Some songs just never go out of style! 7-year-old Evan Riley proved this with her soulful take on Patsy Cline’s 1961 country hit “Crazy.” The youngster sang the tune at a local venue, and her performance turned into an unexpected hit online as country fans tuned in to enjoy her take on the classic song. Somebody better get this girl on American Idol because she’s got big-time potential!
Cline’s original recording of “Crazy” has a bit more of a jazz feel to it, but Evan gave the tune a bit more of a contemporary soul vibe. It’s not an easy song to sing, as it has quite a few blue notes that aren’t easy to pull off quite right. Evan was all over it, though, and really performed the song with a skill beyond her years. We’re all about fresh takes on classic songs here on The Music Man, and young Evan’s performance is a great example of that.
Evan’s take on “Crazy” was uploaded on YouTube by vocal coach Steve Pennington on January 17, 2021, where it gained 376,000 views. The young talent gave the performance in Adamsville, Alabama, which is a town near her home city of Birmingham. In 2024, Evan is now 11 years old, and she regularly shares her performances on her YouTube channel, Evan Riley.
Evan’s most popular video on YouTube so far is her performance of “Crazy.” On her own channel, her biggest upload is her cover of Bill Mack’s “Blue,” which she performed at just six years old at her school’s Christmas performance. Her take on “Blue,” fittingly, again shows off her ability to hit blue notes in just the right way like an old-time country star.
Country icon Willie Nelson wrote “Crazy,” and the song was later popularized with a release by Patsy Cline in 1961. Nelson wrote “Crazy” in less than an hour, which is quite a feat. He penned the tune with the intention to sell the song to supplement the small income he was making working three casual jobs at the time. The Music Man readers might be interested to hear that Nelson had trouble selling the song at first, as it was more complex harmonically than the three-chord songs that were standard in country music at the time. Eventually, a representative from Nelson’s publishing house played “Crazy” for Cline’s producer Owen Bradley, who realized it would be an excellent fit for her voice. It turns out he was right, and the song became a Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit for Cline, as well as subsequently becoming a country music standard.
If you would like to hear more from this talented artist, you can subscribe to their YouTube Channel for more incredible music. Follow Evan Riley’s journey on Instagram for updates and behind-the-scenes content.