The 29th anniversary of Patsy Montana‘s death comes this month, May 3, and her contributions to the country western genre are still important today. With the 1935 song “I Want to Be A Cowboy’s Sweetheart,” she became the first female country singer to have a song sell in the millions.
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Born Ruby Blevins in 1908 (she later added an ‘e’ to the end of her first name), her rise to country western fame started with a trip to Chicago with a prize watermelon, meeting up with two pen pals, and laughing during an audition for a singing group.
Montana was already skilled in singing, yodeling, and playing guitar. In 1933, she traveled from Arkansas to Chicago with two of her brothers to enter the family’s prize watermelon in the Chicago World’s Fair. While in the city, Montana also met up with two pen pals, sisters Millie and Dolly Good.
The Good sisters made up the country western duo The Girls of the Golden West. Knowing the sisters was a great head start for Montana, as they were starting to be featured on the AM radio station WLS in Chicago. Montana auditioned for a role as a radio crooner, but allegedly started laughing halfway through the song.
Patsy Montana Got Her Start With a Trip to Chicago, an Audition, and a Giggle
Luckily, the producer at Patsy Montana’s audition thought her giggle was charming. Instead of the original role she auditioned for, he brought her in to audition for WLS. Montana joined the group The Prairie Ramblers alongside harmonica player Salty Holmes. The group also included various other country western icons of the time.
The Prairie Ramblers were the backing band for Montana’s 1935 single “I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart.” The song started out as a reworking of a song called “Texas Plains.” However, with Montana’s composition changes, it eventually became her signature song.
While Patsy Montana wrote “I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart” herself, Stuart Hamblen is credited as a cowriter for the original ‘Texas Plains” composition that inspired the song. Montana stuck around WLS and performed on the National Barn Dance program until the 1950s.
After a brief semi-retirement, she returned in the 1960s. She released a live album, performed at the Matador Room in Arizona, in 1964. This album featured a young Waylon Jennings as her backing guitarist before he made his debut.
Overall, Patsy Montana was hugely influential for artists like Patsy Cline and Dottie West. Additionally, there have been many covers of her signature song by artists like Patti Page, Suzy Bogguss, The Chicks, LeAnn Rimes, Cyndi Lauper featuring Jewel on yodels, and even Phish.
Featured Image by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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