Mary Frances Penick was born on December 30, 1931 in the small Appalachian town of Dry Ridge, Kentucky. As a child, her grandfather nicknamed her "Skeeter" because she was always active and buzzing around like a mosquito. She got her start in music as part of the duo, The Davis Sisters, along with childhood friend, Betty Jack Davis. Thus, Skeeter Davis was born to the rest of the world.
The Davis Sisters sang in the local Lexington, Kentucky area and appeared on local radio WLAX in 1949. From there, they earned radio and television appearances in Detroit, Cincinnati and Wheeling, WV, where they were part of the WWVA Wheeling Jamboree.
In 1952, Skeeter and Betty Jack recorded for Fortune, but won a recording contract with RCA the following year and achieved their first chart success. "I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know" went to number one on the U.S. country chart and number eighteen on the U.S. pop chart.
Sadly, on August 23, 1953, Skeeter and Betty Jack were involved in a serious car accident in which Betty Jack died and Skeeter was critically injured. It took Skeeter more than a year to recover both physically and mentally. With great difficulty and a lot of persuasion, Skeeter returned to singing with Betty Jack's sister, Georgia Davis, to briefly resume the Davis Sisters' act. But, within a year, the duo broke up and Skeeter pursued a solo career.
She continued to record on the RCA label where she worked with Eddy Arnold and Elvis Presley. In 1955, she toured for RCA on the Caravan of the Stars. Davis teamed up with producer, Chet Atkins and scored her first solo country chart hit in 1958 with "Lost To A Geisha Girl." This was during a time when the female acts were surging forward with "response" songs to some of the biggest hits by male artists. As Kitty Wells had answered Hank Thompson's "Honky Tonk Angels," with "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" in 1952, Skeeter Davis put out this answer to Hank Locklin's "Geisha Girl."
A few years later, Davis recorded another answer to a Hank Locklin song and gained another huge hit. Locklin sang "Please Help Me I'm Falling" and Davis' response was, "I Can't Help You, I'm Falling Too."
In 1959, Davis achieved one of her greatest ambitions when she moved to Nashville and became a regular member of the Grand Ole Opry. In 1960, she married WSM personality, Ralph Emery, but the tumultuous marriage ended in 1964.
During the 1960's, Davis was one of RCA's most successful country artists. She harvested 26 U.S. country hits, 12 of which crossed over to the U.S. pop charts. Among these was what was to become her trademark song, the million-selling record "The End Of The World" which peaked at number two in both the U.S. country and pop charts in 1963. She also earned her only UK chart presence with "The End Of The World" which topped out at number eighteen in only thirteen weeks on the chart.
Davis has also acheived songwriting success. Her co-written song "Set Him Free" became her first country Top 10 hit in 1959. She also co-wrote "My Last Date" with Boudleaux Bryant and Floyd Cramer. Cramer, famed pianist and member of the original A-team, recorded it as an instrumental solo and had a million-selling record on it in 1960.
During the 60's and 70's, Davis toured extensively in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Far East. Her solo career started to wane in the 70's, but she still had several more hits such as "Bus Fare To Kentucky," "I'm A Lover, Not A Fighter," and "One Tin Soldier." Her duets with Bobby Bare, George Hamilton IV, and The Bee Gees gave her a few more hits, but by the mid-70's, Davis was reaching the end of her illustrious career. She ended her twenty-two year relationship with RCA in 1974 and charted her last hit for Mercury in 1976 with "I Love Us."
In 1967, Davis recorded a tribute album to Buddy Holly, which featured Waylon Jennings on the guitar. Later in 1972, she also did a tribute album to her friend, Dolly Parton. In 1985, she re-recorded an old Davis Sisters' hit, "May You Never Be Alone," with the group NRBQ. She married Joey Spampanito of NRBQ, but this marriage ultimately ended in divorce as well.
In 1973, Davis was dropped from the Grand Ole Opry's roster due to her strong criticisms of the Nashville Police Department during one of her performances. Her membership was later reinstated.
