How Patsy Cline Protected Loretta Lynn From An Attempt To Ban Her From The Grand Ole Opry

Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline became good friends after Loretta first moved to Nashville in the ‘60s. Patsy was recovering from a tragic accident in 1961 when she heard Loretta’s tribute performance of “I Fall To Pieces” and asked to see her in the hospital where their relationship began.

They became so close that Loretta named one of her twin daughters after Pasty a year after she died in a plane crash in 1963. When Loretta got into the Grand Ole Opry, she experienced pushback from envious colleagues. That’s when Patsy stood up for her.

Patsy Cline gave Loretta Lynn the support she needed on the Grand Ole Opry pushback

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Loretta Lynn rehearsing, circa 1998. (Porter Wagoner is in background on left). ph: ©TNN / courtesy Everett Collection

Loretta faced underestimation at the Grand Ole Opry from fellow artists who would insinuate that she slept with a boss to “get on the Opry so fast.” She would often cry “day and night,” and worse still, there were plans in place to kick her off shows.

Unknown to them, Patsy was on Loretta’s side, and inviting her to the meeting against Loretta was “their mistake.” To the surprise of the scheming performers, Patsy walked into the meeting with Loretta, who was wearing a new dress courtesy of her good friend. “Patsy put the stamp of approval on me, and I never had any problems with them again. In fact, they are all my friends now,” Loretta wrote in her 2020 autobiography, Me & Patsy Kickin’ Up Dust.

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