Showcase (Patsy Cline album)

Background

The album produced two singles that became hits on both the Billboard country and pop charts. The first, "I Fall to Pieces," became Cline's first number one hit on the Billboard country chart and also reached the Top 15 on the pop Top 100 in 1961. The follow-up single, "Crazy," was nearly as big of a hit as "I Fall to Pieces," peaking in the top five on the Billboard country chart and in the Top 10 on the pop Top 100. "Crazy" was recorded after Cline's month-long hospitalization following a near-fatal car accident that June.

The original cover showed three different photos of Cline from a 1957 promotional photograph, according to Jay Orr and Ron Roy in the album's liner notes.

After her death, the album was re-released on Decca in 1963 and peaked for the first time on the Billboard 200, reaching number 73. The cover was changed to the more familiar shot of Cline in a white blouse, red capri pants and gold booties,. The album was reissued in 1973 by MCA Records (which took over Decca in 1973) and it was later digitally remastered and re-released on a CD in 1988, which included the same cover as the 1963 re-release.

Showcase was also released internationally. In 1961, the album was released in the United Kingdom by Brunswick Records and in New Zealand by Festival Records.

Recording sessions

Recording began November 16, 1960 at the Bradley Film and Recording Studios in Nashville, Tennessee over five sessions, ending August 25, 1961. Showcase was the first set of sessions after Cline's near-death in a car crash in 1961. The recordings teamed her up with The Jordanaires, who recorded also on Cline's 1962 album on Decca. Legendary country producer Owen Bradley produced the album. Bradley helped smooth Cline's sound to develop her own style of the Nashville sound.

Individual tracks

This album includes many cover versions of previously recorded hits on the country and pop charts by other artists. The remakes include pop singer Gogi Grant's "The Wayward Wind," Bonnie Lou's "Seven Lonely Days," Cole Porter's "True Love," and Bob Wills's "San Antonio Rose."

In addition, Cline recorded remakes of her 1957 hits, "Walkin' After Midnight" and "A Poor Man's Roses (Or a Rich Man's Gold)."

Track listing

Side 1:

1. "I Fall to Pieces" — (Hank Cochran, Harlan Howard) 2:47
2. "Foolin' 'Round"— (Harlan Howard, Buck Owens) 2:12
3. "The Wayward Wind" — (Stanley Lebowsky, Herb Newman) 3:15
4. "South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)" — (Michael Carr, Jimmy Kennedy) 2:25
5. "I Love You So Much It Hurts" — (Floyd Tillman) 2:11
6. "Seven Lonely Days" — (Earl Shuman, Alden Shuman, Marshall Brown) 2:05

Side 2:

1. "Crazy" — (Willie Nelson) 2:41
2. "San Antonio Rose" — (Bob Wills) 2:13
3. "True Love" — (Cole Porter) 2:06
4. "Walkin' After Midnight" — (Don Hecht, Alan Block) 2:00
5. re-recorded version
6. "A Poor Man's Roses (Or a Rich Man's Gold)" — (Bob Hilliard, Milton DeLugg) 2:30
7. re-recorded version
8. "Have You Ever Been Lonely (Have You Ever Been Blue)" — (Peter DeRose, George Brown) 2:10

Chart positions

Album – Billboard (North America)

Singles - Billboard (North America)