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
Rockabye Boogie
Skeeter Davis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Rock a bye boogie it's guaranteed for which your baby sleep
Well it don′t mean a thing unless you sing rock a bye boogie with a beat
Rock a bye boogie, rock a bye, rock a bye boogie, rock a bye
Rock a bye boogie, rock a bye, rock a bye boogie, rock a bye
Rock a bye boogie, rock a bye, rock a bye boogie, rock a bye
Mary had a little lamb as sweet as white as snow
Come on baby shut those eyes and onto dreamland go
Rock a bye boogie, rock a bye, rock a bye boogie, rock a bye
Rock a bye boogie, rock a bye, rock a bye boogie, rock a bye
Rock a bye boogie, rock a bye, rock a bye boogie, rock a bye
Rock a bye boogie, rock a bye,bye
Rock a bye boogie, rock a bye,bye
Skeeter Davis's song "Rockabye Boogie" is a lullaby that encourages parents to rock their babies to sleep with a beat. The song emphasizes the importance of a consistent rhythm in calming a child, and how simply singing a melody - even one as repetitive as "rock a bye boogie" - can be the key to coaxing a restless baby to sleep. The first verse of the song describes how the "rock a bye boogie" is the perfect way to soothe a baby to sleep when it is "late to sleek," implying that the baby is tired and needs the steady rhythm of the boogie to help them achieve restful slumber.
The second verse of the song illustrates how the act of singing and rocking can have a calming effect on not only babies, but on people in general. Mary and her lamb are used as symbols of how natural and universal the desire for comfort and care can be. The lyrics encourage the listener to not only use the rockabye boogie to help their child sleep, but to also "shut those eyes" and enter into dreamland themselves. The repetition of the chorus drives the point home that the rhythm and repetition of the rockabye boogie is key to helping everyone - young and old - find rest and peace.
Line by Line Meaning
Rock a bye boogie it′s late to sleek rock your baby to sleep
It's already late, time for you to put your baby to bed with a lullaby rock music.
Rock a bye boogie it's guaranteed for which your baby sleep
Rock a bye boogie is a proven lullaby that ensures your baby sleeps peacefully.
Well it don′t mean a thing unless you sing rock a bye boogie with a beat
If you want to make sure your baby sleeps, you need to sing rock a bye boogie with a rhythmic beat.
Mary had a little lamb as sweet as white as snow
Mary had a little lamb, a very adorable one, that was as white as snow.
And early when Mary went the lamb had sure to go
Whenever Mary went in the morning, the lamb would follow her.
Come on baby shut those eyes and onto dreamland go
It's time for the baby to go to sleep and start dreaming, so close your eyes.
Rock a bye boogie, rock a bye, rock a bye boogie, rock a bye
Sing rock a bye boogie to your baby while patting them to sleep.
Rock a bye boogie, rock a bye,bye
Continue singing rock a bye boogie until your baby is sound asleep and goodnight.
Writer(s): Will Carson
Contributed by Alyssa J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
CherokeeNation16
Never heard this before Thank you for sharing
Sweet Sue
Written by Will Carson and Rocky Starr. 👍 💕
ElComadreja777
Nice, but I prefer the Davis Sister's original.
Brad Rumph
Me too. With all that reverb.
Madlyderanged
This is better than the Davis' Sisters version.