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Just before I turned three, my cousin, Joyce Ingle had asked me to participate in our Christmas play at the church. She assisted in teaching me a small speaking part and my mother taught me to sing “Away In A Manger”. After that, music was all I wanted. Mama would play guitar and teach me new songs. After I had learned a few songs, dad would take me around to different places (mostly churches) on the weekend to sing. During the summer months, we would attend local revivals meetings during the week. On the weekends, if we were not traveling to sing, mother and dad would invite a crowd of friends and church members to the house. My mother, my sister and I would bake cakes and pies and we would sing until the wee hours of the morning.

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By age four, my dad had bought my sister, Nancy, a piano and enrolled her in piano lessons at our school. She learned very quickly and played extremely well. She can play any piece of music in front of her and can sing just as well. However, she was always a little shy and would never get up in front of anyon, unless she had to hold my hand. After Nancy and my brothers, Gene and Frank left for school each day, my mother would work outside. I would beg her to let me stay inside, as I would pretend to watch cartoons. However, once I began learning music, I soon learned to dislike TV, altogether. That created a major problem when my siblings were home. The certainly didn’t want any interference with the TV shows. My youngest brother, Gene used to tell me he was going to chop the piano up into wood if I didn’t be quiet and then, everything went to pieces. When mother would start work in the fields, she would say, “little girl, I double dare you to touch that piano while I’m out”. I always made sure the ghost was clear, then I would sit down at the piano and teach myself to play the songs I was singing at church. Some of the songs I didn’t sing at church such as “Tom Dooley”. Finally, the big day came when I got up
enough nerve to play for myself at church. The pastor at that time was Rev. Harlon Ramsey. He assisted me up on the bench and I played and sang “I Need No Mansions Her Below”. Upon completion of the song, I announced that I would like to play a piano solo. I overheard my mother softly say, “Oh No”! I proceeded with great pride to play “Tom Dooley”. I was just grinning from ear to ear and was so proud of myself. Pastor Ramsey assisted me back down off the piano bench and really complimented me. But as I neared my seat, my mother stood up and advised me we were going outside . I tried with every fiber of my being to convince her I didn’t need to go to the restroom. But she said “ You may when I get through with you”. I received one of my worst whippings in my life that day. It seemed as if I always got in trouble at church. For the longest time, I thought Sunday was set aside as my scheduled whipping day!

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I attended the 1st through the 7th grades at Ebbs Chapel Elementary School, a rock school that my grandfather Crisp had over seen the construction. I just loved that little school and always thought the building itself, was so beautiful. I attended the 8th through the 12 grades at Mars Hill High School. The high school location was a twelve mile ride further for us and was so much different than the little rock school that we were accustomed to. I had excellent teachers all through school and I personally loved school. I enjoyed every day and loved my classmates. The teachers I had during the years of my
6th through 8th grades, were very encouraging and supportive of me and my music. I worked hard to keep my grade scores up and my teachers would allow me to use our regular study hall period to practice my music in the auditorium. I thank them so much for that today. During the 3rd grade, Randall Blankenship, Charles McGee, Bobby and Gerald Edwards and myself formed a band together and by the time we were thirteen years old, we were going everywhere to play our music. We had a radio show in Burnsville, NC. There, we would sing every Saturday afternoon. We were frequently invited to play on the Cas Walker Show in Knoxville, TN. Every third Friday night, we would play at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Asheville, NC. That was until the guys started playing football and other sports, at which time I continued playing the shows on my own. I loved the patients there and they were very appreciative of anything you did for them. This period of time was during the Vietnam War Era when the boys gave so much for all of us. I felt so guilty that I could give so little back to them. I truly loved and appreciated them all. The band we had formed in the 3rd grade, stayed together until the twelfth grade of school.

