Russellville native Denise Davis reflects on 50th anniversary of being crowned Miss Alabama
The day before she traveled to Birmingham to be honored on the 50th anniversary of her being crowned Miss Alabama in 1976, also her graduation year from Russellville High School, Denise Davis reflected on the many blessings in her life.
And how did she celebrate these life milestones? When contacted by the Franklin Free Press for an interview, Davis had just completed her daily workout at a Nashville gym.
It’s hard for the Russellville native, the daughter of Ellis ‘EH’ and Willodean Davis, to believe it’s been 50 years—almost as hard to believe as the moment she won the Miss Alabama title.
“I was standing there in the top 10 and I had no idea I could possibly win,” Davis recalled. “When they called Julie Houston as the first runner up, I’m thinking wow, who could have won? When I heard my name, I thought I was hallucinating.”
So why would a pageant veteran not believe she could actually win Miss Alabama? Well, when she won, there had been no lifetime of pageants for Davis. Her first pageant came at the age of 16 when, on a whim, she entered the Miss Franklin County pageant.
“They used to have it at the Fairgrounds years ago and they needed more girls in the pageant that year, so they asked me if I wanted to be in it. I said ‘Lord, no.’ But when they told me the winner received $100, I thought ‘wow, I’d like to have $100,’ so I signed up,” Davis said.
When she came home and told her parents, her father was less than thrilled.
“He asked what I would get if i won, so I told him $100. He said ‘I’ll give you $100 if you won’t be in it,” Davis said.
Denise didn’t accept her dad’s offer, though. Instead, she entered and won. Davis soon realized pageants were a way to showcase her singing since most included a talent portion of the competition.
Davis won the talent competition in a pageant at Point Mallard, which earned her a modeling scholarship in Birmingham with Sylvia Pittman’s modeling school. Davis then won the Miss Mannequins Pageant, which qualified her to enter the 1976 Miss Alabama event.
That decision, though, was one Davis and her parents did not share as she prepared for Miss Alabama.
“Mother and I would sneak down to Birmingham every Saturday. I would train like an athlete, but I just didn’t tell anyone I went to school with because they’d think I was a nut. I definitely was not the prettiest girl in my class. And being a pageant queen? That just wasn’t me,” Davis said.
“Anytime Sylvia at the studio said I needed something (in preparation for the pageant), mother got it done. Both mother and daddy were amazing. I was just a tomboy who loved to sing. So my being in a pageant was definitely kind of weird,” she added.
Pageants may have been an afterthought for Davis, but singing most definitely was not.
Davis’ vocal talent first opened the door to Miss Alabama, and even though she didn’t win the 1977 Miss America Pageant, Davis earned an invitation to join five other contestants as part of a USO tour in the Orient.
She turned down an internship in Washington, D.C., to be part of that USO tour.
Two years into college at the University of North Alabama, Davis moved to Nashville, a decision that was life-changing.
“I’m so glad I’m in Nashville and I’ve been here since 1979,” Davis said. “I worked at Tree Publishing when I moved here. Buddy Killen, the president of the company, hired me. After that, I worked with the band Southern Express. We were the house band for the Opryland Hotel. I recorded, sang and traveled with Southern Express for almost six years.”
In 1980, Davis won the Wrangler Country Star Search at the Grand Ole Opry. That resulted in a record deal, a booking deal and $50,000, and it opened more doors in her career.
“That was a big kickstarter. It put me on the stage opening for George Jones, the Gatlin Brothers and other great artists at the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman. Dennis Weaver was the host and I’ll always remember him calling out my name,” Davis said.
“I became a regular singer on Nashville Now, a show filmed at The Nashville Network. I also became a regular singer on a TNN show filmed in Orlando called Church Street Station. I worked there for three seasons,” Davis added.
When she returned to Nashville, Davis continued to record demos, commercials and did studio work including vocals for the soap opera Santa Barbara.
After Maybelline chose her in 1984 as having The Most Beautiful Eyes in Tennessee, she began working for Maybelline on commercials and film projects.
She signed with a booking agency as her modeling career took off. She worked on commercials for Costner Knott, Parisian and Toyota, among others, including becoming the spokesperson for Drexel Heritage Furniture.
“That’s how I met my husband Doug. We filmed in High Point, North Carolina. He was the producer of the commercials and we worked together for Drexel on commercials and voiceovers for almost a decade,” Davis said.
Her later success in Christian music started in the 1990s, when she was writing songs. Davis was signed as a staff songwriter with the publishing company Life Music Group by its owner/producer Johnny Rotenschroer. He produced her two successful Christian music CDs. The next decade saw Davis sing in churches and at women’s conferences around the country, as she traveled to 47 states.
“After a while, I grew tired of flying all over the country, so I asked myself what else I enjoyed besides singing and writing,” Davis said. “My answer was real estate. I’m not as good as my mom but she gives me a lot to look up to.”
Davis traveled to Birmingham for the Miss Alabama pageant last week not knowing if she would just come on stage and just wave to the crowd or whether there would be some surprise after her introduction.
“I’m fine either way,” Davis said. “I am feeling my 50 years! I’ve been blessed to be Miss Alabama. It changed my life. I always tell judges that I judge with or the folks at the Miss Alabama organization, when that girl is called out of that line as the new Miss Alabama, her life will never be the same. It’s life-changing.”