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
My Heart Skips A Beat
Skeeter Davis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I feel a trembling in my knees
And just to know you're mine until the end of time
Makes my heart skip a beat.
Well I did double take the day I met you
My heart turned a flip as I stood next to you
And I knew right there I never could forget you
And my heart skips a beat when we walk down the street
I feel a trembling in my knees
And just to know you're mine until the end of time
Makes my heart skip a beat.
--- Instrumental ---
You came into my life without a warning
And you turned my cloudy skies from grey to blue
You're my sunshine that comes up every morning
Yes you are my every dream come true.
And my heart skips a beat when we walk down the street
I feel a trembling in my knees
And just to know you're mine until the end of time
Makes my heart skip a beat...
The song "My Heart Skips A Beat" by Skeeter Davis expresses the intense feelings of falling deeply in love. The lyrics describe how the singer's heart skips a beat when she walks down the street with her beloved, and how she feels a trembling in her knees. The simple act of being with her partner until the end of time brings her immense joy and happiness, making her heart skip a beat. The song goes on to describe how the singer fell in love with her partner at first sight, how their meeting turned her life around, and how her partner is the sunshine that brightens up every morning. The song suggests that true love can make one's life infinitely better, and that being with the right person can bring immense joy and happiness.
Line by Line Meaning
Now my heart skips a beat when we walk down the street
My heart beats faster and I feel excited when we walk together in public.
I feel a trembling in my knees
I feel nervous and anxious when I'm around you.
And just to know you're mine until the end of time
Knowing that you will always be by my side makes me happy and fulfilled.
Makes my heart skip a beat.
My love for you is so strong that it affects my entire being and makes my heart skip a beat.
Well I did double take the day I met you
I was surprised and amazed when I first saw you.
My heart turned a flip as I stood next to you
I felt an instant attraction and powerful emotions towards you the moment we stood together.
And I knew right there I never could forget you
I knew that I would always remember and cherish the moment I met you.
For you are my every dream come true.
You are the person I have always dreamed of having in my life.
You came into my life without a warning
You appeared unexpectedly and changed my life for the better.
And you turned my cloudy skies from grey to blue
You brought happiness and joy into my life and made everything better.
You're my sunshine that comes up every morning
You are the person who brightens my day and makes my life better with your presence.
Yes you are my every dream come true.
You are the fulfillment of all my hopes and dreams when it comes to love and happiness.
And my heart skips a beat when we walk down the street
Just being around you makes my heart skip a beat and my emotions run high.
I feel a trembling in my knees
My attraction towards you is so strong that my body reacts with physical sensations like trembling.
And just to know you're mine until the end of time
Knowing that we will be together forever gives me a sense of peace and happiness.
Makes my heart skip a beat...
My love for you is so strong that it affects me deeply and fills me with emotions.
Contributed by Brody W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Gazzable
Yes , my heart always skips a beat when Skeeter is singing.
oldstuff
Such a great singer and a great version of the Buck Owens song. I am no big Dwight Yoakam fan but his tribute to Buck was absolutely brilliant also.
Ørnulf Immerstein
I love buck, and skeeter do this absolut great....
BigDuckKetterer
OMG. She's Fantastic She could sing the Yellow Pages and have a platinum record from it and this proves it. This is a very hard song to sing and have sound right with that happy excited lilt to it I bet Buck Owens is hugging her right now for singing this so well and doing one of his signature songs proud!!!
chrismayka
Hello, Thanks very much for your great singing and performance, we enjoyed it very much!!! We thank our big friend Yun (YouTube channel Blueyun08) too for sharing this video with us. Best regards, Chris and Mayka - The Netherlands - Europe - YouTube chrismayka.
My Space
LOOOOve her voice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
perransands
THANK YOU FOR LISTING.BRILLIANT.
anthony belcher
Wonderful song 66
Mariel Gómez
❤
whispperson
Lovely