WEEK 3: YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE

Louisiana Gov. Jimmie Davis

The song for this week--You Are My Sunshine. Listen to the version on S&P download--by Jimmy Davis, former governor of Louisiana, with a prior music career  (you can look into this).

https://berkeley.box.com/s/8yvg04lwanoqngvxkh1n4hn1aepn3ikb

Jimmy Davis sang the song on the campaign trail all over Louisiana in the year 1940. It soon became popular all over the country--and during the war. Bob Dylan at one point said that it was our best song... Why do you think this might be so?

Jimmy Davis
where from
when recorded
the history
precedents (listen to Heavenly Sunshine, see below)

black southern traditions
white southern traditions
their interweaving
learn by finding recordings as specific examples (by date)  

Look into precedents: Laura Henton's Heavenly Sunshine, a gospel song.
Laura Henton- Heavenly Sunshine - YouTube
You can hear  something of Will the Circle be Unbroken in the melody--but also the dynamics of You Are My Sunshine. (It's on youtube--and you can find this on the American Song Archive, under the Resources post on class blog.) Look for other earlier songs that may have influenced Jimmy Davis--that songs that formed his world. And check Smithsonian Global Sound to see what Folkways Records recorded.

Also listen to Ollie Gilbert's "down home" version, on Max Hunter Archive (also on Resources post). What's the difference between Ollie's version and Jimmy Davis? Why? How will this influence your new project?  You Are My Sunshine - Max Hunter Folk Song Collection - Missouri State University

You Are My Sunshine is not precisely about place. Or is it? Where does it take you, place-wise?

NOTE: Your thoughts about the ideas above--how you explore them, what you find, what sense you make of them--should be reflected on your blog sites!

Ollie Gilbert

Reading: Lomax selections in Reader, pps. 1-32. Read for tone as well as content. Look into the Lomax story (John Lomax and his son, Alan--both important--crucial--figures in American folk music.) Alan Lomax collection was published in 1960. John and Alan Lomax collection in 1947. See bibliography (on blog) for full details. As you read, or re-read, ASK THREE QUESTIONS re Lomax--post on your blog, with the beginnings of some answers...

Other versions (from YouTube). This is just a smattering of what's out there. I've followed the 50-year rule, of course--which I want you to do as well:

YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE, BY GOV. JIMMIE DAVIS - YouTube
▶ You Are My Sunshine by Gov Jimmie Davis, Scott Innes & Nelson Blanchard - LMHOF 2012 - YouTube 
▶ Gene Autry: You Are My Sunshine - YouTube

You Are My Sunshine by Mississippi John Hurt - YouTube
John Hurt's versions are a delight. We'll spend more time with all of his music later in the semester!

For a very different take, see Jerry Lee Lewis' original version for Sun Records--its own kind of raunchy classic... Jerry Lee Lewis - You Are My Sunshine - YouTube