Skeeter Davis Skeeter Davis A Skeeter Davis compilation album Background information Birth name Mary Frances Penick Born December 30 , 1931 Origin Dry Ridge , Kentucky Died September 19 , 2004 Genre ( s ) Country music/Pop music Years active 1952-1985 Label ( s ) RCA Records Associated acts Chet Atkins , Patsy Cline , Loretta Lynn , Connie Smith , Bobby Bare Website Skeeter Davis Unofficial Site Mary Frances `` Skeeter '' Davis ( December 30 , 1931 – September 19 , 2004 ) was a country music singer and a member of the Grand Ole Opry radio show for more than 40 years . She was best known for her hit song `` The End of the World ( song ) `` ( 1963 ) , one of the most popular American records of the 1960's . 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 . Early life Davis was born Mary Frances Penick on a farm in Dry Ridge , Kentucky . She took the surname Davis when she became half of the `` Davis Sisters '' duet in the 1950s and the first name Skeeter because her grandfather said she was so active , she buzzed around like a mosquito . Davis attended Dixie Heights High School near Covington , Kentucky , where she met Betty Jack Davis and the two formed The Davis Sisters . Rise to Fame & Car Accident They signed a recording contract with RCA Victor and had a number one hit with the song I Forgot More Than You 'll Ever Know .Shortly thereafter , Betty Davis was killed in a car wreck . Skeeter Davis was critically injured in the same accident . She recuperated and launched a solo career . By 1957 , Davis was one of the top rated singers in country music . She was a friend and associate of Chet Atkins . Skeeter Davis on her album The Essential Skeeter Davis A Successful Country Artist She became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1959 , the same year she was nominated for a Grammy award for the song `` Set Him Free '' . During the 1960s , Skeeter was one of RCA 's most successful country artists . Along with Patsy Cline , Skeeter Davis became one of the first Country singers to have songs crossover to the Pop charts and become hits . She charted 41 country hits , 13 of which crossed over to the pop charts . The best-known of these was `` The End Of The World '' , which peaked at number two in both the U.S. country and pop charts in 1963 . She scored a second pop top ten that year with Carole King 's `` I Ca n't Stay Mad at You '' . Davis received five Grammy nominations including four for Best Country Female Vocal in 1964 ( `` He Says the Same Things to Me '' ) , 1965 ( `` Sunglasses '' ) , 1967 ( `` What Does it Take '' ) , and 1972 ( `` One Tin Solider '' ) . Davis was also an accomplished songwriter , penning almost 70 songs and earning two BMI awards for `` Set Him Free '' and `` My Last Date With You '' , the latter of which was also recorded by Ann-Margret , Pat Boone , Kay Starr , Joni James , and several others in addition to Davis ' original hit version . In 1973 , the Opry suspended Davis for dedicating a song to recently arrested Christians witnessing at a public mall during an Opry performance , deeming her remarks `` political '' , but was reinstated in 1975 and continued to perform until 2001 , when she was incapacitated by the breast cancer that would claim her life . She remained a Grand Ole Opry member until the end of her life . In the 1970s , she began regularly touring foreign countries such as Barbados , Singapore , and Sweden where she was among the most popular entertainers of any field . Life After Fame & Comeback Davis was married three times , the first being to Kenneth Depew . She married Ralph Emery in 1960 and divorced in 1964 . She married rock musican Joey Spampinato of NRBQ , with whom she collaborated on an acclaimed 1985 album She Sings , They Play in 1987 . Davis and Spampinato were divorced in 1996 . Skeeter lived in Brentwood , Tennessee , from the early 1960s until the time of her death in 2004 . Her autobiography , Bus Fare to Kentucky ( named after a 1971 Davis hit ) , was published in 1993 . In 1998 she authored a children 's book The Christmas Note ( with Cathie Pelletier ) based on her childhood that received praise from a number of authors including Lee Smith ( author ) , Rebecca Wells , and Terry Kay . Davis was a devout Christian . Davis battled breast cancer starting in 1988 , and she died of it in a Nashville , Tennessee , hospice , aged 72 . Trivia Skeeter Davis is the only woman in the history of