If there were a Mount Rushmore of country music artists, you’d have a tough time excluding Patsy Cline from it. The fact that all her accomplishments occurred before her tragic death at age 30 make them all the more impressive. It’s difficult not wondering what could have been, especially when reflecting on the staying power of songs like “Walkin’ After Midnight” and “Crazy” more than half a century later. On this day in 1962, Cline released “She’s Got You,” the follow-up to her classic hit “Crazy.”
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The Song’s Writer Reportedly Called Patsy Cline Himself
Off Patsy Cline’s third studio album Sentimentally Yours, “She’s Got You” is a tale of heartbreak that would make Taylor Swift jealous. Written by Hank Cochran, the lyrics linger on the mundane aftereffects of a broken relationship (I’ve got the records/ That we used to share / And they still sound the same), lamenting a love lost to another: I’ve got these little things / She’s got you.
As the story goes, Cochran was so jazzed about “She’s Got You” that he personally called up Cline to inform her that he’d just written her next No. 1 hit. Intrigued, the “I Fall to Pieces” singer told him to show up at her house with a bottle of liquor and his guitar. He did, and Cline loved the song so much that she reportedly called up her manager and producer to sing it to them over the phone.
At the time, the future Country Music Hall of Famer often found herself at creative odds with producer Owen Bradley. While the pair frequently disagreed about the artistic direction that Cline’s music could take, they were in complete solidarity over “She’s Got You.” They knew they had a hit on their hands, and they were right. “She’s Got You” hit No. 1 on the Hot C&W Sides chart and cracked the Top 20 of the Hot 100.
This Country Music Trailblazer Also Took It to No. 1
Patsy Cline’s brief career paved the path for many women who came after her, including Loretta Lynn. In 1977, Lynn recorded her own version of “She’s Got You” for her tribute album I Remember Patsy. Lynn’s rendition also reached No. 1 on the country music charts.
Other artists who have tackled “She’s Got You” include LeAnn Rimes, Rosanne Cash, Jimmy Buffett, and Lee Ann Womack.
Featured image by Johnny Franklin/andmorebears/Getty Images
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