Country music journalist Patsi Bale Cox passes away

Garth Brooks with Patsi Bale Cox - By Dan Chandwick

Though she did not write a hit song, Patsi Bale Cox wrote many of a word that help preserve country music history. Through her words, she helped sculpt the stories of Kentucky natives Loretta Lynn and Wynonna Judd, along with Trisha Yearwood, and Garth Brooks. Most recently, she published the story of the Jones family - as in George Jones, Tammy Wynette, and their daughter, Georgette Jones.

Saturday evening, the country music community lost one of its own. Patsi Bale Cox passed away due to emphysema at the age of 66. Originally from Kansas, she moved to Nashville in 1983. Cox would work with regional publications and other freelance work. While Working with PolyGram and Capitol Records, she would go on to publish "The Garth Factor," on the rising success of Garth Brooks. Pat Benatar would also mention Patsi on the Oprah Winfrey Show while promoting her book.

Those that met Patsi, like me, knew that she was one of a kind. She was full of spunk but valued her friendships alongside her family. Friends both in and out of Nashville will remember Patsi Bale Cox for her wit and wisdom, along with determination to get things done. In fact, she was working on a biography with Kenny Rogers at the time of her passing.

The history of country music will be harder to write without Patsi Bale Cox. However, she gave the importance of keeping the memories alive and for the music community; her memory will be kept alive.

Patsi Bale Cox Book Collection:

Georgette Jones: The Three of Us: Growing Up with Tammy and George

Wynonna: Coming Home to Myself

Loretta Lynn: Still Woman Enough: A Memoir

Garth Brooks: Garth Factor: The Career Behind Country's Big Boom

Tony Orlando: Halfway to Paradise

Ralph Emery: 50 Years Down a Country Road

Ralph Emery: The View From Nashville

Jenny Jones: My Story

Tanya Tucker: Nickel Dreams: My Life

Pat Benatar: Between a Heart and a Rock Place: A Memoir

Book Review: Loretta Lynn's Still Woman Enough: A Memoir

Loretta Lynn and Patsi Cox. Still Woman Enough:  A Memoir. New York:  Hyperion, April 2002.  384 pages.  $24.95 hardback.

From the hills of Butcher Holler, to flashing lights and sounds of the country music stage, Loretta Lynn has proved that she is still woman enough.  In her latest autobiography, Still Woman Enough, Lynn reflects on what was not mentioned in her previous book and successful movie, Coal Miner’s Daughter.  Patsi Cox also contributed in the writing of the book. 

Throughout life she has struggled with family, music, marriage, death, but has always proven to stay close to her roots of eastern Kentucky.  Being the first female Entertainer of the Year award winners, she opened doors for such artists as Tanya Tucker, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, and many more. 

Through the pages of Still Woman Enough, the reader is exposed to the life not foreseen or told anywhere else.  Intimate details that portray the complete story of those once told.  Stories on Lynn’s relationship to Conway Twitty and their last moments together, as well as her times together with Patsy Cline and Tammy Wynette.  Lynn also includes interesting details of what the movie version of Coal Miner’s Daughter actually inaccurate of the real life version.

Family life has always been important for Loretta Lynn.  It is mentioned several times throughout the book that her twin daughters did not want her to talk about certain aspects of their father.  However, Lynn told the stories behind the scenes and what really went on during their marriage.  It appears to be closure for her in a time that she needs it.

Still Woman Enough ends with a new chapter in Loretta Lynn’s life.  When reading the book, one will definitely not want to put it down.  On a personal note, this book has been passed down through several generations in a matter of days.  After I read it, I passed it on to my own mother for her birthday present, who then passed it on to her mother, who later in turn passed it to her mother, my great-grandmother.  All of us were born and raised in Southeast Kentucky, and with this book, several generations of every family can relate to the life that was lived by the Coal Miner’s Daughter, Loretta Lynn.