Timeless-no Patsy Cline Songs?

Ok here s a question that s been bugging me all week:

Why isn t there any Patsy Cline songs on Timeless?

We know that Martina likes Patsy Cline. She even sang several of her songs over the years(like on the Opry for instance), songs like "Crazy", "I fall to pieces" and "Walking after midnight".


On the CMT Timeless concert, she seemed to indicate that she was willing to include at least one song for every artist which had a big influence on classic country music. Safe to say, that Patsy would fall under that category for sure.

Could it be that it was a copyright thing with Patsy s record company, or that she asked for permission to the family and got denied?

Not a complaint here, i m just too darn curious as usual. Does anyone know???



-Claude

Actually it surprised me also. When I heard that Martina was recording an album of classics, I was sure she was gonna put a Patsy Cline song there. But the two reasons you mentioned crossed my mind when I wondered why there was no Patsy Cline on the record. Or maybe Martina just decided not to record a Patsy Cline song, who knows...

I'm glad she didn't.
How many times over the years have you heard someone singing a PC song and all you can think of is that you wish you could hear the original.

Now, WE all love Martina's singing above all others and of course WE would like to hear her sing Patsy, but maybe Martina is too aware of the consensus among the general public that "Patsy's been done" and done too often (and too often no so well!).

I for one am thrilled that Timeles includes some lesser known songs, and avoids many of the blockbusters. After all, these are the songs that influenced Martina, and not just another collection of oldies. We might as well ask why AJ didn't include any Hank Williams Sr. on his Under the Inlfuence album.

Cordially,
Tom

Well I'm not necessarily saying I wish she had recorded a Patsy Cline song, it just surprised me that she didn't, that's all. Especially that, like Claude pointed out, she sang Patsy Cline songs on numerous occassions throughout her career. But with or without a PC song, Timeless is a masterpiece!!

The only two times I heard other artist sing Patsy was Giselle from Lace and LeAnn Rimes and Giselle was great not as good as the original but still good and LeAnn is well LeAnn, sounds near Patsy as can be.

I think the problem is that singing a Patsy song inevitably becomes an imitation of Patsy, and invites a comparison with someone who is without equal. The best singer I ever sing Patsy songs was Mandy Barnett, but that's what she became known for and all that anyone ever wanted to do was compare her to Patsy, and then conclude that, of course, she is not as good.

Why would any singer, even the World's Greatest Living Singer, want to subject herself to that?

And I must point out again that Timeless is not just a collection of songs Martina likes, but songs that she sung growing up with her Dad and songs that had a great influence on her.
If I may be so bold as to surmise another explanation for the absece of Patsy songs: I think she did Timeless, above all else, for her Dad. So it may be a collection of his favorites. But of course, this is just a guess on my part based on things she has said. I have no first hand knowledge of this.

Cordially,

Tom

In any case, think how proud her Dad must be!!
(If you saw that MM appearance on the Opry with her Dad , back in 2001 I think, you could "feel the love" as Roy Clark put it so perfectly that night.

I would have loved it if M put a Patsy song on the album, and ask myself nearly every time I listen to it why she didn't. But I also agree with some others on here who have pointed out that she chose the songs she did for a reason -- and the album is perfect as it is. I'm not sure I'd change anything about it. Though this always leaves room for a Timeless II to come out!

I am glad she didn't also, there have been Tribute to Pasty Cline cds that Martina was part of. Also, although I respect Patsy for the music she did, I think Timeless wanted to represent a greater cross section of Country hits.

Tom.,
You brought some valid points. Perhaps Patsy has been done too often.

True, Timeless was a tribute to these songs, and the same token, a tribute to Martina s early days in her Dad s band.

Still, you would think that she would have sung at least one PC song during those shows with her dad in Kansas. I guess there s no way to know for sure, is there?(I really should repair my time machine....). After all, only one Patsy Cline song would have been included in Timeless, nothing more.

Perhaps the only argument i somewhat disagree with you: I dont think Martina feared being seen as a Patsy imitation. It s not like she didnt PC songs before, and she s been in the business for 14 years now. Cause then, it would be the same situation with Tammy Wynette songs. Tammy had a very distinctive voice with lots of emotion and a nice twang in it.