Davis has also taken to writing about her real life experiences. Her autobiography, "Bus Fare To Kentucky," was published in 1993. Davis pulls no punches in this brutally honest account of her life. She tells how she endured a family history of alcoholism, incest and murder. She also tells her side of the story regarding her four year marriage to Ralph Emery, following the heavy criticism which she received in Emery's autobiography. In 1997, she co-wrote a children's Christmas book, entitled "The Christmas Note," based on her own childhood.
Skeeter Davis passed away September 19th 2004 after a long battle with cancer.
Written by Sherry Anderson. June 2001
* Article appears courtesy of www.countrypolitan.com
Homebreaker
Skeeter Davis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But he stopped loving you before he came to me
You're sayin' that I broke up your home and that I stole your man
But that's not really true, I never had it planned
You're giving me the blame but in your heart you should know
He stopped loving you a long time ago
Just another party night with you entertaining your friends
You gave them all your attention and he often sat alone
Neglected and left out of things in what you called a home
Homebreaker that's what you're calling me
But he stopped loving you before he came to me
I was sittin' in a diner when you came all alone
Why, I bet you didn't miss him or even know that he was gone
I listened as he talked to me, he had to tell someone
And he cried tears for you, now yours have just began
Well, now you say you love him but if you really do
Then give him this chance at happiness
A happiness he never had with you
Homebreaker that's what you're calling me
But he stopped loving you before he came to me
In the song "Homebreaker," Skeeter Davis is responding to accusations that she is responsible for breaking up someone else's relationship. This accusation is summarized in the title of the song and repeated throughout the lyrics. However, Skeeter Davis claims that the man in question had already stopped loving his partner before he ever came to her, and it was not her intention to come between them.
She provides some examples to clarify her point of view. She suggests that his previous partner did not give him enough attention or included him in their activities, leaving him alone frequently. She also tells the story of how she met him in a diner, where he confided in her about his feelings and cried for his former partner. The song ends with Skeeter Davis urging the ex-partner to move on and give her former lover a chance at happiness.
Line by Line Meaning
Homebreaker that's what you're calling me
You accuse me of destroying your relationship and breaking up your household.
But he stopped loving you before he came to me
You fail to realize that he had already fallen out of love with you before he became involved with me.
You're sayin' that I broke up your home and that I stole your man
You claim that I caused the downfall of your domestic life and took away your partner.
But that's not really true, I never had it planned
However, that is a misconception because I never intended to interfere with your relationship.
You're giving me the blame but in your heart you should know
You are blaming me entirely, but you should acknowledge that your own shortcomings in your relationship contributed to its demise.
He stopped loving you a long time ago
It is evident that his love for you had dwindled long before he became involved with me.
Remember what he has to face when his day would end
Consider the life that he had with you, where he faced loneliness and neglect at the end of each day.
Just another party night with you entertaining your friends
You prioritized entertaining your friends over spending time with him, especially during social events.
You gave them all your attention and he often sat alone
You failed to show him the attention and affection that he deserved, leaving him feeling isolated.
Neglected and left out of things in what you called a home
The home that you deemed to be a secure haven became a place of neglect and unfulfillment for him.
I was sittin' in a diner when you came all alone
I happened to be at a diner when you made an unexpected appearance.
Why, I bet you didn't miss him or even know that he was gone
You did not appear to long for his presence or question his whereabouts.
I listened as he talked to me, he had to tell someone
He confided in me because he needed someone to vent his emotions to.
And he cried tears for you, now yours have just began
He shed tears for you, and now you are starting to feel the emotional impact of your actions.
Well, now you say you love him but if you really do
You claim to love him now, but your actions in the past suggest otherwise.
Then give him this chance at happiness
If you truly love him, then you should give him the opportunity to be happy.
A happiness he never had with you
He never experienced true happiness in his relationship with you.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DAVIS, WILSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Patrick luv it maina
Rest in peace skeeter, I luvd your songs/voice since my teenage years...
clarkewi
Gorgeous.