On my recent trip to Nashville, our group was on the way to dinner with about 45 minutes to kill. We stumbled upon the Johnny Cash Museum and all were excited to go inside and check it out. I noticed that a slightly smaller sign was promoting the Patsy Cline Museum one floor above. I quickly left the group.
It was a whirlwind for me, as I did not really have the time to absorb all the details as I would have liked. Instead, I adopted a “snap now look at later” mentality. Patsy has been a favorite of mine for years, ever since my early 30s when I discovered her vocal magic. This gal could sing like nobody’s business and put her heart and soul into every number.
On the way to superstardom, she tragically died in a plane crash in 1963 at the age of 30. Despite her life being cut short, superstardom was achieved posthumously, as “Crazy” and “Walkin’ After Midnight” are still favorites of music lovers everywhere.
The museum is small, but packed with a number of rare and extremely personal items related to Patsy, including many of the letters she wrote to fans and friends. Her down to earth quality is evident in all of them.
The soda fountain that Patsy worked at as a teen is represented by an actual booth and sign from the Drug Store in Winchester, Virginia:
You can even get a glimpse of Patsy’s house from the key:
to the den:
to the dining room, re-created with Patsy’s original decor:
Here’s La Cline in the actual room:
How about this lovely serving set?
It would have been a nice touch if they had put 3 cigarettes in the ashtray.
One of the most touching parts of the exhibit were these two costumes created after Patsy’s death. She had given very specific instructions to Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors about what she wanted them to look like just before her fatal crash. Finally, in 2017, Nudie’s carried out her wish; you can just about see her wearing these.
If you’re ever in Nashville, make sure you stop by here; and leave plenty of time!
See more Patsy Cline Museum photos at my main website.
1 comment:
Thanks for this post, Dave. I did not see this in my visit to Nashville, sorry I missed it. We did enjoy the Country Music Hall of Fame.
The old generation of country singers were very much "plain folks" in day-to-day life, worthy of respect.
JG
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