The Davis Sisters | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Dry Ridge, Kentucky, United States |
Genres | Country |
Years active | 1947–1956 |
Labels | RCA Records, Fortune Records |
Past members | Betty Jack Davis Skeeter Davis Georgia Davis |
The Davis Sisters were an American country music duo consisting of two unrelated singers, Skeeter Davis (born Mary Frances Penick) and Betty Jack Davis. One of the original female country groups, they are best known for their 1953 No. 1 country hit "I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know" and the duo's debut single "Jealous Love" on Fortune Records.
The Davis Sisters were not related; Skeeter Davis was the stage name of Mary Frances Penick. She met Betty Jack Davis at Dixie Heights High School in Edgewood, Kentucky in 1947. They formed a close relationship as friends and musicians. Also sharing a career in the music business, singing and recording, they decided to perform as The Davis Sisters.
The duo began appearing regularly on radio shows in nearby Cincinnati, Ohio and Detroit, Michigan. They first started recording in Detroit at Fortune Records in 1952. The pair recorded "Jealous Love," (Fortune 170) a song written by Devora Brown, co-owner of the Fortune label. Two other singles followed in 1953: "Kaw-Liga / Sorrow And Pain" (Fortune 174) and "Heartbreak Ahead / Steel Wool" (Fortune 175).
In 1953, they landed a recording contract with RCA Records. While recording for RCA, the sessions were backed up by future country star and producer Chet Atkins. That same year, they released their first single, "I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know". The mournful and heartbreaking song became a No. 1 country hit, as well as a top 20 pop hit. While their vocals invoked the sound of older Appalachian harmony duos such as the Blue Sky Boys and the Delmore Brothers, the Nashville Sound backing made the overall sound more in line with their more polished contemporaries the Louvin Brothers.
Shortly after the release of "I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know", the Davis Sisters were in a car accident just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio on August 2, 1953, which killed Betty Jack instantly and seriously injured Skeeter.
Skeeter reformed the group with Betty Jack's older sister, Georgia. The new duo continued to perform and record until 1956, but failed to have another hit. "Georgia was a fine singer, but it just wasn't the same," Skeeter said in the liner notes to 1995's The Essential Skeeter Davis. [1]
Skeeter Davis went on to a successful solo career. Davis continued to perform frequently throughout much of the 1990s and into 2000. In 2001, she became incapacitated by the breast cancer that would claim her life. While Davis remained a member of the Grand Ole Opry until her death, she last appeared on the program in 2002. She died of breast cancer in a Nashville hospice, at the age of 72, on September 19, 2004.
Georgia Davis died on February 16, 2022, at the age of 92. [2]
Title | Album details |
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Memories [3] |
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Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |
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US [4] | US Cou. [5] | |||
"Jealous Love" (with Roy Hall and His Cohutta Mountain Boys) [6] [a] | 1952 | — | — | non-album singles |
"I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know" | 1953 | 18 | 1 | |
"Sorrow and Pain" [7] [b] | — | — | ||
"Takin' Time Out for Tears" [8] | 1954 | — | — | |
"Foggy Mountain Top" [9] | — | — | ||
"Just Like Me" [10] | — | — | ||
"The Christmas Boogie" [11] | — | — | ||
"Everlovin' (A One Way Love)" [12] | — | — | ||
"Fiddle Diddle Boogie" [13] | 1955 | — | — | |
"I've Closed the Door" [14] | — | — | ||
"Baby Be Mine" [15] | — | — | ||
"Don't Take Him for Granted" [16] | 1956 | — | — | |
"Lonely and Blue" [17] | — | — | ||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Skeeter Davis was an American country music singer and songwriter 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.
"I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know" is a song, written by Cecil Null.
The discography of American country artist Skeeter Davis contains 32 studio albums, 18 compilation albums, 59 singles, 53 lead singles, six collaborative singles, two other charted songs and two additional appearances. Davis was first one half of the duo, The Davis Sisters before embarking on a solo career with the RCA Victor label. Her second single was 1957's "Lost to a Geisha Girl", which reached the top 15 of the American Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. It was followed in 1959 by the top five country selection, "Set Him Free". The same year, Davis's debut studio album was issued on RCA Victor titled I'll Sing You a Song and Harmonize Too. Her career momentum continued to build in 1960 with two top five back-to-back singles: "(I Can't Help You) I'm Falling Too" and "My Last Date ". Both selections also climbed into the Billboard Hot 100 top 40. They were featured on Davis's second studio album called Here's the Answer. Between 1961 and 1962, Davis had top ten Billboard country singles with "Optimistic" and "Where I Ought to Be".
I Love Charley Brown is the tenth studio album by American country singer Connie Smith, released in April 1968 by RCA Victor. The album reached the top 20 of the American country albums chart. It was described as a collection of pop-inspired country songs. Included were four cuts written by Smith's longtime songwriting collaborator, Dallas Frazier. Among his cuts was one of the album's three singles, "Run Away Little Tears". Along with Frazier's cut, the two additional singles included reached the top ten of the American country songs chart. The album was met with favorable reviews from critics.
"Mama He's Crazy" is a song written by Kenny O'Dell, and originally recorded by American country music duo The Judds. It was released in April 1984 as the second single from their debut January 1984 EP Wynonna & Naomi. The song was re-released on their full-length 1984 debut album Why Not Me. The song was their second hit and the first of 14 number one singles. The single went to number one for one week and spent a total of 14 weeks on the country chart. It was only the second country number one sung by a female duo; previously only The Davis Sisters featuring Skeeter Davis had made it to number one on the country chart in 1953 with their song "I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know".
