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When was 'You are my Sunshine' recorded?
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The Pine Ridge Boys (Marv Taylor and Doug Spivey) recorded the song under the title "You Are My Sunshine" on August 22, 1939, and released it on October 6, 1939, for Bluebird Records. The song was recorded in Atlanta, Georgia, where the Pine Ridge Boys were from. [ 11 ]
Sep 25, 2023 · In the 1960s, this most maudlin of country songs started crossing boundaries. Ray Charles recorded a swinging version in 1962, and Ike and Tina Turner featured it on their 1964 live album (they...
Apr 7, 2021 · The song was released in 1939 by songwriter Paul Rice and has been recorded over 350 times by artists like Bob Dylan, Gene Autry, The Pine Ridge Boys, Johnny Cash, Carly Simon, Willie Nelson,...
- 1939
- 1940
- 1990
- Continued Controversy
- Davis and Mitchell Continued
- Other Versions
- 2000 and 2001 Recognition
- Final Thoughts
According to records, the song was first tracked by The Pine Ridge Boys, a group consisting of Marvin Taylor and Doug Spivey. They recorded the tune on August 22, 1939, and later released it on October 6 of that year for Bluebird Records. The group recorded it in their hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, and saw the song peak at No. 4 on October 26, 1940...
“You Are My Sunshine” was later published on January 30, 1940, by Jimmie Davis (a future two-time governor of Louisiana) and Charles Mitchell. It was copyrighted by Davis and Mitchell and published by Southern Music Publishing Co., Inc. of New York. Davis and Mitchell later recorded it on February 5, 1940, at Decca Studios in the Big Apple. Both ea...
In a November 1990 article by Theodore Pappas, in Chronicles Magazine, Oliver Hood of LaGrange, Georgia was credited as the true writer of the song. Pappas says that Davis purchased the song from Paul Rice, along with all the rights, before it was copyrighted and published. This was a relatively common practice amongst musicians before the music bu...
An old newspaper article in The Shreveport Times stated, “on a day in 1939—no one seems to remember the exact date—Charles Mitchell and Jimmie Davis called the station KWKH to see Paul Rice (who was playing there at the time). Paul’s wife was in the hospital and he needed cash to pay her bills. He sold ‘Sunshine’ to Davis and Mitchell for $35. Each...
Davis lived to be 101 years old. And throughout his life, he gave varying stories about the song. Interviewed for Dorothy Horseman’s 1975 book, Sing Your Heart Out Country Boy, he didn’t say he wrote the song. But he described how popular it’s become. In 1998 liner notes for the song, Tony Russell wrote, “though Mitchell’s name appears on the copyr...
In 1941, Gene Autry sang the song for his movie, Back in the Saddle. Later that year, he recorded the song for CBS Columbia Square Studio and it was released on July 10 on Okeh Records. That same year, Bing Crosby recorded his version for Decca Records. In 1962, Ray Charles recorded a version that hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart an...
In 2000, the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame picked Davis’ version to earn the Towering Song Award. In 2001, the Recording Industry Association of America put the song as No. 14 on their list of the 365 Songs Of The Century.
Today, the song is almost as ubiquitous as sunshine, itself. The song is sung to lovers, children, and any other object of affection. Probably many feline owners have sung it to their whiskered friends. It’s a song about warmth, light, and love. No matter who wrote it (though it seems like it was Paul Rice), it’s forever.
- Jacob Uitti
- 3 min
- Senior Writer
“You Are My Sunshine,” was etched into posterity on February 4, 1940, and subsequently, the recording sold over a million copies in America alone. Later, as it crossed the Atlantic for a British release. King George VI was said to have declared it as his favorite song.
The song You Are My Sunshine was written by Jimmie Davis and was first recorded and released by The Pine Ridge Boys in 1939. It was covered by Christine Brown, Sam Pilafian & Frank Vignola, Brittany Allyn, Jessie Lee Miller and other artists.
Apr 18, 2024 · Written by Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell, You Are My Sunshine was first recorded by The Pine Ridge Boys in 1939. However, it was Gene Autry’s rendition that catapulted the song to great popularity and made it an enduring hit.