Skeeter Davis Pics

Skeeter

Davis

30 December 1931

Average

Brown - Light

Dry Ridge, Kentucky, USA

Capricorn

19 September 2004

Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Breast Cancer

White

Christian

American

Female

Country

Pop/Rock, Country-Pop, Early Pop/Rock, Nashville Sound/Countrypolitan, Traditional Country, Country-Rock

Gentle, Sweet, Sentimental, Innocent, Earnest, Laid-Back/Mellow, Bittersweet, Amiable/Good-Natured

Vocals

Mary Frances Penick (December 30, 1931–September 19, 2004), better known as Skeeter Davis, was an American country music singer best known for crossover pop music songs of the early 1960s. She started out as part of The Davis Sisters as a teenager in the late 1940's, eventually landing on RCA Records. In the late '50s, she became a solo star. Her best-known hit was the pop classic "The End of the World" in 1963.

Skeeter Davis (born Mary Frances Penick December 30, 1931 – September 19, 2004) was an American country music singer, who was best known for crossover pop music songs of the early 1960s. She started out as part of The Davis Sisters in the early 1950s. In the late `50s and early `60s, she became a solo star. Her best known hit was the song "The End of the World" in 1963. One of the first women to achieve major stardom in the country music field as a solo vocalist, she was an acknowledged influence on Tammy Wynette and Dolly Parton and has been hailed as an "extraordinary country/pop singer" by The New York Times music critic Robert Palmer. Skeeter Davis was one of country music`s first crossover pop stars. The legacy that she left behind helped other stars in country music cross over to the pop charts. Her upbringing, however, was very different from that of most pop singers. Skeeter was the first of seven children born to William and Punzie Penick. Because her grandfather thought that she had a lot of energy for a young child, he nicknamed Mary Frances "Skeeter" (slang for mosquito). In 1947, the Penick family moved to Erlanger, Kentucky, where Skeeter met Betty Jack Davis at Dixie Heights High School, becoming instant friends. They sang together through much of high school. They formed a group known as The Davis Sisters (although they were unrelated), and started singing on Detroit radio station WJR`s program Barnyard Frolics. RCA Records producer Steve Sholes liked The Davis Sisters` harmonies and offered the duo a recording contract in 1953. The two recorded a lot of material, including "I Forgot More Than You`ll Ever Know," which went to number 1 on the country charts, as well as making the top 20 on the pop charts. The Davis Sisters were the first harmonic girl group to reach #1[citation needed]. Thanks to Kitty Wells the previous year, the Davis Sisters were able to become stars in country music. However, while "I Forgot More Than You`ll Ever Know" was climbing the charts, The Davis Sisters were involved in a major car accident on August 2, 1953. The crash killed Betty Jack Davis and left Skeeter with broken arms and legs. However, Betty Jack Davis` mother insisted that Skeeter Davis sing with Betty Jack`s sister, Georgia, in her dead sister`s place[citation needed]. Together, Georgia and Skeeter sang as the Davis Sisters until 1956. Skeeter Davis decided to go back into country music as a solo star. She hooked up again with RCA Records in 1958, this time working with guitarist and record producer Chet Atkins. That year, Davis recorded "Lost to a Geisha Girl," which reached the Country Top 15 and became her first solo hit. Atkins worked with Davis as a guitarist on all of these sessions. Atkins also multitracked Skeeter`s voice to resemble the sound of The Davis Sisters. This echo can be found on several of her early solo hits, such as "Lost to a Geisha Girl" and "Am I That Easy to Forget." "Lost to a Geisha Girl" was an "answer song" to Hank Locklin`s hit "Geisha Girl." Davis had a Top 5 country hit "Set Him Free" in 1959. That same year, she had another Top 20 hit called "Homebreaker." She also joined the Grand Ole Opry that year, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Set Him Free," becoming the first female Country singer to ever be nominated for a Grammy. Skeeter Davis from 1960 up until 1962 remained on top of her game, with songs "My Last Date (With You)," "Where I Ought to Be" and "Optimistic," all hits for Davis during this time. Her 1960 hit "(I Can`t Help You) I`m Falling Too" was Skeeter`s first entrance onto the pop charts. The song went all the way to the Top 40 there, which was unheard of for a country singer at the time. In 1961, she scored a second pop hit with a lyric version (written by Skeeter) of Floyd Cramer`s instrumental country pop smash "Last Date" called "My Last Date (With You)" which did even better making the Top 30 on the pop charts. Both of these songs did very well on the Country charts peaking at number 2 and number 5, respectively. In 1963, Skeeter achieved her biggest success with country pop crossover hit "The End of the World." The song just missed topping the country and pop charts that year. However, the song did top the adult contemporary charts. The song soon became Skeeter`s signature song. Only one other woman besides Skeeter was achieving the kind of crossover success that she was achieving. That woman was Patsy Cline, who had a few pop hits around the same time as Skeeter did. However, Cline died in an air-crash in 1963, so Skeeter remained the only country music female artist to achieve pop music crossover success. Skeeter Davis` soft voice appeal was well liked by the teenage crowd at the time, making her a teen star for the era, similar to the kind of t

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeeter_Davis

Mary Frances Penick

Soundtrack, Actor/Actress

1

72

1

Singer

The End of the World