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Patti Page Way named on 'Old Cape Cod'

E-mail|Link|Comments () February 26, 2010 02:35 PM

AP Newsfeatures

Songstress Patti Page in 1958.

By Stefanie Geisler, Globe Correspondent

Thanks to the lyrics of her 1950s hit song, Patti Page knew about Cape Cod’s winding roads before she even visited the area. In a ceremony today, one of those roads was named after her.

“Naturally, I was honored,” said Page, 82, by phone. “I was really thrilled that they were going to do this for me here.”

Page recorded “Old Cape Cod” in 1957. Although she had not yet been to the area, she has traveled there many times since, and she said the lyrics gave her a good primer.

“I fell in love with the music and the lyrics to the song,” Page said. “When I first came here, I knew that she (the songwriter) had captured it completely.”

"If you’re fond of sand dunes and salty air/ Quaint little villages here and there/You’re sure to fall in love with/Old Cape Cod," reads one of the lyrics to the song, which was written by Claire Rothrock Graham.

Patti Page in 2009

The road, which branches off of Shootflying Hill Road in Centerville, has been renamed Patti Page Way. The quarter-mile stretch leads to Cape Cod’s visitor center and its Arts Foundation.

Page, whose other hits include the "Tennessee Waltz" and "(How Much is That) Doggie in the Window," was in the area to do a fund-raiser for the Cape Cod Literacy Council. She will also hold several book signings for her memoir, “This is My Song,” which was published last March.

Wendy Northcross, chief executive of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, said it was the perfect opportunity to honor the singing legend.

“We thought we could do it while she’s here, and really thank her for the decades that her song has been recognized as our unofficial anthem,” Northcross said.

Page, who recorded over 1,000 songs, including 111 Billboard hits, is also the namesake of Patti Page Boulevard in her hometown, Claremore, Okla.

“I’d like to bring my grandchildren here,” Page said of Cape Cod. “That would be nice. I live in San Diego County, so getting back here is not the easiest thing in the world to do. But I’d like to bring them here someday.”

The chamber is looking forward to the change, Northcross said.

“I just think it would be so much fun to put that as our mailing address,” she said. “That’s our goal.”