In December 1931 a girl was born to a poor family in Kentucky living in a two- room log cabin. Her name was Mary Frances Penick but her grandfather soon gave the energetic girl the nickname Skeeter.
She decided to adopt the name when she teamed up with high school classmate Betty Jack Davis to sing country songs. The duo was known as the Davis Sisters. They had early success with their hit I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know (1953) and were signed on by RCA. However, Betty Jack was soon killed in an automobile accident in which Skeeter was injured badly.
The accident almost ended Skeeter Davis' career but after a few years she started singing solo, recording hits like Am I That Easy To Forget,Set Him Free and There's a Fool Born Every Minute for RCA. In 1959 she was signed on the Grand Ole Opry. She went on to write almost 70 ballads and sing duets with Porter Wagoner and Bobby Bare in addition to pursuing a solo career.
She had a wonderful, warm voice. Her greatest hit was a melancholy country /pop ballad called The End of The World (1962), which earned her a gold record. Some of her songs sounded more pop than country but she always thought of herself as a hill-billy singer.
Skeeter Davis was not perfect. All her three marriages ended in divorce. She regarded them as personal failures and her 1964 divorce almost ended her career. However, her good friend June Carter Cash, another Christian divorcee, persuaded her to resume her singing career.
She went through a sort of hippie stage in the early 1970s, but it was more of a "Jesus People" type of awakening. She nonetheless protested against the Vietnam War by recording the anti-war song One Tin Solder.
In 1973 she was kicked out from the Grand Ole Opry for speaking against the police who had arrested some long-haired Jesus people for preaching on the streets.
Those who knew Skeeter Davis said that she was a very friendly and sympathetic person. Her friendliness extended to animals. At one time she had ten dogs and an ocelot in her home.
She did not hide her Christian faith under a bushel. In January 1975 Country Music Magazine described her as " one of the country music community's most outspoken Christians" who was not afraid to speak about her personal relationship with Jesus. She had a childish faith in Jesus and believed that God answered prayer and did miracles even in our days.
At times, Skeeter Davis was criticised severely for her Christian principles and her outspoken evangelism. She performed in several Christian shows and evangelistic outreach events in many countries and recorded inspiring gospel songs like Hand in Hand with Jesus, Amazing Grace and I Won't Have to Cross Jordan Alone.
She refused to perform in night clubs and other places where alcohol was sold and stayed away from tobacco and drugs. Instead, she gladly sang in prisons and nursing homes.
Skeeter Davis' later years brought her more tragedy. She battled breast cancer for 16 years before succumbing to the disease in September 2004 at the age of 72.
Joel Kontinen is an author and translator currently living in Finland. His bacground includes an MA in translation studies and a BA in Bible and Theology. He mostly writes about origins issues.
Thanks Steve. There is an ongoing online campaign (a petition) to get Skeeter Davis elected into the Country Music Hall of Faith, so this article is my contribution towards it.
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