Greatest Love Songs Ever: #16 “Crazy”
By Tom Quiner, Board President, Pulse Life Advocates
“Crazy” was a wildly successful country love song made possible by the convergence of three country music superstars: Patsy Cline on vocals; Willy Nelson as songwriter; and Floyd Cramer on piano.
A young Willie Nelson composed the song in 1958. Nashville artists kept passing on recording it, because it wasn’t an easy song to sing. In that era, they preferred three chord songs. “Crazy” uses sophisticated chord progressions and rhythms, and tests vocalists with its range. Nashville music producers didn’t think it would sell.
Country star, Patsy Cline, didn’t like the song upon first listen, but her husband persuaded her to record it. The great Floyd Kramer was hired to accompany on piano, and the rest is history.
Each of these artists collaborated on creating a love song for the ages. Kramer pioneered a piano technique knows as the ‘slip note,’ which you can hear instantly in the intro to the song.
A classic torch song
Patsy Cline’s throaty vocals convey the rich emotions of Nelson’s lyrics:
“Crazy,
I’m crazy for feeling so lonely,
I’m crazy,
Crazy for feeling so blue.
I knew,
You’d love me as long as you wanted,
And then someday
You’d leave me for somebody new.”
This is the best of the great torch songs you’ll find peppered throughout my list of the 52 Greatest Love Songs Ever, including:
Love isn’t always a bed of roses. The person you love doesn’t love you back. Or they leave the relationship, and with it, emotional carnage in its wake.
Willie Nelson poses a difficult question in this song:
Am I “crazy for lovin’ you?”
That’s a tough question. Love is worth risking your heart for, as long as it is tempered by realistic expectations and guided by God.
What seems like a simple country love song is actually a profound work of art that plunges the depths of the mystery of love. Well done Willie, Patsy, and Floyd!
I have a major treat for you next week: a swingin’ big band arrangement of a classic song performed by Sinatra at his best.
In the meantime, support our pro-life educational outreach with your gift today.
