Singer Patti Page dies at 85
By: NBC News
Updated: January 2, 2013
Singer Patti Page, whose smooth alto voice made hits of "How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?", "Tennessee Waltz" and "Old Cape Cod," has died at 85, her manager confirmed to NBC News. She had a seven-decade musical career and sold more than 100 million records. Though some of her hits were considered novelty songs, she continued to perform into the 2000s, and briefly dabbled in television.
Page died at the Seacrest Village nursing home in Encinitas, Calif.
The Grammy Awards will honor Page, along with other artists -- including Carole King and the late Ravi Shankar -- with lifetime achievement awards at the ceremony Feb. 10.
Born Clara Ann Fowler in Oklahoma, she was the second of 11 children and told the New York Times she remembered living without electricity. She began singing on local radio as a teenager and was given her stage name because a sponsor of that show was the Page Milk Company.
The biggest hit of her career, "Tennessee Waltz," about an old friend who steals the singer's lover while dancing, was No.1 for nine weeks in 1950 and 1951 and is one of seven official state songs for Tennessee.
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