Love Always, Patsy: Patsy Cline's Letters to a Friend

by Cindy Hazen, Mike Freeman

Patsy Cline's music still moves us; her untimely death still haunts us. And now, recounted in Patsy's own words, is a life that still touches us. In 1955, Treva Steinbicker, a starstruck girl, approached the up-&-coming country western singer in the hopes of establishing her fan club. Patsy Cline accepted the honor. Over the next 4 years, she would become Treva's close friend & confidante. This is the collection of their remarkable, cherished correspondence -- poignant, humorous, & genuinely revealing in its honesty & warmth. It is a rare treasure for fans -- an intimate self-portrait told in a voice that rings as true & as powerful as the music that made Patsy Cline a legend. Illustrations.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Womens, Music

272 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1999

Reviews

[Molly Bayne cundall · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great little look into the heart strings of one of the most influential women in the business. I loved it.

[carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is invaluable for what it tells us in her own words, in letters to a woman who started out as a fan club president and ended up a friend. You can see how she feels about certain things, but as part of a larger undertaking of looking at her life, you can see where she's putting a happy spin on things, which is telling.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been a big fan of Patsy Cline since I saw her on Arthur Godfrey when I was a teenager, and have all of her recordings, and remember well the day when she was killed in a plane crash in 1963. She was one of the greatest talents I've ever heard. This book is a series of letters that she wrote to one of her fans, who became a friend of hers, and who sadly was killed in an automobile accident a few years before Patsy herself was killed. The letters chronicle her rise to stardom, and reveal how much work was involved in her budding career, and also how little money she received for her first hit records, due to a poor contract she had entered into with her manager. But the letters give an insight into her personality, showing a great faith in her abilities and her strong love for her 2nd husband, Charlie Dick, and her mother and children.

[Ovmarpet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Patsy Cline and her music (which I played on the computer while reading the book). Enjoyed the book but have to ask who would write a book and NOT number the pages yet add an index with referenced page numbers?!? There's over 250 pages and none are numbered! Another disappointment is not getting a clear understanding why Patsy was sought after for 4-5 years but never had enough money to reimburse Treva for postage and photos! I tried searching online for how Patsy dealt with Treva's 1960 death but found nothing.

[Summertime · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an intimate collection of letters from Patsy to her dear friend Treva. Reading from her point of view of her own career, the challenges she faced in the building of it, and the tenderness shared in the friendship of two women- it was immersive and important read for me. I always loved Patsy. I inherited her! My grandmother’s favorite singer, passed to my mother, passed to me. She is truly timeless. May she rest peacefully.

[Shanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book on my mom's bookshelf. It was given to my grandmother by her half-sisters so I thought I'd read it given my love of history and country music. I found it mildly interesting, but if your not a Patsy Cline or country music fan I don't recommend it. I am glad I watched Ken Burns documentary on Country Music first. I absolutely do recommend watching that.

[Laurel Zee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this for work, and somehow learned a lot despite essentially being a Patsy expert already. Letters were presented well with extra info. Reading this made me sad. She never had it easy and didn’t have a chance to see the impact she made.

[Marti · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know much about Patsy Cline or country music. I bought this book at the JCPL Book-tique at the Clark-Pleasant branch because of the letters.

I liked that it includes the hand-written letters (and stationery) (and envelopes).

[NK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patsy Cline us one of my favorite artists. Her talent and the depth that she brought to her songs was little appreciated during her time. This story, in letters, is a great insight to Patsy Cline.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was just plain fun!

[Vicki Marmillot · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Patsy Cline and I loved this book!

[Joel Manuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bittersweet collection of letters between Patsy Cline and her young fan club manager, with Patsy's hand-written letters presented and then transcribed. Basis for the popular musical "Always, Patsy Cline."

[Meghan Portillo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was able to read this in a few hours - mainly because the majority of the book was made up of copies of the original letters. I was disappointed that the letters didn't provide more personal details about Patsy's life.