by Karen Brune Mathis
Managing Editor
For eight shows a week for eight weeks, Gail Bliss puts on her black wigs, fringe, gowns, boots and sparkly shoes and becomes country star Patsy Cline on the stage of Alhambra Theatre & Dining.
“It’s more than a job or a gig,” said Bliss, who learned to love country music as a child.
“It’s a passion, keeping this kind of music alive.”
Bliss, 48, has been been performing in “A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline” for 17 years. She’s brought the show to Jacksonville seven times since 2000.
It’s not lost on her that she’s been singing Cline’s heartfelt country ballads and crossover hits much longer than did the late singer, who died in 1963 at the age of 30 in a plane crash.
“I have had a lot more time singing these songs than she did,” said Bliss.
Cline was returning to Nashville from a benefit in Kansas City in rough weather when the small private plane carrying Cline crashed in Tennessee, killing all four aboard.
Bliss became acquainted with Cline’s music as a child in Oregon. Her father, now 78, worked in a plywood mill and didn’t pursue a career in music, although he was talented enough.
Instead, he shared his love of country music with his family. “He was a big influence in my musical tastes,” said Bliss.
After flirting with rock ’n’ roll, as in KISS, AC/DC and Led Zeppelin, as a teenager, she returned to her roots.
Bliss took the path that many aspiring performers take, working wherever she could, including the honky-tonks and eventually in Nashville. And along the way, she’d run into folks who had known and worked with Patsy Cline.
“Patsy was pure grit and determination,” Bliss was told, “and that’s what you are.”
As Bliss pursued the tough career as a singer and performer, her first husband offered her a choice, him or music.
She found counsel on the job. Her other job.
Bliss said few fans know that she also is a flight attendant, serving on international flights for American Airlines. She’s been doing that for 27 years.
After her husband’s ultimatum, Bliss said she was working a four-hour flight on which Wynonna Judd and her bodyguard were the only passengers in first class.
Bliss wasn’t assigned to first class but switched with the attendant who was, and then tried to figure out how to start a conversation with Judd.
Bliss served the meal, after which Judd fell asleep. Bliss said she asked the pilot whether there was any air turbulence coming up, and it so happened he found some.
“She woke up,” said Bliss. “I was able to sit with her and tell her my story.”
Judd listened and asked a question: “Can you imagine never stepping on a stage again?”
Because that’s what Bliss’ husband was asking.
The answer was no. Judd, knowing her only as Gail, left a book that she signed, “follow your bliss.”
She did.
Bliss said her life has included heartache and family demands, which Cline faced, as portrayed in the 1985 movie, “Sweet Dreams,” starring Jessica Lange and Ed Harris.
Bliss also has had time to reflect on Cline’s music. The Alhambra song list features many hits, including “Faded Love,” “Leavin’ on Your Mind,” “She’s Got You,” “Sweet Dreams” and “Crazy.”
“It takes you until you’re 50 years old to know what the hell you’re singing about,” she said.
Bliss also has had years to study Cline’s life, researching, watching movies and also becoming friends with Cline’s second husband, Charlie Dick.
Bliss said she had joined the Cline show as a cast member and the group was in Rock Island, Ill., preparing for the first national tour.
“Somebody said Charlie Dick was going to be there,” she said.
“I spotted him at ‘I Fall to Pieces’ and my knees started knocking,” she said.
“I couldn’t help but think, is he having fond memories of Patsy? Is he melancholy? Is he criticizing me?’”
Bliss met him after the show. They sat at the bar and drank beer.
Bliss was 30, the same age as Patsy when she died. Dick went onstage the next night.
“He said there was another girl who sounded more like Patsy Cline, but Gail acts as if Patsy never died,” she said.
“He gave me that stamp of approval.”
The show, which is approved by the Cline family, continued on tour, and Bliss continued to study Cline.
“I read everything. I talked to everybody. I stood at the gravesite,” she said. “I said, ‘Patsy, I hope you approve of what I’m doing.’”
Bliss said she visits Dick and he shares photos and stories about Patsy. She said Cline’s throat-clearing drink, by the way, was “rock and rye,” as in rye whiskey sweetened with rock candy.
“She had (vocal) chords of steel,” said Bliss.
Bliss, who also directs and co-produces the show, wants to continue with it as long as she can.
“I’m 14 years old in the first scene. How long can I pull that off?” she asks, answering that she could bring someone younger onto the stage for that part.
Bliss has remarried and she and her husband are renovating the historic Robert Livingston House in Little River, S.C., into a bed-and-breakfast. She thinks the 163-year-old house might be ready for business by the end of the year.
She continues as a flight attendant, having flown four days before she came to Jacksonville. She expects to fly again later this year.
Bliss also performs and tours in other musicals, including a variety show six months a year in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
She has produced several CDs, including “Gail Bliss and Patsy Cline,” featuring both singers on the same project. The Cline estate granted permission for that.
She is also the caregiver for her mother.
The current Alhambra run began Dec. 31 and closes Valentine’s Day. She said there’s a third show planned at 11 p.m. Feb. 12 featuring Bliss and her band to present a variety of music, including honky-tonk, swing and gospel.
She also continues to pay homage to the woman she portrays. Her favorite song changes, and at the moment, it’s “Bill Bailey.”
“I do the best that I can,” said Bliss. “To be compared to Patsy Cline, she’s one of the best singers, ever, period.”
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