Patsy Cline – The story behind the voice

Patsy Cline was a unique and gifted country music singer whose career was tragically cut short when she died in a plane crash on March 5, 1963, at the age of 30. Cline would have celebrated her 90th birthday on Thursday. In her brief time as a recording artist, Patsy produced an indelible body of work that has remained popular ever since — both with fans and within the music industry.

The story behind the voice of Patsy Cline can best be told by the foremost authority on Patsy Cline, Vicksburg native Ellis Nassour.

Ellis Nassour

Ellis Nassour (courty of Ellis Nassour)

Ellis Nassour always wanted to work for the New York Times. Through his journey, he achieved that goal and more.

“Everything that I did just kind of fell in place. One of the things I started to recognize as I read through my life is that I just happened to be at the right place at the right time, or it could have been someone else that did what I did,” said Nassour. “Because quite often, I wasn’t going after what happened.”

At Ole Miss, in 1962, Nassour was present during the integration of James Meredith into the campus. At the time, he worked in the cafeteria and was tasked with taking food every night to the dormitory where Meredith was staying. As the riots broke out over Meridith’s integration, Nassour had a chance meeting with McCandlish Phillips of the New York Times.

“The New York Times sent him down to Ole Miss to cover the integration situation. On the Sunday night of the rioting, I was in the student body office and I was coming down through the student union building, coming out the back way to avoid all the crap that was going on out front and I ran smack dab into him,” recalled Nassour.

The two found themselves hiding together to avoid the tear gas from authorities. Phillips offered Nassour a position to help during his time covering the event. This led to an invitation to tour the New York Times building which Nassour eventually accepted. Upon accepting the tour, Nassour was offered a job.

After working his way up from the mail room to reporter with the New York Times, Nassour was presented with another opportunity with Universal Studios.

“When I was with MCA – Universal, Patsy Cline had recorded for Decca Records,” Nassour began. “In early 1963, Patsy was touring with Johnny Cash and that’s when I first met her.”

Ellis Nassour with The Who, 1971, “Farewell” Tommy concert, NY Metropolitan Opera House (courty of Ellis Nassour)

Nassour explained that MCA was having a rough patch during this time and other than their contract with The Who, the country division in Nashville, Tennessee was the only area really selling. He was sent to Nashville to correspond with producer Owen Bradley. Nassour noticed that Patsy Cline sold so many records, and was probably due a gold one or two.

“The same thing with Loretta Lynn and Brenda Lee, we found out that they had several gold records because of their sales,” said Nassour.

Later, he was approached with the idea of writing about Patsy Cline. Not knowing much about her, he was directed to her records in inventory.

“I started listening to her records and said ‘this is not a country singer’,” recalled Nassour.

Several serializations on Patsy Cline would follow, beginning with an interview with her husband.

The Interviews Begin

Ellis Nassour traveled to Winchester, Virginia to meet with Patsy’s husband, and to his surprise, her mother.

“I went up to Winchester and I met Hilda Hensley, Patsy’s mother,” Nassour began. “We got on famously until I told her I wanted to write a book about Patsy.”

Hensley was apprehensive about the idea at first, not sure if it would be appropriate for her memory. However, after some convincing, Nassour was able to get her approval to start interviewing and putting Cline’s life on paper.

“I started interviewing the people in Winchester, Virginia that knew Patsy, dated Patsy, one guy that was married to her and I was getting some stories I didn’t think Hilda was going to like,” said Nassour.

This initially did not sit well with Hensley and she requested the project be stopped. However, Nassour explained that a biography must be true and accurate and stood his ground on continuing.

“I thought, ‘listen, I’ve worked on this thing for six months, I’m not going to stop now,’ so that’s how the book got finished and came out,” Said Nassour. “The family was not exactly pleased with it.”

After interviewing 125 people for the first book, he was asked by lawyers to send paperwork to those interviewed to attest to the accuracy of his work.

“If anyone was ever determined to become a star, it was Patsy.” said Nassour. “I really tried to write a great book but I also wanted the book to be a tribute to her.”

The Patsy Cline Biography

(Courtesy of Ellis Nassour)

“There were two Patsy Cline biographies. I wrote one that was only on paperback and in 1993 I wrote a collector’s edition hardcover,” began Nassour.

The entire spoken word of the hit revue, Always, Patsy Cline, which tells of the friendship between the late Jackson native Louise Seger and Patsy, is four pages Xeroxed from his biography.

The process for the collector’s edition involved Nassour starting over from scratch and, back in Nashville again and at the annual country music Fan Fair, he had a chance meeting with Les Leverett at a cafeteria during a lunch break. He was the WSM (Radio)-Grand Ole Opry photographer.

“There was an empty seat and I asked this guy if I could sit at the table and he said sure,” said Nassour.

The two began to talk and exchange information about what they were doing in town. The conversation evolved into a dinner invitation which proved to be a major asset for his biographies.

“He started showing me his portfolio and said, ‘You’re writing this book, maybe you can use some of these pictures.’ And that’s how 90% of the pictures in the book are Les Leverett’s photographs,” explained Nassour.

Nassour began to re-interview some of the people he met with before while writing his first book and was presented with more information than was divulged in the first go-around.

When he asked why they were only divulging the information now, Nassour stated they didn’t know or trust him before, but the first book proved he was accurate and trustworthy.

“So many people helped me,” said Nassour, humbly. “When I was going around Virginia, interviewing all these people that had known Patsy, worked with Patsy… I had no money and I thought I would wind up sleeping in the car or sleeping in the street.”

However, several of the people Nassour interviewed took him in and even transported him to meet others, including a visit with Bill Peer’s band, the local band where Patsy began her journey.

“I got to learn about how she came up the ranks from her very first day. I also got to find out how she treated Bill Peer who was her sometime-manager, then her boyfriend. Patsy was not always what you’d say, a saint, but she had a golden voice,” said Nassour.

Home is Where the Heart is

Nassour hasn’t forgotten about home. Among all the writing seminars he has conducted across the country for Ivy League schools such as Princeton, he still holds the University of Mississippi close to him.

Mamie and Ellis Nassour Arts and Entertainment Collection at ole Miss, started in 2002 and dedicated in 2004, has grown into one of the largest arts and entertainment collections in the region.

“It honors my parents,” said Nassour. “That’s probably one of the best things I could ever do. My parents loved the Ole Miss team and they loved Ole Miss. I wanted to honor them in a certain way.”

It’s not only his alma mater Nassour keeps close to his heart, but his hometown of Vicksburg as well.  Vicksburg has also kept him close. Kelle Barfield at Lorelei Books has always kept a copy of his work in stock.

“[Lorelei Books] have been loyal to me. The first owners and, of course, Kelle Barfield, really support Mississippi Writers,” said Nassour. “It’s great that Vicksburg has a first-class bookstore.”

Nassour also mentioned his fondness of his older brother, John Nassour, who resides in Vicksburg. John Nassour was Scout Master for Troop 7 for over 30 years.

“Many families in Vicksburg had troubled kids and when they were in the Boy Scouts my brother straightened them out,” said Ellis Nassour. “I am very proud of him.

He needs to start sending me shelled pecans again.”