BLACKFOOT — Jeanne Coady said it was a little more than five years ago when she met a man who worked as a buyer of entertainment for fairs who also just happened to be looking for a female country and western tribute act to add to his stable of talent.

“They were brain storming women and I was just sitting there and I said off-handedly, ‘well I can sing Patsy Cline would she be good?,” Coady said. “So I made a demo and the rest is history. I got the job and I have been touring around Montana, Oregon, Idaho, this is my first time to Idaho.”

The Yakima, Wash., high school teacher has spent the past five years touring state fairs with her show, “Jeanne Coady — A Living Tribute to Patsy Cline,” and says people get excited about her tribute show because even though Cline died in 1963, her following remains strong.

“Patsy Cline still sells more than 750,000 records a year,” Coady said. “She still has a following. There is really a special quality to her voice and her singing that makes her unique and sustains her ability to sell records.”

Coady performed at the Eastern Idaho State Fair in Blackfoot on Sunday on the Big Dog Satellite Community Free Stage, located near the main entrance and by the grandstand.

Today is her final day of performances in Blackfoot, and she will take the stage at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Singing Patsy Cline was a slam dunk for Coady who grew up in rural Washington State with only a handful of records in the house and not much else to do at night.

“When I was little, I lived on a farm and we had three records and we didn’t have a TV,” she said. “One of the records was Patsy Cline and so I grew up signing Patsy Cline.”

But she didn’t just get her current gig because of nights spent singing to a record. Coady also took singing lesson and has been a singer for more than 30 years. This summer was a heavy one for her, working nine fairs and averaging three days at each fair.

“This year, I will do 39 shows,” she said. “This is my hobby that pays and I am having a terrific time.”

While fairs and entertainment buyers know they can count on Coady’s Patsy Cline tribute, she’s been thinking lately about branching out.

“The other records we had were Judy Garland and Barbara Streisand,” she said. “I’m considering doing a Judy Garland tribute. It’s something I might work on this winter.”

Those interested in learning more about Coady or purchasing one of her CDs, can go to her website, www.jeannecoady.com.