Janette Davis, also known as Jan The Pride of Pine Bluff, was a pop singer known for being a regular on Arthur Godfrey’s numerous television and radio shows, hosting her own show The Janette Davis Show, and serving as the executive producer on CBS’s Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts television show.
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Dorothy Janette Marguerite Davis was born November 2, 1916, in Memphis, Tennessee, the eldest of eight children. Davis grew up in Pine Bluff, Arkansas where she sang and played piano while attending public school. At the age of 14, she won an amateur singing contest. She was awarded a radio contract and her own program on a Memphis radio station. She drove 200 miles for each program episode on which she sang and played piano.
After switching her main focus from playing the piano to singing, Davis moved to Quincy, Illinois after she was offered a chance to sing on her own radio show. During this time, she also enrolled in a music studies course. She was nicknamed Jan The Pride of Pine Bluff because of the way she represented the city.
Soon after, she moved to a radio station in Shreveport, Louisiana, and offers from other radio stations started pouring in. Determined to realize her dream of working at a radio station in Cincinnati, Davis refused to accept any of these offers. After finally getting an offer from a Cincinnati radio station, she moved to Cincinnati. There she worked on Uncle Walter’s Dog House, a comedic radio show that featured musical variety acts on NBC.
In 1939, she became a regular on NBC’s Red Skelton Avalon Time which was sponsored by Avalon cigarettes. During this time Red Skelton’s popularity skyrocketed because of his comedic radio show. Davis’ voice and style began to mature as she sang one show per program for the next year.
Davis then moved to Chicago, where she sang regularly on Don McNeil's Breakfast Club and Garry Moore's Club Matinee on NBC. Both shows featured The Four Vagabonds, an African-American quartet similar to The Mills Brothers. In 1943, Davis recorded at least ten radio transcriptions, providing backup harmonies for The Vagabonds. Billed simply as The Four Vagabonds and Janette, these radio transcriptions allowed various musical and disc jockey radio programs to play the group's songs without them even being there.
In January 1944, she moved to WBBM, a CBS station in Chicago. There, she sang on the Petrillo, Janette, and MacCormack radio show, The King's Jesters and Janette, Serenade and Swing, Jobs for GI Joe, and Victory Matinee Radio programs.
Davis was married to Robert Jenson from 1939 to 1945.
In 1946, Arthur Godfrey’s new daily CBS morning radio show Arthur Godfrey Time was looking for a regular female vocalist. He liked Davis' singing and voice, so he hired her even though they had never met. Davis moved to New York for a job that would change her life.
The Godfrey show was an unscripted, improv show with a live audience where Godfrey spoke about the news and whatever topics crossed his mind. It also featured a live orchestra, quintet singers, an announcer, and male and female vocalists.
As the show’s popularity increased, so did Davis’ nationwide appeal. During this time, her musical range and popularity increased as she took on complicated rhythm arrangements, novelty numbers, and popular belters. She signed to Columbia Records, and her country single I Didn’t Know the Gun Was Loaded became her best-selling record.
In 1947 and 1948, while still appearing on The Godfrey show, Davis hosted The Janette Davis Show, her own 15-minute radio program which broadcast on Sunday nights. Her theme song was the pop ballad I’ll Get By (As Long As I Have You). During this time, she also guest-starred on numerous musical radio shows.
In 1949, CBS started simulcasting The Arthur Godfrey Time on television, as well as radio. In 1952, following the success of The Godfrey show, Godfrey was given a Wednesday night live variety show called Arthur Godfrey & His Friends. Cast members from Godfrey’s radio show were featured on his new television show, but the talent pool increased as he discovered new acts. When the show ended in 1956, Davis was the highest-paid and longest-lasting member of Godfrey’s cast of vocalists.
In 1956, she was ready to retire when Godfrey made her an unexpected offer she couldn’t refuse. Godfrey asked Davis to become the executive producer of his Monday night television show Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts because the shows dropped precariously. Davis had an eye for talent, loved working behind the scenes helping new cast members and had personally coached many of the performers who appeared on the program. She immediately implemented several successful improvements to benefit the performers, including creating a West Coast audition studio in addition to the one in New York which allowed for better production values. Through Davis’ direction, the show climbed back up to its previous top 10 spot in the ratings. By this time Godfrey’s popularity had drastically declined after his repeated on-air firing of numerous cast members. So even with her ingenious improvements, the damage was already done. In 1958, Davis retired after the show was canceled.
On Oct. 17, 1957, she married Frank Musiello. Musiello was a former musician on the Godfrey shows and Davis’ associate producer on the Talent Scouts. After the show ended, they moved to Naples, Florida, with Musiello’s two children, Gail and Gary. Though she never sang again professionally, she continued to sing and play the piano at home for her children.
On April 25, 2005, Davis died at age 88. She was survived by Musiello and her daughter, Gail. She was also preceded in death by her son Gary.
Sources:
Cox, Jim. Musicmakers of Network Radio: 24 Entertainers, 1926-1962. Ukraine, McFarland & Company, 2011.
Written by: Ninfa O. Barnard
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