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Hillbilly-Music.com—The People. The Music. The History.
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About The Artist Devvy Davenport came into the world in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. As a youngster, she began to learn to dance. Then, some friends took her to see Horace Heidt in person at the Trianon Ballroom in Southern California. Mr. Heidt gave her a chance and the audience loved her. This led to Horace offering her the chance to work with his band and troupe. She stayed with Horace Heidt and his Musical Knights for about four years. In other personal appearances of note, she entertained audiences at the Havana-Madrid in New York City along with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis during their hey-day. In fact, her singing and dancing talents took her to audiences all over the world. Later on, Devvy made a transition into country and western music. Her stage costumes were being done by the legendary tailor, Nudie. Miss Davenport was one of the first entertainers to entertain the American troops in Viet Nam. Her visit was no quick tour - she stayed and entertained the troops for over 18 months. On a sad note, her younger brother who was in the U.S. armed forces was killed in action while she was in Viet Nam. Devvy wrote a number of poems and songs as well. The one that gained her the most notice was a tune called, "No Deposit, No Return" that was recorded by the Andrews Sisters around 1952 for Decca Records. In the 1960s, Devvy started her own country music magazine, "Country Music Report / Review". She was the Editor and Publisher of a magazine that seemed to take a different approach to covering country music for the fans, offering more than just song lyrics and short notes on the artists. It was printed on a higher quality paper stock that stands up to the test of time even some forty years or more later as we have seen in the Hillbilly-Music.com collection. As she developed the magazine, her contacts led to more than just a professional courtesy; she was able to consider such stars as Johnny Cash and Marty Robbins as friends as well. At one of Johnny Cash's concerts, Johnny took one of the magazines and paid to have copies made to give to the concert audiences and even went so far as to give Devvy a "plug" on stage during the concert to subscribe to her "Country Music Review". This was an era before the age of being able to reach wide audiences via such vehicles as the internet that we take for granted today. Her magazine was only sold by subscription, so such plugs were invaluable to reaching a wider audience. Devvy Davenport appeared in several movies. One was "The French Line" that starred Jane Russell. She was one of the models in the film along with another young unknown starlet at the time, Kim Novak. Today, Devvy is a member of such charitable organizations as the "Reel Cowboys" and the "D.O.L.L.S.". Reel Cowboys is a charitable organization that was formed in 1997 by Jack Iverson (who passed away in September 2004) and was founded to preserve western heritage and support worhty charitable causes such as helping abused and underprivileged children. Credits & Sources
Sound Sample—(YouTube Video Format)
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Recordings (78rpm/45rpm)
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