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Personnel includes: Betty Jack Davis (vocals, guitar), Mary Frances "Skeeter Davis" Penick, Georgie Davis, "Boots" Hatfield (vocals), Paul M. Williams, Velma E. Williams Smith, Henry "Homer" Haynes (guitars), "Chuck" Hatfield, Jerry Byrd, Don Helms (steel guitars), Ray E. Goins (banjo), Kenneth "Jethro" Burns (mandolin), "Curley" Ray Cline, "Shorty" Long (fiddles), Ruby Williams (piano, vocals), Roy Hall, Marty Gold (piano), Ernest "Ernie" Newton (bass), Phil Kraus, "Bunny" Shawker (drums). Bear Family does its usual astonishingly thorough job on this double-CD compilation, which has no less than 59 tracks recorded by both incarnations of the Davis Sisters between 1952 and 1956 (as well as a brief 1957 Skeeter Davis solo take on "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels)." The RCA singles are embellished by numerous outtakes, alternates, pre-RCA acetates of radio broadcasts, an unreleased tape of spirituals at a Kentucky Baptist Church, and their rare pre-RCA singles for the Fortune label; in fact, half of this collection was previously unreleased. The fidelity isn't always stellar on the non-RCA tracks, but most of the material is strong, and the harmonies always affecting, whether on the sad ballads, spirituals, or the occasional proto-rockabilly outings ("Rock-A-Bye Boogie," "Rag Mop," "Gotta Git A-Goin'"). While Skeeter understandably bemoaned the loss of original partner Betty Jack Davis, the sides with her replacement Georgie Davis (which actually comprise over half the package) are on about the same level as the earlier ones. Chet Atkins' guitar can be heard on most of the tracks. ~ Richie Unterberger