Penny Jay
Encyclopedia
Penny Jay was an American country music
singer and songwriter, who was active from the 1940s to the 1960s. She is best known for "Don't Let Me Cross Over
" a song she wrote which reached #1 on the country music charts
in late 1962.
Jay was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and began performing with her mother at church functions at the age of 10. Cas Walker
, a Knoxville merchant and host of a radio show on local WROL (which is also credited with helping launch the careers of Dolly Parton
and the Everly Brothers) featured 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.
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
, 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
, but her contract was picked up by Decca Records
. 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
, and on Roy Acuff
's "Midnight Jamboree" radio show broadcast from Ernest Tubb
's record shop. Jay's band at this time included her daughter, Sherry, who was one of the first female drummers 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 "Don't Let Me Cross Over
". Originally released in November 1962, the song reached the number-one spot on the Billboard
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
, and Dolly Parton
. Other songs Jay wrote include Skeeter Davis
' "Set Him Free", Jimmy Martin
's trucker ode "Widow Maker", and many more.
Jay eventually stopped performing in the 1970s, and moved to Nashville, Arkansas to live with her daughter and son-in-law, guitarist Bobby Chambers. She died in 2006.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
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
"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 number-one spot on the Billboard Country Singles chart...
" a song she wrote which reached #1 on the country music charts
1962 in country music
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1962.-Events:* November 3 — Billboard renames its Hot C&W Sides chart "Hot Country Singles," a name it will keep for the next 27 years. The chart length remains 30 positions....
in late 1962.
Jay was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and began performing with her mother at church functions at the age of 10. Cas Walker
Cas Walker
Orton Caswell Walker , better known as Cas Walker, 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 dozen stores scattered throughout the Knoxville, Tennessee vicinity as well as...
, 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 Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
and the Everly Brothers) featured 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.
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
Okeh Records began as an independent record label based in the United States of America in 1918. From 1926 on, it was a subsidiary of Columbia Records.-History:...
, 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
Republic Records was a record label and subsidiary of Universal Motown Republic Group. They originally went by the name Cheese Factory Records...
, but her contract was picked up by Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
. 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
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
, and on Roy Acuff
Roy Acuff
Roy Claxton Acuff 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" format to the star singer-based format that helped make it internationally successful.Acuff...
's "Midnight Jamboree" radio show broadcast from Ernest Tubb
Ernest Tubb
Ernest Dale Tubb , 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" , marked the rise of the honky tonk style of music...
's record shop. Jay's band at this time included her daughter, Sherry, who was one of the first female drummers 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
Carl and Pearl Butler
Carl Butler and Pearl was an American country music husband-and-wife duo. Between 1962 and 1969, the duo released several singles and charted thirteen times on the U.S. country charts, reaching #1 in 1962 with their first single, "Don't Let Me Cross Over"....
recorded her song "Don't Let Me Cross Over
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 number-one spot on the Billboard Country Singles chart...
". Originally released in November 1962, the song reached the number-one spot on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
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
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
, Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
, and Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
. Other songs Jay wrote include Skeeter Davis
Skeeter Davis
Mary Frances Penick , better known as Skeeter Davis, was an American country music singer best known for crossover pop music songs of the early 1960s. She started out as part of The Davis Sisters as a teenager in the late 1940s, eventually landing on RCA Records. In the late '50s, she became a solo...
' "Set Him Free", Jimmy Martin
Jimmy Martin
Jimmy Martin was an American bluegrass musician, known as the "King of Bluegrass".-Early years:Born James H. Martin in Sneedville, Tennessee. Jimmy Martin was born into the hard farming life of rural East Tennessee. He grew up near Sneedville, singing in church and with friends from surrounding...
's trucker ode "Widow Maker", and many more.
Jay eventually stopped performing in the 1970s, and moved to Nashville, Arkansas to live with her daughter and son-in-law, guitarist Bobby Chambers. She died in 2006.
External links
- Penny Jay and her 1953 Gibson J-50 at the Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum
- Discography at Discogs.com
- Carl and Pearl Butler perform "Don't Let Me Cross Over" (Penny Jay seen in background, left) video