Patsy Cline Signs First Recording Contract 62 Years Ago

Sixty-two years ago today on Sept. 30, 1954...Patsy Cline signed her first recording contract with Four Star Records at just 22 years of age.
Cline had played around her hometown area of Winchester, Va., prior to her first record deal. After the release of her single “A Church, a Courtroom & Then Good-Bye” in 1955, she made her first appearance at the Grand Ole Opry.

Her contract with Four Star Records helped to introduce Cline to the music world and was a good start to her career, but Patsy said that the agreement was not mutually beneficial. It only allowed her to record songs from the Four Star Records publishing company. The contract also stipulated that Cline only sing country songs — a mandate she disliked.

Cline left Four Star Records to sign with Decca Records, and her self-titled debut album on Decca was released in 1957. The country legend stayed with Decca throughout the remainder of her career. Her last album, Sentimentally Yours, was released in 1962, less than one year before her tragic death in an airplane crash.