Skeeter Davis

• Genre: Nashville Sound
• Hometown: Nashville
• Skeeter Davis Website

About

Although she had many hits, the song Skeeter Davis will always be remembered for is "The End of the World," a Country Pop crossover hit that sounded as much like Lesley Gore as it did Patsy Cline. When people talk about "the Nashville Sound," they're talking about the string-heavy quasi-country that was Davis' music -- but that's not necessarily a bad thing, as 1960s Nashville pop is some of the best music America has to offer. Her career began in the '50s as one half of the country-billy vocal group, the Davis Sisters. Tragically, her sister Betty Jack (no relation to Billy Jack) was killed in a car wreck in 1953, and Skeeter set out on her own. Throughout the '60s and '70s, Davis jumped back and forth between pure country and rock 'n' roll, never straying far from the charts. The '80s brought a marriage to NRBQ member Joey Spampinato and a number of subsequent collaborations with the group.

- Mike McGuirk