website=Midwest Today |access-date=September 16, 2019}}</ref> Her 1962 engagement at the Merri-Mint Theatre in Las Vegas represented this particular image shift. For one of her performances, Cline wore a sequined cocktail dress designed by her mother.{{sfn|Hofstra, Warren R.|2013|p=161}}

Cline has also been seen as a pioneer for women in country music. She has been cited as an inspiration by many performers in diverse styles of music.<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/patsy-cline-film/7992/ Patsy Cline: American Masters]. PBS.org. Retrieved February 23, 2017.</ref><ref name=legacy.com>{{cite web|title=Patsy Cline, Country Star|url=http://www.legacy.com/ns/news-story.aspx?t=patsy-cline-country-star&id=764|publisher=legacy.com|access-date=April 25, 2012}}</ref> Kurt Wolff of ''Country Music: The Rough Guide'' said that Cline had an "aggression" and "boisterous attitude" that gained her the respect of her male counterparts. Wolff explained, "She swaggered her way past stereotypes and other forces of resistance, showing the men in charge – and the public in general – that women were more than capable of singing about such hard subjects as divorce and drinking as well as love and understanding.{{sfn|Wolff, Kurt|2000|p=302}} Sean O'Hagan of ''[[The Guardian]]'' commented that along with [[Minnie Pearl]], [[Jean Shepard]] and [[Kitty Wells]], Cline helped prove that country music was not "macho" and that "strong women" could have a "strong voice".<ref>{{cite web |last1=O'Hagan |first1=Sean |title=Honky-tonk women: the female artists who made it big in country music |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/sep/06/honky-tonk-female-artists-country-music |website=[[The Guardian]] |date=September 6, 2012 |access-date=16 September 2019}}</ref> In 2013, Diane Reese wrote, "she was what I call a pre-feminist woman. She didn't open doors; she kicked them down."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Reese |first1=Diane |title=Crazy for Patsy Cline: Still Popular 50 years after her death |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2013/03/05/crazy-for-patsy-cline-still-popular-50-years-after-her-death/?noredirect=on |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=16 September 2019}}</ref> Mary Bufwack and Robert K. Oermann wrote in 2003 that Cline "transformed what it meant to be a female country star".{{sfn|Oermann, Robert K.|Bufwack, Mary A.|2003|p=255}}