I'll Sing You a Song and Harmonize Too is the debut studio album by American country artist Skeeter Davis. The album was released in November 1959 by RCA Victor and was produced by Chet Atkins. It signified Davis' first solo album ever released after departing from the duo, The Davis Sisters.
As a recording artist, Della Reese has made 22 studio albums, seven live albums, two video albums, eight compilation albums and one other charted song. Of her singles, 52 were released with Reese serving as the lead artist, while two were released with Reese serving as a collaborative artist. Two additional singles were issued as promotional singles. Reese's first recording was the 1954 single "Yes Indeed". Her first studio album appeared in 1956 on Jubilee Records called Melancholy Baby. In 1957, Reese had her first chart single with the top 20 US and Australian song "And That Reminds Me". The Jubilee label issued three more studio efforts by Reese: Amen! (1958), The Story of the Blues (1959) and What Do You Know About Love? (1959).
The singles discography of American country artist Dottie West contains 59 singles released as a solo artist, 12 singles released as a collaborative artist, 3 promotional singles and 1 other charting song. West signed with RCA Victor Records in 1963, having her first Top 40 hit the same year. It was followed in 1964 by "Love Is No Excuse", a duet with Jim Reeves that became West's first top 10 hit. In 1964, she also released "Here Comes My Baby". The song reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and became the first song by a female country artist to win a Grammy award. From her 1966 album, West issued four singles, including the top 10 hits "Would You Hold It Against Me" and "What's Come Over My Baby". Over the next two years she had major hits with "Paper Mansions", "Like a Fool", "Country Girl", and "Reno". In 1969, West collaborated with Don Gibson on "Rings of Gold", which reached number 2 on the Billboard country chart. In 1973, she released a single version of a commercial jingle originally used by The Coca-Cola Company. Entitled "Country Sunshine", the song became West's biggest hit, reaching number 2 on the country songs chart and number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also nominated her for her eleventh Grammy. After releasing the top 10 hit "Last Time I Saw Him" (1974), West's chart hits declined and she was dropped from RCA in 1976.
"Fuel to the Flame" is a song written by Dolly Parton and her uncle, Bill Owens. It was recorded and released as a single in 1967 by American country artist, Skeeter Davis.
"Going Down The Road Feeling Bad" is a traditional American folk song, "a white blues of universal appeal and uncertain origin". The song is catalogued in the Roud Folk Song Index as No.4958.
"Stop the World (and Let Me Off)" is a song written and originally performed by Carl Belew. It was released as a single first by Belew in January 1958. It was later followed by competing versions by Patsy Cline and Johnnie & Jack. The latter duo's version became the first successful version of the song to be a hit. It was later covered a decade later by Waylon Jennings and then again by Susan Raye in 1974.
"Tiny Blue Transistor Radio" is a song written by Bill Anderson that was originally recorded by American country music singer Connie Smith. It was released as the B-side to her 1965 single, "Then and Only Then". "Tiny Blue Transistor Radio" also became a charting country single, peaking within the top 40 of the national country survey in 1965.
"The Little Music Box" is a song originally recorded by American country artist, Skeeter Davis. It was composed by Davis herself, along with Rudy Thacker. It was released as a single in 1962 via RCA Victor and reached the top 30 of the American country songs chart.
"What Am I Gonna Do with You" is a song originally recorded by American country artist, Skeeter Davis. It was composed by Gerry Goffin and Russ Titelman. In 1964, it was released as a single via RCA Victor and reached the top 40 of the American country music chart. Although not originally released on album, it later appeared on the re-release of her sixth studio album titled Let Me Get Close to You.
"Bus Fare to Kentucky" is a song composed by Ronny Light and originally recorded by American country artist, Skeeter Davis. In 1971, it was released as a single via RCA Victor and reached the top 40 of the American and Canadian country music charts. It was released on Davis's 1971 studio album titled Skeeter
"Something Precious" is a song composed by Lorene Mann that was originally recorded by American country artist, Skeeter Davis. It was originally released as the B-side to her 1962 single, "Where I Ought to Be". The song itself reached the top 30 of the American country songs chart in 1962, a stand-along chart position from the A-side.
"Sad Situation" is a song composed by Clyde Pitts that was originally recorded by American country artist, Skeeter Davis. In 1972, it was released as a single via RCA Victor and reached the top ten of the Canadian country music chart. It was also released on Davis's 1971 studio album titled Skeeter
Porter Wagoner and Skeeter Davis Sing Duets is a studio album by American country artists, Porter Wagoner and Skeeter Davis. It was released in May 1962 on RCA Victor and contained 12 tracks. The album was collection of duet recordings between both performers. A total of 12 tracks comprised the album, most of which were covers of songs first recorded by other music artists. The album was given positive reviews at the time of its release.
The singles discography of American country artist Bobby Bare contains 96 singles. Of these, 80 are singles released as a lead artist, eight as a collaborative artist, three as a featured artist and five were released solely to Germany. Bare's first single to chart was 1958's "The All-American Boy", which reached number two on the American Billboard Hot 100 and number nine on the Australian Kent pop chart. Bare's singles would not receive more commercial success until he signed with RCA Victor. In 1962, his single "Shame on Me" charted on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot Country Songs charts. The following year, Bare's pair of singles reached major chart positions on the Billboard Hot 100 and Country Songs charts: "Detroit City" and "500 Miles Away from Home". Both singles were his first to chart in the top ten of the country chart. RCA followed it in 1964 with the top ten singles "Miller's Cave" and "Four Strong Winds".