2. Patsy Cline, ‘Crazy’ (1961)
The song got to Patsy Cline through her husband Charlie Dick, a buddy of Willie Nelson from Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge on Nashville’s Music Row. After hearing Nelson’s demo, Dick immediately drove the songwriter home to wake up Patsy.
She initially though Nelson’s tune too was slow and unflattering, but she still nailed her heart-stopping vocal in a single. “Crazy” became Cline’s signature tune and a hallmark of the Great American Songbook. It was also the 1992 presidential candidate Ross Perot’s campaign anthem.