Patti Page facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Patti Page
Page in the 1950s
Background information
Birth name	Clara Ann Fowler
Born	(1927-11-08)November 8, 1927 Claremore, Oklahoma, U.S.
Died	January 1, 2013(2013-01-01) (aged 85) Encinitas, California, U.S.
Genres	Traditional pop, country
Occupation(s)	Singer actress
Instruments	Contralto vocals
Years active	1946–2012
Labels	Mercury, Columbia, Epic, Avco, Plantation

Clara Ann Fowler (born November 8, 1927 – died January 1, 2013), known as Patti Page, was an American singer and actress. She was famous for her pop and country music. Patti Page was the top female singer and best-selling female artist of the 1950s. She sold over 100 million records during her career, which lasted six decades. People often called her "the Singin' Rage, Miss Patti Page".

Patti Page signed with Mercury Records in 1947. She became their first successful female artist. Her first hit was "Confess" in 1948. In 1950, she had her first song that sold over a million copies, called "With My Eyes Wide Open, I'm Dreaming". She went on to have 14 more million-selling songs between 1950 and 1965.

Page's most famous song, "Tennessee Waltz", was one of the biggest-selling songs of the 20th century. Today, it is one of the official songs of the state of Tennessee. It was number one on the Billboard best-sellers list for 13 weeks in 1950 and 1951. Page had three more number-one hits between 1950 and 1953. These were "All My Love (Bolero)", "I Went to Your Wedding", and "(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?".

Unlike many other pop singers, Page mixed country music styles into her songs. Because of this, many of her songs appeared on the Billboard Country Chart. In the 1970s, she sang even more country music. She became one of the few singers to have hit songs in five different decades.

When rock and roll became popular in the 1950s, sales of traditional pop music went down. Patti Page was one of the few pop singers who stayed popular. She continued to have hit songs into the 1960s. Some of these hits included "Old Cape Cod", "Allegheny Moon", and "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte".

In 1997, Patti Page was added to the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. She received a special Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 2013 after she passed away.

Early Life and Start in Music

Clara Ann Fowler was born on November 8, 1927, in Claremore, Oklahoma. She came from a large family with 11 children. Her family was poor. Her father worked on the MKT railroad. Her mother and older sisters picked cotton. Patti Page remembered that her family lived without electricity. This meant she could not read after dark. She grew up in several towns in Oklahoma. She graduated from Daniel Webster High School in Tulsa in 1945.

Fowler began her singing career with Al Clauser and his Oklahoma Outlaws. She sang on radio station KTUL in Tulsa, Oklahoma. When she was 18, she became a regular singer on a 15-minute radio show. The show was sponsored by the Page Milk Company. Because of this, she was called "Patti Page" on the radio.

In 1946, Jack Rael, a saxophone player and band manager, heard Page on the radio. He liked her voice and asked her to join his band. After leaving the band, Rael became Page's personal manager.

Page toured the United States with the Jimmy Joy Band in 1946. The next year, she sang with a group led by Benny Goodman in Chicago. This led to her signing with Mercury Records. She became Mercury's main female singer.

Patti Page's Music Career

Early Pop Success: 1946–1949

Patti Page recorded her first two songs, but they did not become popular. She found success with her third song, "Confess". The song was supposed to have a backing choir. However, Mercury Records would not pay for one. So, her manager Jack Rael tried something new.

Bill Putnam, an engineer, was able to record Page's voice multiple times on the same song. This was very hard to do back then. This made Page the first pop artist to sing harmonies with her own voice on a recording. This special trick helped "Confess" reach number 12 on the Billboard charts. This technique was later used on Page's biggest hit songs in the 1950s.

Page had four more songs on the charts in 1948 and 1949. Two of them, "So In Love" and "With My Eyes Wide Open, I'm Dreaming", reached the top 15. She also had a top 15 country hit in 1949 with "Money, Marbles, and Chalk". After "Confess" worked so well, Page and Rael started trying to record four voices at once.

