Me & Patsy Kickin' Up Dust

February 24, 2020
A crackling good storyteller, Grammy Award–winning songwriter and singer Lynn reminisces on her friendship with country music legend Patsy Cline (1932–1963) in this humorous and loving memoir. Holding nothing back, Lynn (Loretta Lynn: Coal Miner’s Daughter) shares stories of Cline’s generosity—she sewed curtains for Lynn’s first house—and her fierce way of speaking her mind. By the time the two met in 1961, Cline was already a star, while Lynn’s career was just beginning. When Lynn signed with Decca Records that year, she felt like just one of many singers trying to make it in country music, and it never crossed her mind that she could become famous. After she learned that Cline was nearly killed in a car accident, Lynn performed at the Grand Ole Opry and sang a song Cline had just released titled “I Fall to Pieces.” When Cline heard Lynn on the radio, she sent for Lynn, and they soon discovered how much they had in common: they were the same age, they both grew up poor, and both had to grow up too fast. Over the course of their friendship, Cline taught Lynn how to handle grabby men like bluegrass musician Bill Monroe, as well as how to take control of her own business affairs, how to drive, and, ultimately, how to stand up for herself. Recalling Cline’s death in a 1963 plane crash, Lynn writes, “Reliving all the times Patsy and I had together for this book has been good, but it’s also reopened that feeling of empty sadness.” As in her songwriting, Lynn imbues her tribute with honesty and tenderness.

Occasionally, audiobook listening experiences are to the ears what that first flute of icy cold, frothy, and effervescent glass of Sunday brunch bubbly is to the mouth. This is such an experience. Country singing legend Loretta Lynn details her close friendship with the superstar entertainer Patsy Cline. Patsy Lynn Russell, named for Cline, assists her mother in the writing and on her own provides an effective narration. Much like the writing, her performance is down-home, Southern inflected, and warm and sincere. Lynn and Cline shared many things, especially an outsized sense of humor, which the storytelling demonstrates. Cline's much too early death marks the end of this celebration, but the friendship's impact still lasts today. Listeners will enjoy two musical legacies and their points of intersection. W.A.G. � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine