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May 20, 2013 | 11:56 AM
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Entertainment: Music

'Tennessee Waltz' singer Patti Page dies at 85

January 2, 2013 | 4:12 pm
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Photo - FILE - In this Sept. 26, 2009 file photo, singer Patti Page performs the Tennessee Waltz during halftime of a NCAA college football game Tennessee and Ohio in Knoxville, Tenn. Page, who made "Tennessee Waltz" the third best-selling recording ever, has died. She was 85. (AP Photo/Wade Payne, file)
FILE - In this Sept. 26, 2009 file photo, singer Patti Page performs the Tennessee Waltz during halftime of a NCAA college football game Tennessee and Ohio in Knoxville, Tenn. Page, who made "Tennessee Waltz" the third best-selling recording ever, has died. She was 85. (AP Photo/Wade Payne, file)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Patti Page, who made "Tennessee Waltz" the third best-selling recording ever, has died. She was 85.

Page died on New Year's Day in Encinitas, Calif., according to her manager.

She was the top-selling female singer in history with more than 100 million record sales, created a distinctive sound for the music industry in 1947 by overdubbing her own voice when she didn't have enough money to hire backup singers for the single, "Confess."

Her career included 15 gold records and three gold albums of more than 1 million in sales. She had 24 records in the top 10, including four that reached No. 1. She was also the first singer to have television programs on all three major networks, including "The Patti Page Show" on ABC.