In terms of other country icons, Johnny Cash had the qualities Patsy Cline liked, according to Loretta Lynn. The “Coal Miner’s Daughter” was candid about her friendship with Cline and how it impacted her life and career. She even dedicated a memoir to it. And in that book, she explained why Cash was Cline’s ”kind of country music star.”
Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, and Patsy Cline were all born in the same year
In 1932, Cash, Lynn, and Cline were all born across the United States. Cash came into the world first in February in Arkansas. Then, Lynn arrived in April in Kentucky, and Cline followed in September in Virginia.
Eventually, they all made their way to Nashville, Tennessee, to kick off their country music careers. They crossed paths in the early ’60s when Cash was the most prominent star of the three, and he invited Cline to tour with him. She was an established singer, but women often weren’t allowed top billing back then.
In Lynn’s memoir, Me & Patsy Kickin’ Up Dust, she wrote about her friendship with Cline, and she said 1962 was a good year for the ”Crazy” singer professionally. Among her accomplishments was earning a spot on tour with Cash that January.
Meanwhile, Lynn was still new to the scene, but Cline served as a friend and mentor, teaching her skills from shaving her legs to dressing like a star.
Loretta Lynn said Johnny Cash had qualities Patsy Cline loved in her fellow country music stars
Lynn shared in Me & Patsy that Cash was Cline’s ”kind of country music star” because he was a “rebel who made his own rules.”
Cash left Nashville behind for California, which most country stars didn’t do back then because they stayed close to the Grand Ole Opry. So, Cline flew across the country to join him for the Hollywood Bowl in June 1962.
Lynn shared, “… While I was singing in county fairs, Patsy was performing with superstars …”
But she noted that Cash also treated Cline differently than other men in the industry, which was appreciated. She said that instead of calling her “pretty or cute” during her introduction, Cash would call her ”the one, the only, Patsy Cline.”
“That was a real compliment,” Lynn explained. “It was his way of saying, ‘Patsy isn’t just another girl singer. She’s special.’ Patsy knew it, too.”
After having a great year in 1962, Patsy Cline died in 1963
In what was no small feat, Cline eventually made second billing to Cash. “Again,” Lynn noted in her memoir, “Patsy was blazing a trail for the rest of us.”
Unfortunately, Cline didn’t live beyond 30 and died tragically in March 1963. Lynn wrote in her memoir that she thought her legendary friend knew she would die young after she’d experienced two brushes with death before that fatal plane crash.
Cash died in 2003, aged 71, from complications brought on by diabetes (per the Tennesseean). Lynn lived until 2022, reaching the age of 90. According to a statement from her family following her death, she died peacefully at home.
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