Singer pays tribute to legendary Patsy Cline

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, March 1, 2007

Joni Morris’ parents sang Patsy Cline songs together when she was a child and she also listened to Cline’s songs on the radio.

“I thought they were the most beautiful things I had ever heard. I never dreamed the day would come when I would be singing those songs, too,” Morris said.

Tonight, Morris will star in “A Portrait of Patsy Cline” in Bothell.

Many years ago, she and her husband saw a play about Hank Williams in a small community theater in California. After the show, they discussed writing a play featuring Cline and her music. But the director of the Williams show found a play about Cline’s life and held auditions for the leading role. Morris won the part.

The play was a success, and Morris received critical praise from newspaper critics. Soon, she and her husband had their own song-oriented show.

“I wanted to keep the music alive for everyone else,” Morris said.

The audiences seem appreciative.

“I talk to people after every show. I hear things like, ‘You would make Patsy proud!’ That is such an honor for me to hear. Or people will say, ‘She’s singing through you’ or ‘You’re really doing these songs justice’ or ‘I cried when you sang ‘Crazy.”’

Cline connected strongly with audiences because of her ability to transfer the emotion.

“She gave the songs emotion that she often pulled from her own life experiences … She couldn’t find peace and contentment in her personal life (and) the sadness of these songs was very real,” Morris said.

“I had a marriage that didn’t work out (and) this is the positive thing I can take from that, to be able to sing about love lost and heartbreak and give them the emotion they deserve.

“They’re sad songs, that’s the bottom line. She could sing a sad song like no one else and make it real.”

Before the Cline tribute, Morris had joined her sister to tour as the Morris Sisters.

In addition to this tribute, she also does a “Legendary Ladies in Country Music” show and a Connie Francis music revue.

While similar shows can be a thin imitation, Morris says she avoids that trap. “The show is a tribute to Patsy and not an imitation or an impersonation.”

How would Cline feel after sitting through one of Morris’ tributes?

“I think she would be proud because we’re remembering her wonderful legacy and making people happy by doing so. That’s what she would have wanted.”

Joni Morris performs a Patsy Cline tribute tonight in Bothell.