Skeets McDonald - Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes: The Singles Collection 1950-62 (2024)

Born Enos William McDonald in Arkansas in 1915, Skeets McDonald was a honky-tonk country and rockabilly singer, who acquired his nickname from calling mosquitoes skeets as a child. He had a band in Detroit in the 1930s and after war service worked on radio in Dearborn, Michigan, where he made his first records for the Fortune label before moving to Los Angeles, performing on radio on Hometown Jubilee and Town Hall Party, and signing to Capitol. He is best known for his 1952 country No. 1 with Slim Willet's Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes, which Perry Como took to the top of the pop charts. This 58-track 2-CD collection comprises selected A & B sides on the Citation, Fortune, London, Mercury, Capitol and Columbia labels from these years, and features his No 1 country hit Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes and his other hit from this era This Old Heart. It features not only country material but also forays into rockabilly and rock 'n' roll, with Eddie Cochran playing guitar on Skeets' recording of You Oughta See Grandma Rock. He went on to have a couple more hits in the 1960s, but this collection captures him during what was probably the primary era of his career, and it's an enjoyable showcase for his particular brand of country.