Patsy Cline - The Essential Collection (2001)

One of the greatest singers in the history of country music, Patsy Cline also helped blaze a trail for female singers to assert themselves as an integral part of the Nashville-dominated country music industry. She was not alone in this regard; Kitty Wells had become a star several years before Cline's big hits in the early 1960's.

Brenda Lee, who shared Cline's producer, did just as much to create a country-pop crossover during the same era; Skeeter Davis briefly enjoyed similar success; but Cline endured as an icon of the scene, perhaps partly due to an early death that cut her off just after she had entered her prime.

Cline began recording in the mid-50's, and although she recorded quite a bit of material between 1955 and 1960 (17 singles in all), only one of them was a hit. That song, "Walkin' After Midnight," was a Top 20 pop smash that endured as a classic.

During these 50's sessions (which were later reissued on several Rhino compilations), she at times sang flat-out rockabilly and also tried some churchy tear-weepers. She couldn't follow up "Walkin' After Midnight" however, in part because of an exploitative deal that limited her to songs from one publishing company.