Where Johnny Met Patsy Cline Legend Sessions

Ballyshannon Folk Music Festival is delighted to announce the staging of the 2024 version of the legends session featuring two major musicians who never met in real  life but who may have, with a stretch if the imagination participated in one of the many sessions which are synonymous with the Folk Music Festival in Ballyshannon.

This year the imagined session will feature legendary Donegal Fiddle player John Doherty and the singing of country singer Patsy Cline.

This real session will take place on The Bridgend Bar on Sunday August 4^th at 12.30 P.M..

The event is free but booking is advisable as space is limited.

Get your Tickets Here

John Doherty Donegal Fiddle player;

 

John Doherty was born into a very musical travelling family in February 1900 in the Ardara area of Co Donegal.

John’s parents were Mickey Mór Doherty and Mary McConnell. His father had a musical inheritance of a couple of generations of both Doherty and Sweeney musicians on his father’s side. Also, Mary McConnell was a sister of Alec and Mickey McConnell who were very well known travelling tinsmiths and fiddle players in their day. They travelled widely around the south west of Donegal where their tinsmith and fiddle playing skills were very highly respected. A great many of the tin fiddles in the area were made by the McConnells and the Dohertys.

John was the youngest of 9 children. The Dohertys’ lifestyle was that of a travelling family moving from place to place doing tinsmiths work, playing music and camping or accepting local hospitality wherever they could, then moving on. When the children were young the family would travel as a group with a donkey and cart to carry their needs with them.

When John got older he travelled on his own carrying his belongings and his tinsmith tools with him. Strangely his belongings did not include a fiddle as almost every house in these parts had one.

Thankfully there are quite a few recordings of John’s music, stories and songs as well since many music and folklore collectors sought him out. There have also been a number of commercial releases of John Doherty’s music, some of which are still available on CD.

Apart from the huge repertoire of tunes that John got from his own family, he was very interested in the music of James Scott Skinner, the great Scots virtuoso fiddle player and composer. Skinner’s music has been and is very popular in Donegal. The introduction of the gramophone and 78 records brought a lot of music from outside the existing local repertoire into Donegal. Indeed, due to the influence of the gramophone, John’s repertoire also included some classical pieces by Fritz Kriesler.

John didn’t read music and did not have a collection of recorded music that he could draw on like modern musicians. However he was blessed with and developed an incredible memory for tunes and a fantastic ability to learn tunes by ear.

John travelled a bit to other parts of Ireland to attend Fleadhs and to Dublin where he competed in and won the Oireachtas fiddle competition. In summary, the adjudicators compared his tone to that of Fritz Kriesler. Mostly though, he travelled in Donegal, walking the roads of his regular beat. John maintained this travelling lifestyle until age demanded that he give it up. Many people loved to be able to offer John the hospitality of their homes throughout his life.

John Doherty died at the Rock Home in Ballyshannon, Co Donegal in early 1980.

John Doherty developed a highly personal style of playing, which although very much Donegal in essence was also his. John’s brother Mickey was said to have a style of playing which was much more like that of their father’s. Thankfully there is also a fair amount of Mickey’s music and lore recorded. There are a couple of duets recorded of John playing duets with his brother Simon as well.

Patsy Cline (1932-1963)

 Patsy Cline  was born Virginia Patterson Hensley on September 8, 1932, in Winchester, Virginia.

Her father, Samuel, was a blacksmith. Her mother, Hilda, was only 16 years old when she married Samuel, more than 25 years her senior. The couple had three children together before splitting up, with Hilda becoming a seamstress to support her family.

Patsy taught herself how to play the piano around the age of eight. She later discovered her passion for singing. When she was 16, she dropped out of school to go to work because her family desperately needed the money. She was employed at a number of places, including a poultry plant and a local soda shop. In her free time she started her singing career. She performed on local radio stations and entered numerous singing contests.

 

She performed for nearly a decade before her breakthrough 1957 television appearance, singing “Walking After Midnight.” She went on to many crossover pop and country hits, including “Crazy” and “She’s Got You,” becoming one of the leading Nashville figures before her death in a plane crash in 1963, in Camden, Tennessee. She helped break down the gender barrier in this musical genre, thanks in large part to her smooth-sounding, emotive voice

Career Beginnings

In 1952, she began performing with bandleader Bill Peer’s group. Peer encouraged her to change her first name to “Patsy” for their performances. She picked up the second part of her now-famous name the following year after marrying Gerald Cline. Cline landed a recording contract in 1954, but her first few singles failed to catch on.

Her career hit a turning point in 1957. She landed a spot on the Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts show. She wowed audiences with her performance of “Walkin’ After Midnight,” winning the program’s competition. After her appearance on Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts, the song hit the country and pop charts.

In the early 1960s, Patsy enjoyed great success on the country and pop charts. She also joined the cast of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee—a true sign of her place in country music. In the 60’s she  released some of her greatest hits. “I Fall to Pieces” hit the top of the country charts in 1961. It also became a Top 20 single on the pop charts. Chart success soon struck again with the Willie Nelson song “Crazy.” That same year, Cline survived a traumatic car crash.

In 1962, Cline again hit the number one spot on the country charts with “She’s Got You.” She started performing with Johnny Cash around this time, joining his tour. Cline performed with the likes of June Carter and George Jones during this time as well. She was supportive of other female country artists, such as Loretta Lynn, and she tried to help them with their careers. The pair’s friendship is documented in the 2019 Lifetime movie Patsy & Loretta.

 

Cline’s own career was all too brief. She died on March 5, 1963, in a plane crash in Camden, Tennessee. After her death, her version of “Sweet Dreams” was released and became a hit.

Considered one of country music’s greatest vocalists, Cline was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1973. Her life became the subject of the 1985 film Sweet Dreams, starring Jessica Lange. Her music remains popular today with fans around the world, with many making the pilgrimage to her hometown of Winchester, Virginia, to visit the Patsy Cline Historic Home.