About The Song
“The End of the World” is a pop music hit by Skeeter Davis that enjoyed international success in the 1960s. The record was released by RCA Records in December 1962 and reached its greatest success in March 1963, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart, #2 on the Billboard country singles chart (Davis was a country music vocalist and the record was a crossover music success), and #1 on Billboard’s adult Contemporary – easy listening chart. The record also was a #4 hit on Billboard’s rhythm and blues chart – making Davis one of the very few Caucasian female vocalists to enjoy a top ten record on that chart. Davis’ four-chart top ten accomplishment has never been duplicated by any other female vocalist in the history of the Billboard charts.
Although Ruby and the Romantics’ hit “Our Day Will Come” kept “The End of the World” from hitting number one on the pop chart, the song’s popularity and chart history earned it the #3 place on Billboard’s list of the year’s 20 biggest hits. The music was written by Arthur Kent with lyrics by Sylvia Dee. Dee also wrote the lyrics for Too Young by Nat King Cole.
Davis’ recording was produced by Chet Atkins and has long been considered one of the foremost examples of the Nashville Sound of the 1960’s – smooth vocals and a slick, sophisticated production appealing to audiences far beyond the traditional country music audience. The song was played at Atkins’ funeral in 2001 in an instrumental performance by Marty Stuart and later, Davis’ recording was broadcast over the speakers of her 2004 funeral at the Ryman Auditorium.
Davis went on to score many other country music hits as well as a few major pop crossovers, but she was forever identified with “The End of the World” and sung it at virtually every concert appearance she would make after its success.