In 1950, Page had her first song that sold a million copies. It was "With My Eyes Wide Open, I'm Dreaming", where she again sang all the voices. Because she was singing all the parts, her name was listed as a group. Sometimes, she was called the Patti Page Quartet. In mid-1950, her song "All My Love (Bolero)" became her first number one hit on Billboard. It stayed there for five weeks. That same year, she also had a top-10 hit with "I Don't Care if the Sun Don't Shine". With this success, she released her first album, also called "Patti Page".

The "Tennessee Waltz" Hit: 1950

The success of "Bolero" was soon overshadowed by "Tennessee Waltz". This song became Page's most famous. "Tennessee Waltz" was written in 1946 by Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart. Other artists had recorded it before. Page heard the song from record producer Jerry Wexler. He suggested she record it.

"Tennessee Waltz" became a huge hit by accident. It was the B-side (the less important song) to "Boogie Woogie Santa Claus". Mercury Records wanted to promote "Boogie Woogie Santa Claus" for Christmas 1950. They thought "Tennessee Waltz" was not a hit song. But to everyone's surprise, "Tennessee Waltz" became number one for five weeks. "Boogie Woogie Santa Claus" was quickly forgotten.

"Tennessee Waltz" also became Page's second song to appear on the country charts. It was her biggest country hit, reaching number two. The song sold 7 million copies in the early 1950s. It was the last song to sell one million copies of sheet music. Many other singers also covered the song.

The song was later used in the movies Zabriskie Point (1970) and The Right Stuff (1983).

More Hits: 1951–1965

Patti Page with Frankie Laine, around the 1950s

In 1951, Page covered "Would I Love You (Love You, Love You)". Her version was a top-five hit and sold a million copies. Her next song, "Mockin' Bird Hill", was her fourth million-seller. Page had three more top 10 hits in 1951: "Mister and Mississippi", "And So to Sleep Again", and "Detour". "Detour" became her seventh million-selling song. She also released her first studio album, Folk Song Favorites.

In 1952, Page had her third number-one hit with "I Went to Your Wedding". It stayed at number one for two months. This song was a country ballad. It was Page's eighth million-selling song in the United States. She had more success that year with "Come What May", "Once in a While", and "Why Don't You Believe Me".

In 1953, the fun song "(How Much Is That) Doggie in the Window?" became Page's fourth number-one hit. It sold over 1 million copies and stayed on the charts for five months. The song had the sound of a dog barking, which made it popular with kids. It became one of her most loved songs. She had many other top-20 hits that year. "Changing Partners" reached number three and stayed on the charts for five months. This song also had a country style.

In 1954, Page had more hit songs. These included "Cross Over the Bridge", where she again sang all the voices. It reached number two. Other top-10 hits were "Steam Heat" and "Let Me Go Lover". In 1955, she had one hit song called "Croce di Oro".

Patti Page was able to stay successful even when rock and roll became popular. In 1956, she had three hits, including "Allegheny Moon", which reached number two. In 1957, she had big hits with "A Poor Man's Roses (or a Rich Man's Gold)" and "Old Cape Cod".

In 1956, Vic Schoen became Patti Page's music director. He helped her create many hit songs. Page and Schoen worked together for many years until 1999.

During the 1950s, Page often appeared on TV shows. These included The Ed Sullivan Show and The Dean Martin Show. She later had her own TV shows, like Scott Music Hall and The Patti Page Show. Page also started acting. She made her movie debut in 1960 in Elmer Gantry. She also sang the theme song for the movie Boys Night Out. In 1959, Page recorded the title song from the musical The Sound of Music.

By 1960, it was harder for pop singers like Page to have hit songs. She did not have another hit until 1961. Page's last big hit was "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte" from the movie of the same name. It reached number eight. This was her last top-10 hit. She performed it at the 1965 Academy Awards.

Later Career: 1966–2012

Patti Page signed with Columbia Records before "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte" was released. She stayed there for several years. Many of her songs started to appear on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart. These included covers of "You Can't Be True, Dear" and "Little Green Apples".

