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
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
Skeeter Davis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Stopped off at the North Pole to spend a holiday
I called on dear old Santa Claus
To see what I could see
He took me to his workshop
And told his plans to me, so
[Chorus]
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is comin' to town
He's making a list and checking it twice
Gonna find out who's naughty and nice
Santa Claus is comin' to town
He sees you when you're sleepin'
He knows when you're a wake
He knows if you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake
Oh! You better watch out, you better not cry
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is comin' to town
With little tin horns and little toy drums
Rooty toot toots and rummy tum tums
Santa Claus is comin' to town
And curly head dolls that toddle and coo
Elephants, boats, and kiddie cars too
Santa Claus is comin' to town
Then kids in Girl and Boy land will have a jubilee
They're gonna build a Toyland all around the Christmas tree
So! You better watch out, you better not cry
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is comin' to town
Now Santa is a busy man, He has no time to play
He's got millions of stockings to fill on Christmas day
You'd better write your letter now
And mail it right away
Because he's getting ready
His reindeer's and his sleigh. So
[Chorus]
With little tin horns and little toy drums
Rooty toot toots and rummy tum tums
Santa Claus is comin' to town
And curly head dolls that toddle and coo
Elephants, boats, and kiddie cars too
Santa Claus is comin' to town
Then kids in Girl and Boy land will have a jubilee
They're gonna build a Toyland all around the Christmas tree
So! You better watch out, you better not cry
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is comin' to town
The lyrics of Skeeter Davis's song "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" tell the story of the singer's visit to Santa's workshop in the North Pole during a holiday trip along the Milky Way. Santa Claus takes her on a tour and shares his plans for the upcoming Christmas season. The chorus warns children to behave themselves because Santa is coming to town and he is making a list to find out who's been naughty or nice. The second verse describes the various toys that Santa will bring to children on Christmas day, and the third verse reminds kids to write their letters to Santa and mail them in time, as Santa is a busy man with millions of stockings to fill.
Overall, the song is a cheerful reminder of the magic of Christmas and the importance of good behavior in earning a visit from Santa Claus. The upbeat tempo and catchy melody make it a popular holiday song to this day.
Line by Line Meaning
I just came back from a lovely trip along the Milky Way
I traveled through space to get here
Stopped off at the North Pole to spend a holiday
I visited the North Pole to take a vacation
I called on dear old Santa Claus
I met with Santa Claus
To see what I could see
To find out what he's been up to
He took me to his workshop
He showed me around his place of work
And told his plans to me, so
Then he explained what he's doing
You better watch out, you better not cry
Don't misbehave or be sad because
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
You shouldn't sulk, because
Santa Claus is comin' to town
Santa Claus is coming to town
He's making a list and checking it twice
He's keeping track of who's been good or bad
Gonna find out who's naughty and nice
He's going to figure out who's good and who's misbehaving
Santa Claus is comin' to town
Santa Claus is coming to town
He sees you when you're sleepin'
He observes you when you're sleeping
He knows when you're a wake
He knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been bad or good
He knows if you've behaved poorly or well
So be good for goodness sake
So behave well, just because it's the right thing to do
Oh! You better watch out, you better not cry
Don't act up or be sad because
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
You shouldn't sulk, because
Santa Claus is comin' to town
Santa Claus is coming to town
With little tin horns and little toy drums
He's bringing some small musical instruments
Rooty toot toots and rummy tum tums
Those instruments will make fun sounds
And curly head dolls that toddle and coo
He's bringing some cute dolls
Elephants, boats, and kiddie cars too
He's bringing some toys for boys and girls
Then kids in Girl and Boy land will have a jubilee
Then the children will celebrate because they're so happy
They're gonna build a Toyland all around the Christmas tree
They'll create a magical place where toys are abundant
So! You better watch out, you better not cry
Be on your best behavior and don't be sad because
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
You shouldn't sulk, because
Santa Claus is comin' to town
Santa Claus is coming to town
Now Santa is a busy man, He has no time to play
Santa is very busy and doesn't have time to relax
He's got millions of stockings to fill on Christmas day
He has a lot of stockings to fill on Christmas
You'd better write your letter now
You should write your letter to Santa soon
And mail it right away
And send it as soon as possible
Because he's getting ready
Because he's preparing
His reindeer's and his sleigh
His reindeer and sleigh are ready to go
So! You better watch out, you better not cry
Be on your best behavior and don't be sad because
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
You shouldn't sulk, because
Santa Claus is comin' to town
Santa Claus is coming to town
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave
Written by: John Coots, Haven Gillespie
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
cadjunk
She is great in everything she ever did. I love this one and her doing it. Thanks so much for sharing. Gwen
cadjunk
She is great in everything she ever did. I love this one and her doing it. Thanks so much for sharing. Gwen
Akeema Browne
cadjunk