The Patsy Cline Stamp

**This stamp is a part of the Legends of American Music series. Make sure to check out my hub page dedicated to this long-running and important project of the United States Postal Service.

It is a fact that there are far too few women on postage stamps. On this blog, you can find articles about stamps featuring the French composer Germaine Tailleferre and the German pianist Clara Schumann. You can also learn about the gospel electric guitarist Sister Rosetta Tharpe and the “Mother of the Blues” Ma Rainey. Yet, there are far, far too few stamps celebrating women’s contributions to music. So it is important to continue to highlight the stamps that do feature women. Such as the stamp featuring the country singer Patsy Cline.

Country Music Legends

Patsy Cline is an iconic country singer. Cline is so important that she is one of four artists and ensembles in the country music set of the Legends stamp series. This 1993 set also includes Hank Williams, Bob Wills, and The Carter Family.

Regular readers of this blog will know that I have mixed feelings about this series. On the one hand, there are not many music stamps from the United States and this multi-year project featuring more than seventy musicians was an overdue correction. It was a celebration of American music in all its forms. It is particularly important for its celebration of women musicians and musicians of color.

On the other hand, the selection of artists and genres is uneven for a variety of reasons. There are ten stamps in the jazz set and it is a strong group of icons. Rock & roll, however, is a very strange set in part because too many of the early icons of the genre were still living when the stamps were made. There were other strange things, such as the inclusion of four Broadway musicals in the set (the only musical pieces). Other musicians who were previously on stamps such as John Philip Sousa and Scott Joplin were not on new Legends sets, no matter their importance to American music. Many of the designs of the Legends stamps are rather unappealing, appearing flat and cartoon-like.

The country music set is a good example of all of this. The set is very strong for the four artists/acts chosen. Arguably, the biggest exclusion would be Jimmie Rodgers, the “Father of Country Music.” However, he was shown on a 1978 stamp. Secondly, limiting the group to four seems arbitrary. I would like to see more country artists in this set. Aesthetically, the artwork is flat. Cartoon-like, but not in a fun cartoony way. The stamp set is important for the artists it represents, but they are lackluster in their design.

Patsy Cline

Cline was born in 1932 in Winchester, Virginia. Her birth name was Virginia Patterson Hensley. Her family was very poor, and her mother was only 16 when Cline was born. As a child, she had to work odd jobs to contribute to the family, and her father was abusive to her. At the age of 13 she suffered from rheumatic fever and nearly died. Along with the fever, she developed a severe throat infection. Years later, she said that after she recovered, she found that she had gained a booming singing voice.

Her interest in singing started slowly, first singing duets with her mother at the local Baptist Church where she also joined the choir. She progressed quickly, beginning to perform as a soloist. She also taught herself the piano.

At the age of 14, Cline began appearing on local radio. This led to appearances in local talent contests and at nightclubs. In 1953, she married Gerald Cline. Around that time, she began using the first name Patsy (from her middle name of Patterson), and Patsy Cline became her stage name.

Musical Success

Her first popular success came in 1957. That year, she appeared on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts and sang the song “Walkin’ After Midnight.” It became her first hit, charting at #2 on the Country and Western chart, and #12 on the Pop music chart. The song brought Cline fame and multiple appearances on national television.

Yet, further success alluded her until the early 1960s. In 1961 she had her next hit, the song “I Fall to Pieces.” It was her first #1 hit song on the country and western charts. Her very next song was a tune written by Willie Nelson, “Crazy.” It became her biggest pop hit. She went on to have other successes with songs including “She’s Got You,” “When I Get Through With You,” and “So Wrong.” Many of Cline’s songs are now classics of the country and western repertoire. Tragically, Cline died in a plane crash in early 1963 at the age of 30.

The Patsy Cline Stamp

The stamp was issued on September 25, 1993 as a part of the four-stamp country and western set. It was the design of Richard Waldrep. The stamp features a close up portrait of Cline, who is wearing a scarf and a typical dress with country and western fringe and bling. Cline was well known for wearing these types of outfits. The other stamps in the set show the musicians holding instruments. However, Cline as a vocalist was not known for her instrumental playing. Instead, Waldrep positions her with a large 1950s-era microphone.

As I have already said, I do not think much of the artwork for the country and western stamps. It does not feel worthy of Patsy Cline’s importance to American music. Perhaps this icon of country music will one day receive the honor of a second stamp that will have a better design.

Until then, we can enjoy her music. Here is Cline singing her biggest hit, “Crazy.”