On this day (August 21) in 1961, Patsy Cline started the recording sessions for “Crazy” at Bradley Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. Written by Willie Nelson, “Crazy” became a hit for Cline and her signature song. It has since become a country standard and has been covered by countless artists across multiple genres.
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Cline released “Crazy” as a single, backed with “Who Can I Count On,” in October 1961. It climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and No. 10 on the Hot 100. It was her biggest hit on the all-genre survey and, while it didn’t top the country chart, it became her most popular song.
[RELATED: 63 Years Ago, Patsy Cline Took the Opry Stage on Crutches—and Sang “Crazy” Into Legend]
The recording process of “Crazy” wasn’t an easy one for Cline. She was still healing from a near-fatal car accident that took place in mid-June of the same year. She flew through her car’s windshield and sustained serious injuries. As a result, she spent nearly a month in the hospital while undergoing multiple surgeries. Doctors didn’t expect the country singer to survive. In August, she was still using crutches to walk and nursing broken ribs when she stepped into the studio to record “Crazy.”
Willie Nelson Recalls Introducing “Crazy” to Patsy Cline
Willie Nelson recalled how he introduced “Crazy” to Patsy Cline in his 2023 book, Energy Follows Thought. “Sometimes the craziest stories are the best,” Nelson wrote. “And God knows how many crazy stories have come out of Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, the famous barroom in downtown Nashville, a few feet from the Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand Ole Opry,” he added.
“I was in there one night and saw Charlie Dick. I knew he was married to sweet Patsy Cline, who sang like an angel,” he recalled. Nelson had a demo of him singing “Crazy” in which he admits, “I sure as hell didn’t sound like an angel. I sounded more like a man desperate to have someone else sing the song.”
Nelson played the song for Dick, who instantly fell in love with it and knew it would be perfect for Cline.
Dick, Nelson wrote, ”…liked it so well he drove me over to his house at one A.M., woke up poor Patsy, and made her listen to it.” Summing up the impact of Cline’s recording on his life, Nelson wrote, “Because Patsy liked it, I was poor no longer.”
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