Martina said during the Soundstage concert,that when she recorded Tammy s "Til i can make it on my own" she felt a presence, which interpret it as a blessing from Tammy. Perhaps she received the visit of Patsy s ghost who told her to "but out"(OK, ok i m just being silly here..........).

Very true! But did you know that in 2001. it wasnt the first time that Martina sang with her Dad at the Opry? She did sing with him, around 1993-1994(not sure about exact year), while she was pregant with Delaney at the time. I think they sang "I saw the light", if i m not mistaken.I have it on videotape somewhere. And let s just say that you can see Martina s most beautiful smile when her dad sings.



-Claude

True, Timeless was a tribute to these songs, and the same token, a tribute to Martina s early days in her Dad s band.

Still, you would think that she would have sung at least one PC song during those shows with her dad in Kansas. I guess there s no way to know for sure, is there?(I really should repair my time machine....). After all, only one Patsy Cline song would have been included in Timeless, nothing more.

Perhaps the only argument i somewhat disagree with you: I dont think Martina feared being seen as a Patsy imitation. It s not like she didnt PC songs before, and she s been in the business for 14 years now. Cause then, it would be the same situation with Tammy Wynette songs. Tammy had a very distinctive voice with lots of emotion and a nice twang in it.

Martina said during the Soundstage concert,that when she recorded Tammy s "Til i can make it on my own" she felt a presence, which interpret it as a blessing from Tammy. Perhaps she received the visit of Patsy s ghost who told her to "but out"(OK, ok i m just being silly here..........).

Very true! But did you know that in 2001. it wasnt the first time that Martina sang with her Dad at the Opry? She did sing with him, around 1993-1994(not sure about exact year), while she was pregant with Delaney at the time. I think they sang "I saw the light", if i m not mistaken.I have it on videotape somewhere. And let s just say that you can see Martina s most beautiful smile when her dad sings.



-Claude

Claude, you really must get that time-machine fired up again.
I hope it seats at least 500, so we can all go!

I have only one thing to more to say about PC and Timeless:
if you were to add a Patsy song, which TImeless track woud you delete?

Ahh! There's the rub!

Cordially,

Tom

Nobody can sing Patsy's songs better than Martina. She's done a lot of them on the Opry, including "Sweet Dreams" (1996), "Blue Moon of Kentucky" (1995), "Walkin' After Midnight" (2000 I think) & "Crazy" (2 versions, 1993 and the other from her Opry induction in 1995). Maybe we'll get lucky and get a Patsy Cline song on "Timeless II"! Until then I'll wear out my collection and patiently wait.

Val-entine

Val,
In response to you PM(and for everybody who is interested), Martina sang "I fell to pieces"as part of a medley in 1994 on the Opry.

Full medley included the following songs:

Makin' beleive/I fall to pieces/You ain t woman enough to take my man/It wasn t God who made honky tonk angels/Once a day/Stand by your man.



-Claude

Thanks Claude! I went into my collection and looked and I do have this one. Prior to "Timeless" I had made a disc of a bunch of Martina's "classic country" performances including this one. Martina has always paid tribute over the years to the tradition of country music when she plays the Opry. It's a real treat for us fans. I always love to see her do something "different" when she performs.

I hope one day we will get "Timeless II". She's a master at traditional country.

Val-entine

She can sing or say anything. I've been listening to a promotional CD and one of the tracks has her saying, "Hi, I'm Martina McBride and your listening to songs from my new album" over and over.

Daniel,
Last week, i was thinking of a joke Martina could put her live show.

The joke would go something like that:

Martina would say: "For years, fans told me that they would come to my shows even i sang the phone book. Well, i decided to put this theory in practice. Jennifer, the Phone book over there(Jennifer, bringing the phone book to Martina), Hu-umm(Maritina clearing her throat) Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooon. (Silence) Well ok, maybe it s not such a good idea, lets get on with the show, (Martina doing the intro of When God fearing women get the blues)"


I think it would be funny!!!!


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Tom,
I ll get back with you on that one....




-Claude