Patsy Cline at the Drum Room in the President Hotel, Kansas City

When she died in 1963, Patsy Cline was at the top of the charts, then the only female to headline her own shows and get top billing over males. She had just come off two top singles - I Fall to Pieces and Crazy, both recorded in 1961.

Patsy Cline, 1957

Patsy had by this time reinvented her personal style, shedding Western cowgirl outfits for elegant gowns, cocktail dresses, bright red lip stick, dangly earrings, and spiked heels. A fan favorite, she loved to hob-nob with fans after a concert, signing autographs and talking long afterwards.



On March 3, 1963, Patsy Cline performed a benefit concert at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall, in Kansas City, Kansas for DJ "Cactus" Jack Call, who had died in a car crash a month earlier. She then spent the night at the Town House Motor Hotel and was unable to fly out the next day because the airport was fogged in. With a night to wait for better weather, Patsy then appeared for her last time at the Drum Room in the The President Hotel. [unverified].

Lobby, Hotel President

Drum Room

Patsy: The Life and Times of Patsy Cline,  Margaret Jones.

On March 5, she left Kansas City aboard a Piper Comanche, a four-seat, single-engined, low-wing plane. The plane took off, stopping to refuel in Missouri, then again at Dyersburg, Tennessee. There, the pilot was advised to remain because of bad weather and high winds, but he took off anyway. The plane was within 90 miles of Nashville when it crashed. Everyone aboard died instantly.