the Billboard charts to hit the top ten singles list on all four singles charts , the Hot 100 ( pop/rock ) , country , easy listening , and soul/rhythm and blues with her 1963 smash `` The End of the World '' . Linda Ronstadt , The Pointer Sisters , and Barbra Streisand have also hit four different charts but Streisand has not had a top ten country or soul record , the Pointers did not hit the country top ten , and Ronstadt did not make the top ten soul chart . `` The End of the World '' is the only single to make the top ten on all four Billboard singles charts . Skeeter Davis was the only woman nominated for Best Country & Western Recording ( for `` Set Him Free '' in 1959 ) by the Grammy Awards in the five year period of 1959-1963 in which only one award was given in the country field . Skeeter Davis was married to Nashville jounrnalist and television host Ralph Emery for a number of years . Discography Selected Hit Singles Year Single U.S. Country U.S. Hot 100 Album 1953 `` I Forgot More Than You 'll Ever Know `` ( with The Davis Sisters ) # 1 8 I Forgot More Than You 'll Ever Know 1959 `` Set Him Free '' 5 - I 'll Sing You a Song 1959 `` Lost to a Geisha Girl '' 15 - Blueberry Hill 1960 `` Am I That Easy to Forget ? `` 11 - I 'll Sing You a Song 1960 `` ( I Ca n't Help You ) I 'm Falling Too '' 2 39 Here 's The Answer 1960 `` My Last Date ( With You ) `` 5 26 Here 's The Answer 1961 `` Optimistic '' 10 - Blueberry Hill 1962 `` Where I Ought To Be '' 9 - Blueberry Hill 1962 `` The End of the World `` 2 2 The End of the World 1962 `` I 'm Saving My Love '' 9 41 Cloudy , With Occasional Tears 1963 `` I Ca n't Stay Mad At You '' 14 7 Let Me Get Close to You 1964 `` Gonna Get Along With You Now '' 8 48 Let Me Get Close to You 1964 `` He Says the Same Things to Me '' 17 47 Let Me Get Close to You 1965 `` A Dear John Letter '' 11 - Tunes for Two 1967 `` Fuel To The Flame '' 11 - What Does It Take ( To Keep a Man Like You Satisfied ) 1967 `` What Does It Take ( To Keep a Man Like You Satisfied ) `` 5 - What Does It Take ( To Keep a Man Like You Satisfied ) 1968 `` There 's a Fool Born Every Minute '' 16 - Skeeter Skeeter Skeeter 1970 `` I 'm a Lover ( Not a Fighter ) `` 9 ? - A Place in the Country 1971 `` Bus Fare To Kentucky '' 21 - Skeeter Skeeter Skeeter '' 1973 `` I Ca n't Believe That It 's All Over '' 12 - I Ca n't Believe That It 's All Over Selected Albums Year Album 1960 I 'll Sing You a Song , and Harmonize Too 1962 Sing Duets ( with Porter Wagoner ) 1963 The End of the World 1963 Cloudy , With Occasional Tears 1964 Let Me Get Close to You 1965 Written By the Stars 1965 Tunes for Two ( with Bobby Bare ) 1966 My Heart 's In the Country 1967 Skeeter Davis Sings Buddy Holly 1967 Hand In Hand With Jesus 1968 I Love Flatt and Scruggs 1969 The Closest Thing to Love 1969 Mary Frances 1970 A Place in the Country 1971 Love Takes a Lot of Time 1971 Skeeter Skeeter Skeeter 1972 Bring It On Home 1972 Skeeter Sings Dolly 1972 The Hillbilly Singer 1973 I Ca n't Believe That It 's All Over 1982 Live Wire 1985 She Sings , They Play ( with NRBQ ) 1995 The Essential Skeeter Davis 2002 RCA Country Legends : Skeeter Davis 2004 The Pop Hits Collection References The Associated Press . `` Skeeter Davis , Country Singer , 72 '' . The New York Times . September 22 , 2004 . A28 . William A. Weathers . `` Skeeter Davis a star on the Grand Ole Opry : Dry Ridge native had hit with 'End of the World' '' . The Cincinnati Enquirer . September 20 , 2004 . B4 . External links Skeeter Davis entry at the All Music Guide `` Skeeter Davis '' . Skeeter Davis Unofficial Site . Retrieved Sep. 20 , 2004 . Annotated Discography Categories : American country singers | American children 's writers | American female singers | American pop singers | American vegetarians | American Christians | Country music songwriters | Grand Ole Opry members | People from Kentucky | People known by pseudonyms | Breast cancer deaths | Breast cancer patients | 1931 births | 2004 deaths In other languages : Deutsch | 한국어 | Kanuri | Norsk ( bokmål ) | Svenska Skeeter Davis Skeeter-Davis-pink-dress-29sq-300.jpg A Skeeter Davis compilation album ( Only use for images smaller than 220 pixels ) lightgreen Mary Frances Penick December 30 , 1931 September 19 , 2004 Dry Ridge , Kentucky Country music/Pop music 1952-1985 Chet Atkins , Patsy Cline , Loretta Lynn , Connie Smith , Bobby Bare RCA Records Skeeter Davis Unofficial Site 