Skeeter Davis

Skeeter Davis
Davis performing in 1972
Davis performing in 1972
Background information
Birth nameMary Frances Penick
Born(1931-12-30)December 30, 1931
Dry Ridge, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedSeptember 19, 2004(2004-09-19) (aged 72)
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Years active1947–2002
Labels
Formerly ofThe Davis Sisters
Spouses
Kenneth DePew
(m. 1956; div. 1959)
(m. 1960; div. 1964)
(m. 1987; div. 1996)

Skeeter Davis (born Mary Frances Penick; December 30, 1931 – September 19, 2004) 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.

One of the first women to achieve major stardom in the country music field as a solo vocalist, she was an acknowledged influence on Tammy Wynette and Dolly Parton and was hailed as an "extraordinary country/pop singer" by The New York Times music critic Robert Palmer.[1]

  1. ^ Palmer, Robert (December 15, 1985). "Critics' Choice; Pop Music". The New York Times. Retrieved August 5, 2018. Closed access icon