Born Clara Ann Fowler in Claremore, Oklahoma in 1927, Patti Page became the best-selling female vocalist of the 1950s on the strength of pop-country crossover hits like 'Tennessee Waltz,' a plaintive ballad that sold over ten million copies and proved a country song sung in a smooth pop style could top every chart at once. Billed as "the Singing Rage," she used multi-tracked harmonies with her own voice years before it became a standard studio trick. Her clean, unhurried phrasing on story-songs became a blueprint for the pop-leaning country singers who came after her.

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1950

Tennessee WaltzPatti Page