Patsy Cline's Daughter Says Mother's Songs Can Only Be Appreciated by 'True' Music Lovers
Country music singer Patsy Cline certainly has a dedicated crew helping share her legacy.
Family and devoted fans have made sure that her music and memory carry on after her untimely 1963 death, as has a recent film.
“Patsy & Loretta” was released in October and recounts a “semi-fictional” version of the friendship between Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, according to IMDb.
The Patsy Cline Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, has also done its part to preserve the trappings of Cline’s life and display them for visitors.
“Though she left the world tragically at the age of 30 in 1963, Patsy Cline made an indelible mark on Country Music and remains one of the biggest names in Country history,” the museum’s website reads. “The Patsy Cline Museum celebrates the life of the legendary songstress and features hundreds of never before seen artifacts, personal belongings, videos and much more. Located above the Johnny Cash Museum.”
Then, of course, there’s Cline’s family — also dedicated to keeping her story alive. Cline’s daughter, Julie Fudge, was just 4 years old when her mother passed away, but she’s still doing what she can.
“Most of the memories I have of Mom aren’t the best,” Fudge admitted in an interview with Fox News. “But at the same time, if I see a certain photograph, it just reinforces what I remember about her. When someone tells a certain story, I’m suddenly there again. And somehow I remember it. It’s a wonderful little piece of a puzzle that my life seems to be.”
Since she was so young, she dealt with her mother’s passing in a different way than her grandma and dad did. Fudge said her grandma “never really got over” Cline’s death, and her dad has spent most of his life “protecting” his late wife’s memory.
“When mom passed away, she wasn’t as well known as she is today. It wasn’t until ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’ and then ‘Sweet Dreams’ came out that things started happening. That’s when it became more known that she was my mom.”
“When my mother passed, my dad continued to work in the music business,” she said. “He was a promotional man here in Nashville and developed his own standing here with his business. But when the ‘80s came around, those movies started coming out. And if anyone needed to talk about Patsy Cline, they went to my dad. You would just call his number and he would answer.”
“And that’s what we’re doing now with Patsy Cline Enterprises. If you need to know anything about Patsy, you come to us.”
“People have come to us with the desire to use her songs in commercials or different things like that. We just want to make sure it’s done properly. Dad was very adamant about protecting mom’s legacy and not just letting it become another commodity.”
She said that though many times the fans seem to know more about her own mother than she does, there are still misconceptions that circulate. For example. her mother loved red roses, though some sources that imply she loved yellow roses.
Fudge also said she thinks her mother would be thrilled to know her music is still around now, which she believes is due in part to its timeless nature.
“I think that really was the secret behind mom’s longevity,” Fudge said. “It has been almost 60 years. I’m so grateful for her voice. And she just had great songs. These songs were written for her and they’re just as beautiful today as they were then. They can only be appreciated by a true music lover.”
“I hope her music continues to be enjoyed and it provides comfort to people for a long time.”
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