Skeeter Davis

About Skeeter Davis

Who is it?: Soundtrack, Actress
Birth Day: December 30, 1931
Birth Place:  Dry Ridge, Kentucky, United States
Died On: September 19, 2004(2004-09-19) (aged 72)\nNashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Birth Sign: Capricorn
Birth name: Mary Frances Penick
Origin: Dry Ridge, Kentucky
Genres: Country, pop, Nashville sound
Occupation(s): Singer, songwriter
Years active: 1952–2004
Labels: RCA Victor, Mercury, 51 West, Tudor, Red Rooster, Atlantic
Associated acts: The Davis Sisters, Ralph Emery, Porter Wagoner, Bobby Bare, NRBQ, Teddy Nelson

Skeeter Davis Net Worth

Skeeter Davis was born on December 30, 1931 in  Dry Ridge, Kentucky, United States, is Soundtrack, Actress. Skeeter Davis was one of the first female vocalists to become a top level star in the country music field. Born Mary Frances Penick on December 30, 1931, Davis began performing in her native Kentucky as part of a duet with high school friend Betty Jack Davis in 1949. The teenagers, dubbed The Davis Sisters, quickly became a popular regional act and frequently performed on local radio. Their fan base began to grow outside the state and the girls were signed to RCA Records in 1952. They were on tour just as their first record was being released when tragedy struck and they were in a car accident in which Betty Jack was killed and Skeeter seriously injured. After she recovered Skeeter briefly attempted to revived The Davis Sisters' act with Betty's sister Georgia but ended up quitting the business in 1957. Skeeter later had second thoughts and returned to the music industry in 1958 as a solo singer. RCA again signed her and Skeeter became an immediate success with her first solo single, "Lost To A Geisha Girl" which was a top 15 record and the first of many hits for her over the next eighteen years.Skeeter Davis quickly became one of country music's biggest female stars, a major rival to Kitty Wells and Patsy Cline. Like Cline, Davis' records crossed over frequently to the pop music charts. Skeeter's 1963 release "The End of the World" was a multi-chart number one international smash for her and remains one of the best remembered pop songs of the era. Davis' major hits began to become less frequent by the early 1970's but she remained a regular chart presence up to 1976. During the 1980's and 1990's she widely toured internationally as her records continued to sell in many foreign markets. Davis had been a Grand Ole Opry member for 45 years when she passed away in 2004.
Skeeter Davis is a member of Soundtrack

💰 Net worth: Under Review

Some Skeeter Davis images

Biography/Timeline

1947

Davis was the first of seven children born to william Lee and Sarah Rachel Roberts Penick, in Dry Ridge, Kentucky. Because her grandfather thought she had a lot of Energy for a young child, he nicknamed Mary Frances "Skeeter" (slang for mosquito). The Penick family moved to Erlanger, Kentucky, in 1947, where Skeeter met Betty Jack Davis at Dixie Heights High School, becoming instant friends. They sang together through much of high school, and at Decoursey Baptist Church. They formed the duet known as the Davis Sisters (although they were unrelated), and started singing on Detroit radio station WJR's program Barnyard Frolics. Eventually, the duo was signed by RCA Victor in 1951. Earlier demonstration recordings were eventually released on Fortune Records.

1953

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 1, 1953. The crash killed Betty Jack Davis and left Skeeter with severe injuries. After the accident, Skeeter and Betty Jack's sister, Georgia, continued as the Davis Sisters. Skeeter decided to retire from the music industry in 1956, and get married, ending the duet.

1958

Davis decided to go back into country music as a solo act in 1958. She began touring with Ernest Tubb, and she returned to RCA Victor, this time working with Guitarist and record Producer Chet Atkins. That year, Davis recorded "Lost to a Geisha Girl", an answer song to Hank Locklin's hit "Geisha Girl", which reached the country number 15 and became her first solo hit. Atkins worked with Davis as a Guitarist on all of these sessions. At Davis' suggestion, Atkins frequently multiple-tracked Davis' voice for harmony vocals to resemble the sound of the Davis Sisters. This echo can be found on several of her early solo hits, such as "Am I That Easy to Forget".

1959

Davis had a top-five country hit, "Set Him Free", in 1959, and 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 be nominated for a Grammy.

1960

Davis lived in Brentwood, Tennessee, from the early 1960s until her death in 2004. Her autobiography, Bus Fare to Kentucky (named after a 1971 song), was published in 1993. In 1998, she wrote a children's book, The Christmas Note, with Cathie Pelletier.

1963

Another big 1963 hit was "I'm Saving My Love", written by Alex Zanetis.

1964

Davis' success continued with "I'm Saving My Love" and 1964's Gonna Get Along Without You Now, an updated cover a 1956 hit by Patience and Prudence). Both made the top 10 on the country charts and cracked the Billboard Top 50 pop charts, though the success of "Gonna Get" was likely hampered by another remake of the song by vocalist Tracey Dey simultaneously climbing the charts to peak slightly lower than Davis' version. Later pop efforts, such as "Let Me Get Close to You" in July 1964, missed making the Billboard Hot 100, reflecting the changing nature of pop styles due to the ongoing British invasion, but Davis continued a successful run on the country charts.

1965

In 1965, she recorded a duet with Bobby Bare called "A Dear John Letter", which just missed the country top 10 and received light pop action. (The best-known version of the song had been recorded originally by Jean Shepard and Ferlin Husky in 1953.) Davis also recorded quite a few albums during this time, including two tribute albums I Love Flatt and Scruggs and Skeeter Davis Sings Buddy Holly. In 1967, Davis was back in the top 10 with "What Does It Take (To Keep a Man Like You Satisfied)". Davis only achieved two other major country hits the rest of the decade, "Fuel to the Flame" (written by Dolly Parton, to whom Davis paid tribute with an album called Skeeter Sings Dolly in 1972), and "There's a Fool Born Every Minute". Other singles were minor hits, but she released many albums.

1970

In 1970, Davis had another top-10 hit with "I'm a Lover (Not a Fighter)" and another duet with Bobby Bare with "Your Husband, My Wife". The following year, she had a hit with the autobiographical "Bus Fare To Kentucky". Subsequently, however, her chart success began to fade. Singles such as "It's Hard to Be a Woman" and "Love Takes a Lot of My Time" failed to crack the country top 40. "One Tin Soldier" did not get much attention from country radio, but was nominated for a Grammy as Best Female Country Vocal. The record was a major success in Canada, however, peaking at number two on the easy listening chart and number four country. Her last major hit was 1973's "I Can't Believe That It's All Over", which peaked at number 12 in country and number 101 on the pop chart. In the 1970s, she began regularly touring foreign countries such as Barbados, Singapore, and Sweden, where she was among the most popular entertainers of any field.

1973

Davis had the first and only controversy of her career when during a 1973 Grand Ole Opry performance, she dedicated a gospel song to a group of young church workers whom she noted in her introduction had been arrested for evangelizing at a local mall. The Opry suspended her from membership after receiving complaints from some local policemen. She was reinstated at the Opry more than a year later. After losing several bookings during that period, Davis became active singing with a number of religious ministries and spent an extensive period evangelizing in Africa.

1976

Davis returned to the recording studio in 1976 with a brief stint on Mercury Records, which produced two single releases, including her last song to make the national charts, 1976's "I Love Us". In 1978, she recorded the first of several albums for minor record labels which she did on occasion into the 1990s.

2004

In 2001, she became incapacitated by breast cancer. Davis remained a member of the Grand Ole Opry until her death, making her last appearance there in 2002. She died of breast cancer in a Nashville, Tennessee, hospice at the age of 72, on September 19, 2004.