depicted in a 1960 portrait for
Decca Records In his book
Willie: An Autobiography, Nelson recalled that it was hard to find artists interested in recording "Crazy" due to its use of several chords, instead of the standard three used for
country music compositions at the time. Walker intended to record the song, and made a demo at
Starday Records. Ultimately, the label decided to reject Walker's proposition since they felt that "Crazy" would not have commercial success. Nelson's fellow Pamper Music
song plugger and writer
Hank Cochran played "Crazy" for
Patsy Cline's producer
Owen Bradley, who felt that the composition would be good for Cline. Cochran then told Walker about Bradley's interest in the song for Cline and asked him not to record it. In exchange, Cochran gave Walker "
Charlie's Shoes". Cline's husband
Charlie Dick had previously taken her a demo of Nelson's "Night Life". Cline disliked the song, and she asked her husband not to bring her any more of Nelson's songs, saying that she did not want to record compositions that embraced vulnerability or
loss of love. The persistent Cochran drove Nelson to Cline's house with the demo of "Crazy". While Nelson waited in the car, Cochran played the song for Cline. Cline told Cochran to bring Nelson into the house, where he taught her to sing the song. Cline had difficulty following Nelson's phrasing because he sang behind the beat. An alternative account published by Nelson in his 2015 book ''It's A Long Story: My Life'' revealed that, while drinking with Dick at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, Nelson played his demo of "Crazy" on the bar's jukebox. Dick thought the song was good, that his wife should record it, and offered to take Nelson to his home to play the demo for Cline. Because it was after midnight, Nelson decided to wait in the car as Dick played the song for Cline, and she later invited him in. Bradley planned to record "Crazy" with the
minor and
major sevenths jazz chords favored by Nelson. For most of the song, the composition uses a
B-flat key but ends in
B major. Bradley decided to add
the Jordanaires on background vocals, pianist
Floyd Cramer, and bass guitarist
Bob Moore. Cramer opened with a
four-bar introduction, followed by brushing from drummer
Buddy Harman. Moore was complemented by
Harold Bradley's electric guitar, creating a
tic-tac effect. The first four-hour recording session took place on August 21, 1961, at
Bradley's Quonset hut Studio B. Cline had recently been in a car accident that bruised her ribs and Owen Bradley had to end her participation because, in her pain, she could not reach the notes needed to match Nelson's phrasing. Bradley worked the arrangements with the musicians and recorded the music track for the song. Bradley asked Cline to use her own rather than Nelson's singing style. After her ribs recovered three weeks later, Cline returned to record her vocal track; she accomplished it on the first take. During the session on September 15, 1961, Cline's vocal featured ascending and descending
intervals and the use of
broken chords. Cline learned to sing in the style needed for "Crazy" early in her life; she listened to and imitated
big band and jazz performers that she heard on the radio. Following Nelson, Cline sang slightly behind the beat, but modified to fit her own unique style.
Release and reception '' magazine "Crazy" was released in October 1961 by
Decca Records under catalog number 31317 with "Who Can I Count On" on the flip side. In November, "Crazy" was included on Cline's album
Showcase. After 11 weeks, the single peaked at number two on ''
Billboard's Hot Country Singles and it crossed over to the pop charts reaching number 9 on the Billboard
Hot 100, also attaining number two on Billboard's''
Easy Listening chart. It was Cline's only top 10 hit on the Hot 100. With the success of "Crazy" and her previous single "
I Fall to Pieces", Cline was named ''Billboard's'' Favorite Female Country Artist of 1961. In November 1961, Cline sang "Crazy" during a performance with the Grand Ole Opry cast at
Carnegie Hall. In
Canada it reached number 8 on the pop charts. "Crazy" became Cline's most successful pop single, her signature song, and one of the country songs that generated the most royalties. Nelson dubbed Cline's his favorite version of his composition. He opined that her interpretation was done with "delicacy, soul, and perfect diction". Media outlets, including
National Public Radio,
New Musical Express, and
American Songwriter defined "Crazy" as a country music
standard. The recording was featured in the 1985 Cline biopic
Sweet Dreams. In 1989, the Amusement and Music Operators Association ranked "Crazy" number two on the all-time Top 40 Jukebox Singles on the United States list. By 1996, the updated list cited the song as the most played in jukeboxes. "Crazy" appeared on the
UK Singles Chart in 1987 at number 79, and moved to number 14 in 1990. The next year, it peaked at number 14 on the
Irish Singles Chart. In 2003, Cline's recording was inducted into the
National Recording Registry by the
Library of Congress. The next year, it was ranked number 85 on
Rolling Stones list of
500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In the 2021 version of the list, the magazine placed it at number 195. In 2018, it was included by
New Musical Express on their "25 best country songs of all time" list, in 2019;
The Tennessean listed it as one of the 100 best country songs of all time. In 1992, Patsy's version of "Crazy" was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2024,
Rolling Stone ranked the song at number three on its 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time ranking.
Personnel All credits are adapted from the original
liner notes of
Showcase. •
Harold Bradley –
6-string electric bass •
Owen Bradley – organ •
Floyd Cramer – piano •
Buddy Harman – drums •
Walter Haynes –
steel guitar • Randy Hughes – acoustic guitar •
The Jordanaires – backing vocals •
Grady Martin – electric guitar •
Bob Moore – acoustic bass ==Other versions==