From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Tue Oct 1, 2002  1:17 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Skeets McDonald
 
SKEETS McDONALD (By Shaun Mather)

Born Enos William McDonald, 1 October 1915, Greenway, Arkansas
Died 31 March 1968, Inglewood, California

Best known for his self-penned chart-topper "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your
Eyes," Skeets McDonald was a honky-tonk singer and songwriter whose work
helped serve to bridge the gap between country and rock & roll. The youngest
of seven children, Enos William McDonald was born on October 1, 1915 in
Greenway, Arkansas, and earned his nickname after an incident involving a
swarm of mosquitoes. He became interested in music at a young age, and
according to McDonald family legend, even traded his hound dog for a guitar
and six dollars. When his older brother moved to Michigan several years
later, McDonald followed, and joined his first band, the Lonesome Cowboys,
in Detroit in 1935. He continued to perform on local radio stations until he
was drafted to serve in World War II in 1943.
When he returned home he got a job on a tv show in Detroit. In 1950 he made
his first records, recording with Johnnie White and his Rough Riders. A year
later he headed west to Los Angeles, and began performing on the Hometown
Jamboree, the influential tv show hosted by Cliffie Stone. This new job was
instrumental in landing him a contract with Capitol Records, for whom he
scored his biggest success in 1952 with Don't Let The Stars Get In Your
Eyes. He spent the decade with the label and cut some typically excellent
West Coast hillbilly, as well as some forays into the rockabilly sound. He
employed young guitar-whiz Eddie Cochtran to back him in the studio for You
Oughta See Grandma Rock and Heart Breaking Mama. After he joined Columbia
in 1959 he concentrated on straight country and managed a couple of moderate
hits like Call Me Mr Brown in 1963. He moved his body as well as his sound
from California to Nashville and began appearing on the Grand Ole Opry,
before succumbing to a heart attack in 1968.

Recommended listening:
Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes - Bear Family BCD 15937 (5CD).
_