The Davis Sisters were 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, ...

duo consisting of two unrelated singers,

Skeeter Davis Skeeter Davis (born Mary Frances Penick; December 30, 1931September 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 S ...

and Betty Jack Davis. One of the original female country groups, they are best known for their 1953 No. 1 country hit " I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know" and the duo's debut single "Jealous Love" on Fortune Records.

Rise to fame and success

The Davis Sisters were not related; Skeeter Davis was the stage name of Mary Frances Penick. She met Betty Jack Davis at

Dixie Heights High School Dixie Heights High School is a 6-A high school located at 3010 Dixie Highway in Edgewood, Kentucky, United States, but has a mailing address of Fort Mitchell. History The school was built by the Works Progress Administration. It opened for cla ...

Edgewood, Kentucky Edgewood is a home rule–class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 8,575 at the 2010 census, down from 9,400 in 2000. It was named for an early homestead in Walker Estates.

in 1947. They formed a close relationship as friends and musicians. Also sharing a career in the music business, singing and recording, they decided to perform as The Davis Sisters.

Fortune Records

The duo began appearing regularly on radio shows in nearby

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

and

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. They first started recording in Detroit at Fortune Records in 1952. The pair recorded "Jealous Love," (Fortune 170) a song written by Devora Brown, co-owner of the Fortune label. Two other singles followed in 1953: "Kaw-Liga / Sorrow And Pain" (Fortune 174) and "Heartbreak Ahead / Steel Wool" (Fortune 175).

RCA

In 1953, they landed a recording contract with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

. While recording for RCA, the sessions were backed up by future country star and producer

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music ...

. That same year, they released their first single, "I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know". The mournful and heartbreaking song became a No. 1 country hit, as well as a top 20 pop hit. While their vocals invoked the sound of older Appalachian harmony duos such as the Blue Sky Boys and the

Delmore Brothers Alton Delmore (December 25, 1908 – June 9, 1964) and Rabon Delmore (December 3, 1916 – December 4, 1952), billed as The Delmore Brothers, were country music pioneer singer-songwriters and musicians who were stars of the Grand Ole Opry in the ...

, the Nashville Sound backing made the overall sound more in line with their more polished contemporaries the

Louvin Brothers The Louvin Brothers were an American musical duo composed of brothers Ira and Charlie Louvin (''né'' Loudermilk). The brothers are cousins to John D. Loudermilk, a Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member. The brothers wrote and performed co ...

Tragedy and reformation

Shortly after the release of "I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know", the Davis Sisters were in a car accident just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio on August 2, 1953, which killed Betty Jack instantly and seriously injured Skeeter. Skeeter reformed the group with Betty Jack's older sister, Georgia. The new duo continued to perform and record until 1956, but failed to have another hit. "Georgia was a fine singer, but it just wasn't the same," Skeeter said in the liner notes to 1995's ''The Essential Skeeter Davis''.''The Essential Skeeter Davis'', audio CD, liner notes by

Colin Escott Colin Escott (born August 31, 1949) is a British music historian and author specializing in early U.S. rock and roll and country music. His works include a biography of Hank Williams, histories of Sun Records and The Grand Ole Opry, liner note ...

, March 1995. Skeeter Davis went on to a successful solo career. Davis continued to perform frequently throughout much of the 1990s and into 2000. In 2001, she became incapacitated by the breast cancer that would claim her life. While Davis remained a member of the Grand Ole Opry until her death, she last appeared on the program in 2002. She died of breast cancer in a Nashville hospice, at the age of 72, on September 19, 2004.

Discography

Compilation albums

Singles

Notes

References

External links

Davis Sisters article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis Sisters, The Country music duos Musical groups established in 1947 Musical groups disestablished in 1956 People from Grant County, Kentucky RCA Victor artists Country music groups from Kentucky 1947 establishments in Kentucky 1956 disestablishments in Kentucky