She breathed a sigh of relief when Great Falls establishments went smoke-free in 2009. That was also the year she released her first CD featuring 15 of her favorite and most-requested songs, all recorded right at her piano inside the Sip 'n Dip.
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She worried about what to wear and how to fix her hair when GQ came to town after the magazine named the Sip 'n Dip the number one bar in the world in 2003. She said in 2002 that she had played for “Weird” Al Yankovic, Tom Selleck and Leonard Nimoy. Spoonheim watched a lot of stars come and go as the Sip 'n Dip gained global attention. She was upside down with just her head showing,” Spoonheim said of Hannah. Spoonheim said she was “nervous as hell,” but she played along as a patron sang Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” dedicated to the actress.
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She was there in 2002 when Daryl Hannah, who played a mermaid in the movie “Splash,” swam in the Sip 'n Dip’s pool. In 1963, trying to support 3 kids as a single mom, she filled in one night for the Sip 'n Dip's regular musician. She first took to the stage at 12 years old and was playing professionally by 14. View Gallery: Through the years: "Piano Pat" SponheimĪccording to the Tribune's archives, Pat began taking classical piano lessons at age five, with her mother braving harsh winters to drive her more than 80 miles roundtrip to learn to play. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Pat told the Tribune. Through it all, Pat knew she was right where she should be. Through the years, people met their spouses, celebrated birthdays and bachelor/bachelorette parties, mourned breakups and drowned their sorrows with Pat's music in the background. She would play his songs occasionally, but she never thought she could do them as well as Elvis. She said Pat loved Elvis Presley and was perhaps his biggest fan. Thares said the only thing Pat would never play was rock and roll. "She was furious, but being the classy lady that she was, she just pulled the cover over her piano and went and sat at a table." Thares recalled a horn player who decided to take out his instrument and start blowing it in Pat's ear. "She hated to have anybody back there playing with her unless they won her over in the first minute she worked with them,” said Thares. Local musicians often asked to play with Pat, but she was picky. On any given night, you could hear everything from Sinatra-era crooners to outlaw country by Johnny Cash to lighthearted Jimmy Buffet’s “Margaritaville.” If you asked her, though, she might even play some of the more raunchy tunes she knew. If you requested it and she knew it, she'd play it.
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Inside Pat's head was a virtual jukebox full of songs. "She would always laugh and say, 'I don’t know why people always make a fuss over me,'” said Thares.Īnyone who's ever been to see her knows why, though. Thares caller her a gracious and humble person. We lost somebody that we loved very much.”ĭespite national and even global attention, Pat never considered herself a celebrity. "It’s a work family," Thares said. "We didn’t just lose a coworker.
Thares and many of the Sip 'n Dip's staff had been together with Pat for 25 years. She also had a bad fall in 2020 that put her in intensive care, but Thares said she had recovered well. Sip 'n Dip owner Sandra Thares said Pat last performed in February 2020, but she was optimistic about being able to return to her piano. Rest In Peace beautiful music girl.” "We will absolutely 100% miss her"ĭuring the COVID-19 pandemic, Pat stayed home. “We loved her very, very much. Our hearts are broken. “It is with tremendously sad hearts that we tell you that our beloved Piano Pat passed away peacefully last night,” the Sip ‘n Dip wrote. On the Sip 'n Dip's Facebook page, more than 700 comments and climbing sit beneath the post announcing her death. Twitter immediately filled with dozens of posts from Montanans, ex-Montanans, politicos and journalists who came to know Pat and mourn her passing. The Sip 'n Dip Lounge will never be the same.
Patricia "Piano Pat" Sponheim has played her last notes, passing away Tuesday in her mid-80s. At a tiny tiki bar in Great Falls, generations of Montanans yelled "bum bum bum" to "Sweet Caroline" and "Where's the salt?" to "Margaritaville" crooned in a low, husky voice by a woman who spent almost 60 years as a beloved local legend.
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