Skeeter Davis

Skeeter Davis
Skeeter Davis in 1964
Background information
Birth name	Mary Frances Penick
Born	(1931-12-30)December 30, 1931 Dry Ridge, Kentucky, U.S.
Origin	Dry Ridge, Kentucky
Died	September 19, 2004(2004-09-19) (aged 72) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
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

Mary Frances Penick (December 30, 1931 – September 19, 2004), better known as Skeeter Davis, was an American country music singer who sang crossover pop music songs including 1962's "The End of the World". She started out as part of the Davis Sisters as a teenager in the late 1940s, eventually landing on RCA Victor. In the late 1950s, she became a solo star.

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 was hailed as an "extraordinary country/pop singer" by The New York Times music critic Robert Palmer.

Davis was the first of seven children born to William Lee and Sarah Rachel Roberts Penick, in Dry Ridge, Kentucky. Because her grandfather thought that 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 were signed by RCA Victor in 1951. Earlier demo recordings were eventually released on Fortune Records.

RCA Victor producer Steve Sholes liked the Davis Sisters' harmonies and offered the duo a recording contract in 1953. Their most successful release was "I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know", which spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the country charts in 1953, as well as making the Top 20 on the pop charts. The record ranks No. 65 on the Top 100 Country Singles of All Time, according to Billboard historian Joel Whitburn.