Page, who grew up in Oklahoma, knew a lot about country music. She recorded many country songs over the years. As her pop hits became less frequent, she decided to focus only on country music. In 1970, she returned to Mercury Records. In 1973, she worked again with her former producer Shelby Singleton.

In the 1970s, Page recorded many country songs. Her song "I Wish I Had a Mommy Like You" became a top-25 hit in 1970. In 1973, a song she sang with country singer Tom T. Hall called "Hello, We're Lonely" was a top-20 country hit. She continued to record country songs for different labels into the early 1980s.

In 1986, Page and arranger Vic Schoen worked together again for a show in Las Vegas. In 1988, Page performed in New York for the first time in almost 20 years. She received good reviews. In the 1990s, Page started her own record label, C.A.F. Records. She released several albums, including a children's album in 2003.

In the early 1990s, Page moved to San Diego, California. She continued to perform live shows across the country. In 1998, her album Live at Carnegie Hall: The 50th Anniversary Concert was released. This album won Page her first Grammy Award in 1999.

In 1998, a part of Patti Page's song "Old Cape Cod" was used in the UK hit "At the River" by Groove Armada. This introduced Page's music to a new generation of listeners.

In 2000, she released the album Brand New Tennessee Waltz. Other famous country singers sang harmonies on the album. On October 4, 2001, the mayor of Manchester, New Hampshire, declared it "Patti Page Day".

In 2004, she appeared on a TV special called Magic Moments: The Best of 50s Pop. She sang "Tennessee Waltz" and "Old Cape Cod". Page continued to tour until September 2012. She announced her retirement from performing due to health reasons.

Patti Page's Style

Patti Page was most popular in the late 1940s and 1950s. Many pop singers at that time used jazz music in their songs. Page also used jazz in some of her songs. However, she often used country music styles in her recordings.

Mitch Miller was a top music producer at Mercury Records. He produced most of Page's music. Miller found that simple country songs could be made popular for the pop market. Page, who was from Oklahoma, liked this idea. Many of Page's most successful songs had a country music style. This included "Tennessee Waltz", "I Went to Your Wedding", and "Changing Partners". Some of these songs even appeared on the Billboard country chart.

Other artists were influenced by Patti Page. They also started to use country styles in their songs.

Personal Life

Patti Page was married three times. Her first marriage was to Jack Skiba in 1948. They divorced within a year. Her next marriage was to Charles O'Curran in 1956. He was a choreographer. Page and O'Curran adopted a son, Danny, and a daughter, Kathleen. They divorced in 1972.

Page's last marriage was to Jerry Filiciotto in 1990. They owned a maple syrup business in New Hampshire. They lived in Solana Beach, California. Filiciotto passed away in 2009.

Patti Page's long-time music director, Vic Schoen, said she was "one of the nicest and most accommodating singers I've ever worked with." They remained close friends until his death in 2000.

Death

Patti Page passed away on January 1, 2013, in Encinitas, California, at the age of 85. She was buried in El Camino Memorial Park in San Diego.

Discography

Film and Television

Television

• Patti Page's Music Hall CBS 1952-1953
• The Patti Page Show (syndicated by Screen Gems), 1955–56
• The Big Record Show CBS 1957-1958
• The Patti Page Oldsmobile Show ABC 1958-1959
• What's My Line? (CBS, September 22, 1957) (Mystery Guest)
• Appointment with Adventure ("Paris Venture", CBS, February 26, 1956)
• The United States Steel Hour ("Upbeat", CBS, 1957)

Film

• Elmer Gantry (1960) as Sister Rachel
• Dondi (1961) as Liz
• Blue Hawaii (1961) as Woman Paddling Canoe Near Hotel (uncredited)
• Boys' Night Out (1962) as Joanne McIllenny
• 2004: The Patti Page Video Songbook
• 2004: Patti Page – Sings the Hits
• 2005: In Concert Series: Patti Page

Images for kids

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  Page in the 1950s

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  Patti Page with Frankie Laine, around the 1950s

Error: no page names specified (help). In Spanish: Patti Page para niños

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