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Factsheet

• Suffered from rheumatic fever at age 13, and discovered after her recovery that she had developed a tremendous singing voice.
• Dropped out of school at 15 to help support her family, working as a soda jerk and at a Greyhound bus station.
• Signed her first record contract with Four Star Records in 1954 but continued to struggle, singing in juke joints and bars.
• Got her big break when she won a televised talent contest hosted by Arthur Godfrey in 1957.
• Was initially hesitant to record the song "I Fall to Pieces," which incorporated a new, more heavily orchestrated Nashville sound.
• Was involved in a serious car accident in 1961 that left her with a visible scar on her forehead, which she would cover with wigs during public appearances.
• Was killed when the plane she was taking home from a concert in  Kansas City, piloted by her manager Randy Hughes, crashed during inclement weather conditions in a forest outside of Camden, Tennessee.
• Her longtime family home in Winchester, Virginia, remains open to the public, cared for by a non-profit group called Celebrating Patsy Cline, and has become a destination for tourists and fans.