Penny Jay (June 12, 1925 – March 29, 2006) was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer and songwriter, who was active from the 1940s to the 1960s. She is best known for "

Don't Let Me Cross Over "Don't Let Me Cross Over" is a song made famous as a duet by Carl Butler and Pearl, a husband-and-wife country music duo. Originally released in November 1962, the song needed just four weeks to reach the #1 spot on the ''Billboard'' Country Sing ...

" a song she wrote which reached #1 on the country music charts in late 1962. Penny Jay was born in Monteagle, Tennessee. When her Mother, Edna Tobitt Adams remarried they moved to Knoxville, TN and Jay began performing with her mother at church functions at the age of 10.

Cas Walker Orton Caswell "Cas" Walker (March 23, 1902 – September 25, 1998), was a Tennessee businessman, politician, and personality on television and radio. Walker founded a successful chain of small grocery stores that grew to include several doz ...

, a Knoxville merchant and host of a radio show on local WROL (which is also credited with helping launch the careers of

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

and

The Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

) featured Penny Jay performing under the name "Little Miss Helen" when she was 12. Jay played stand-up bass and guitar, and became a fixture on the show during the early '40s. "Little Miss Helen" was the very first ''Golden Girl'' of Knoxville, Tennessee. In the early '50s, Jay began performing as part of a duo with a friend named Marie Wilson. The pair were billed as "Jenny & Jill", and they recorded several original sides for

OKeh Records Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...

, including "A Million Other Hearts". Jay moved to Nashville in the early '60s, and began performing and writing songs for other artists. She was signed to

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

, but her contract was picked up by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

. She ultimately released eight singles on Decca, including "Just Over The Line", "Lonely And Unwanted", and "Those Kinds of Girls". Jay performed at the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

, and on

Roy Acuff Roy Claxton Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the "King of Country Music", Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown ...

's "Midnight Jamboree" radio show broadcast from

Ernest Tubb Ernest Dale Tubb (February 9, 1914 – September 6, 1984), nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" (1941), m ...

's record shop. (She also toured, during the Korean War, for the USO. Penny enjoyed singing for all the military troops. Her USO Tours carried her to China, Japan, Philippine Islands, Iceland, Greenland, and Hawaii.) Jay's band at this time included her daughter, Sherry Moyers, who was the first female professional C/W Drummer in Nashville. Jay had her greatest success as a professional songwriter, and in 1962 scored a #1 hit on the country charts when Carl and Pearl Butler recorded her song "

". Originally released in November 1962, the song reached the number-one spot on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Country Singles chart on December 29, 1962. The song eventually spent 11 (non-consecutive) weeks at number one, and has become a country-music standard. It has been covered by over 30 artists, including George Jones,

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

, and

. Other songs Jay wrote include Skeeter Davis' "Set Him Free",

Jimmy Martin James Henry Martin (August 10, 1927 – May 14, 2005) was an American bluegrass musician, known as the "King of Bluegrass". Early years Martin was born in Sneedville, Tennessee, United States, and was raised in the hard farming life of rural ...

's trucker ode "Widow Maker", and many more. Jay eventually stopped performing in the 1970s, and moved to Nashville, Arkansas in 1996 to live with her daughter and son-in-law, guitarist Bobby Chambers. She died in 2006. She was buried in Knoxville, Tennessee.

References

External links

Penny Jay and her 1953 Gibson J-50
at the Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum
Discography
at Discogs.com
Discography
at Discogs.com * (Penny Jay seen in background, left) video * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jay, Penny 1925 births 2006 deaths American women country singers American country singer-songwriters 20th-century American singer-songwriters 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women