‘Crazy’
A Reason To Smile
When deciding on this week’s Reason To Smile, I discovered that Patsy Cline recorded her iconic song “Crazy” 64 years ago this week. Great, I thought. But wait, surely we have already featured what is one of my all-time favorite songs. To my chagrin, we had not. Happily, we now can.
When Cline recorded “Crazy” in 1961 she was already a member of the Grand Ole Opry and a rising star in country music. That song cemented her place in the country music pantheon.
In June 1961, Cline and her brother were involved in a bad accident when their car was hit head-on by another vehicle. Cline spent a month in the hospital recovering. Six weeks later, still on crutches, she was into the studio to record “Crazy.” Cline struggled to hit the high notes because her broken ribs hadn’t fully healed. She returned a week later and recorded the ballad in one take.
“Cline’s reading of the lyric is filled with an aching world weariness that transforms the tune into one of the first big crossover hits without even trying hard,” wrote one reviewer of “Crazy.”
Cline wasn’t born with that voice we have all come to love. At age 13, she was hospitalized with rheumatic fever. But for Cline there was a silver lining.
“I developed a terrible throat infection and my heart even stopped beating. The doctor put me in an oxygen tent. You might say it was my return to the living, after several days, that launched me as a singer. The fever affected my throat and when I recovered, I had this booming voice like Kate Smith’s,” Cline said. She began singing professionally soon after.
Sadly, for all of us, Cline was killed in a plane crash at the age of 30. Imagine how much more beautiful music she could have made. Though she passed away in 1963, her popularity has not waned. I know firsthand how popular she was with American G.I.s serving in Vietnam. While covering the war, I remember soldiers listening to Cline’s catalogue of melodies.
“Crazy” was written by Willie Nelson, then a struggling songwriter. A few years back, I asked him about the song that put him on the map.
“The original title was ‘Stupid.’ I decided ‘Crazy’ was more euphonious,” Nelson told me. The song is still a money maker for him because Crazy has been one of the top jukebox songs of all time. Willie added: “So, you know, naturally, I’ve picked up a couple of bucks.”
If you want to enjoy all the songs chosen for A Reason To Smile, you can listen to this Spotify playlist, which is updated weekly.
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Stay Steady,
Dan
This song takes me to 1963. My childhood friend’s Mom was our babysitter (single mom, 3 kids, deadbeat dad) and she played country music (my Mom loved folk, my Dad classical; I never heard C/W at home; loved the genre in the mid-late 70’s). Between Patsy Cline and country Gospel, she played those records non-stop.
Crazy and Walkin’ After Midnight were her favorites.
Thanks for the memory!
Love these weekly tributes. Thank you Dan. Crazy is another great choice written by a wonderful artist and sung by another. ♥️