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From 1968 until 1971, I played the piano and sang at Frontier Land, a theme park located on the outskirts of the Cherokee Indian Reservation near Maggie Valley, NC. The new casino stands there now. I also appeared at Ghost Town in Maggie Valley and did frequent shows at the Tennessee Valley Barn Dance in Knoxville, TN. In the spring of 1972, I cut my very first record, entitled, “Your Love Is All I Want”, as the Kingsmen Quartet backed me up. When the recording was set up, I had planned to record two gospel songs, however, during the recording session, some equipment had to be repaired. We were all sitting around playing different songs, trying to kill time, when I played the song I had written in the studio. Eldridge Fox, owner of the Kingsmen Qt, heard the song and told me that I needed to cut the country song. I told him my mother would be angry with me. She always told me that I would never make it in anything, except Gospel music. Mr. Fox insisted I should give it a try; so I did. The second week after the song was released, it went to #37 on the Billboard charts. Later that summer, it climbed to #3. That same week, “Burning Love”, by Elvis Pressley, hit the Billboard charts. Of course, he sort of out did me. After the release of “Your Love Is All I Want”, my career took off and I began touring. I had the privilege of opening shows for some of country music’s biggest legends, including Faron Young, Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, Mel Tillis, Bobby G. Rice, Stella Parton, Mike Snider and Bonnie Lou and Buster. I became a regular on the Bonnie Lou and Buster television show. I released two more singles in 1973 and in 1980, but they didn’t go as well as the first one. Also, I appeared on the Hee-Haw Show. However, gospel music was always my first love.

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In 1974, tragedy struck my life. My mother passed away, due to cancer and her death was very devastating to me. I didn’t do very much with my music for a long time after that. I moved to Maryland in 1978 to live with an aunt. In August of 1980, my sister, Nancy Mathes gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, named Missy. The doctors didn’t give her any chance of survival. I moved back home upon the request of Nancy, so I could be near her and Missy. With a lot of prayers, hard work and love, Missy underwent major brain surgeries and two lower back surgeries. She has proven to be a true survivor. A week after returning to Asheville, NC, I went to work for the Asheville Police Department as a Telecommunicator and loved it almost as much as I did music.

Early in 1980, I was informed that I had lost any and all royalties to the recordings I had done, due to the fact that I didn’t have my own publishing company or recording label. Well, I began to establish what is now known as the “Mandy Lee Publishing and Recording Company”. My job at the Asheville Police Department was so demanding and the schedule was so crazy, that there was no time for music. Finally, I took a job with Buncombe County and my hours were more flexible. Early in 1989, I was asked to join a country group and I really enjoyed working with that band. In September, 1989, I fell at work and was seriously injured. I underwent three neck surgeries, one lower back and left knee surgeries. Finally, after 22 months of rehabilitation, I returned back to work. I continued to work on my music upon my neurosurgeon’s insistence. The doctor told me if I didn’t keep trying, as extensive as my injuries were, I would give up and not be able to do anything. Unfortunately, I was injured again in 1993, but not as severe as before. In 1995, the immense pain and some other health issues forced me out of the work force and I had to retire. For the first year or so, I was so lost. Then, one night while I was in bed feeling sorry for myself, God spoke to my heart and said, “ You can still play the piano and sing. You can still walk and take care of yourself.” After that, I began to count my many blessings again. I finally realized that Mama was right all along about why God gave me the talent. I was to sing and play the piano and do if for His glory. In March of 2003, I began another series of back and neck surgeries. My hands stayed numb a lot and the pain got to unbearable, but I knew I was down to my last option. I was told I would never sing again, but seven months later, my voice started coming back and for that, I give God the glory.

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I have recently released my first CD entitled “Who Rolled The Stone Away”, a collection of gospel songs that I have written with God’s help. This CD is a labor of love and I could not have done it without God’s help. I could not make it without God in my life and for the life of me, I cannot understand how anyone could try to make it without God’s help.

I appreciate you for allowing me to share my testimony with you and your family. God has given me the opportunity to stand on stage with some of Country and Gospel music‘s greatest singers. I don’t feel like I ever made it big, or became famous in the music business. My name was never in lights, however, it is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life and God has supplied every need and lots and lots of good friends. I especially would like to thank him for sending me my parents, my church family, my best friend, Johnny Wilson (Buckethead), along with all my friends at Buncombe EOC and my good buddies at Reems Creek and Jupiter Fire Departments in Weaverville, NC. Go North-End MAFIA!

The “Good Ole Boys Ride Again!

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I had to hogtie my webmaster to place the following statement on my website. But, oh well! I certainly appreciate my good friends: Tony, Wade and Linda Maynor for all their love and support.

Last, but certainly not least, I thank my Heavenly Father for salvation and for giving me many talents in this walk of life.

God Bless You!

Mary Ellen Davis

P.S. Did I mention the fact that I absolutely, Tee-Totally LOVE Angels !