The Untold Story of Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn's Remarkable Friendship
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Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn are legendary country singers in their own right. Both have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and Country Music Hall of Fame, and their songs are as beloved today as when they were first released. But one of the most memorable aspects of their careers isn’t their long-lasting success. It’s the deep—but tragically short—friendship that Patsy and Loretta shared.
Their previously unexplored relationship is brought to light in the upcoming Lifetime biopic, Patsy and Loretta, which airs on October 19. The movie follows their rises to fame, the difficulties they faced at home, how they championed one another in the music industry, and how Loretta honored Patsy after her untimely death at just 30 years old.
“They didn’t have a ton of time together, they didn’t know each other all that long,” says Jessie Mueller, who plays Loretta in the film. “But the friendship that they had was one of those friendships you always hope to find, and it was a really true, deep friendship.”
In 1961, Patsy was in a car accident and spent a month in the hospital recovering. At that time, Patsy and Loretta had never met, but Loretta was a fan of Patsy's music. After hearing about her injury, Loretta performed “I Fall to Pieces” on the Ernest Tubb Record Shop, and dedicated it to Patsy.
It turned out that Patsy heard Loretta’s rendition, and asked husband Charlie Dick to pick up Loretta and her husband, Oliver Lynn (also known as "Mooney" or "Doo") and bring them to the hospital. “That’s the first time I ever met her, and really that was a friendship that would just last and last and never die,” Loretta, now 87, recalled on a memorial album for Patsy.
Their bond only grew from there. Patsy took Loretta under her wing and helped her navigate the ins and outs of the industry, from topics as vital as demanding fair pay, to encouraging Loretta to wear makeup on stage.
“She was such a champion for herself and a champion for women,” says Smash star Megan Hilty, who plays Patsy. “And [she] wouldn’t really accept no as an answer just because she was a woman.”
Jessie, who rose to fame in Broadway hits like Waitress, adds, “They were in the same field but they didn’t treat each other as competition. They really cheered each other on and supported each other through these really difficult moments in their lives.”
Those "difficult moments" also extended to their marriages, specifically regarding how stardom affected their husbands.
Loretta and Mooney are seen having several disagreements in Patsy and Loretta regarding her fame and touring schedule. But the film also includes those times when he was a sense of support for Loretta on her journey.
“A lot of the stuff that comes up in the film, it’s uncomfortable stuff and it’s intimate,” Jessie says. “There’s always complexity in relationships. It can look one way from the outside, but it’s certainly another way on the inside.”
Charlie and Patsy had similar battles, as he stayed back with their children, Julie and Randy, so she could work—a concept that Megan rightfully calls “borderline revolutionary at the time.”
“It’s really hard in this day and age where it’s more accessible for a female breadwinner to be away and to do what Patsy did,” Megan says. “Can you imagine how much more difficult it was for them to do this? When women were supposed to be home taking care of their kids and making dinner for their husbands? Knowing how hard it is now, I can’t imagine how difficult it would have been decades ago.”
Patsy and Loretta’s desire to be close to their children is also very apparent. (Patsy and Charlie shared Julie and Randy, while Loretta and Mooney had six kids, Betty Sue, Patsy, Jack Benny, Peggy, Ernest Ray, and Cissie.) But the pull to the stage was always lingering.
“Even though she loved her work, it was also something that had to be done,” says Julie Fudge, Patsy’s daughter. “It was a way for her to help support the family, she really would rather have been at home, I believe.”
That conflict between their desire to succeed as an artist and as a mother is a central theme in Patsy and Loretta, primarily because it still feels current today.
“She had this insatiable drive within her to perform and to sing, but she also desperately needed and wanted to take care of everybody around her,” Megan says. “I feel like every working mom or dad really gets there’s a duality, and a constant struggle to find a balance between your home and your working life.”
Jessie shared a similar sentiment: “We’re still fighting a lot of the same battles and juggling a lot of the same things, which makes sense because life is complicated.”
There were many highs of Patsy and Loretta’s friendship, but their story is not complete without recalling Patsy’s tragic death in a plane accident on March 5, 1963. But even those emotional scenes are completed with several heartfelt moments—particularly when it’s revealed that Loretta named her daughter after Patsy.
“I think we all need that reminder that we need people, and people are with us in our lives. Even when we feel like we’ve lost them, they’re not lost,” Jessie says.
Patsy and Loretta also went to great lengths to ensure Patsy’s memory was accurately honored, and even signed on Julie and Loretta’s daughter, Patsy, as producers.
“It must be really strange to have somebody, a stranger, really, portray your mom,” Megan says. “I honestly don’t think I could do it without her or her family being behind it, because it would have felt too invasive.”
Despite the tragic end, what Patsy’s loved ones want others to see is the lasting affect Patsy and Loretta had on their fans, family, and each other.
“There are always emotional moments when we deal with Mom and her legacy and her music and telling her story, but at the same time we really like sharing, it keeps her alive,” Julie says. “I think it did speak a lot to how strong and how powerful a couple of girls can be.”
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