Mood:
a-ok
To begin with, Leisa Way isn't a country performer. She's a musical theatre actor who has done many plays and musicals in Canada including a six year stint as Anne in "Anne Of Green Gables".
Leisa has also done a Judy Garland tribute, but that's alright because Judy was one of Patsy Cline's role models.
The show was part biographical theatre and part musical. Leisa wasn't really believable as a Hillbilly cowgirl who was trying hard to succeed in country music, but wasn't doing so well. There were lots of recordings(i.e. 57) with Four Star Records, but only one hit, "Walking After Midnight".
When a new manager (Owen Bradley) came on the scene, he changed her sound to "pop country", suddenly, Patsy had a string of hits like "I Fall To Pieces", "Sweet Dreams", "She's Not You", and "Crazy', etc.
Almost over night, her venue moved from "The Grand Ole Opry" to "Las Vegas" and "Carnegie Hall". This kind of success was the first of its kind for a country singer.
Leisa's greatest success was demonstating how a country performer went from "hillbilly country" to "hillbilly rock" to "pop county" to "pop rock" to "standard pop" in a few years.
Two of the highlights of the evening was Patsy's/Leisa's version of Frank Sinatra's "Always" and Bobby Darin's "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey".
Patsy Cline brings memories back to me when there weren't big barriers between musical styles. In 2007, this great music still endures even though the performers may have died. Three stars. This tribute is well worth a viewing.
You Belong To Me
St Johns