Each put in $17.50.” If that is to be believed that it would be clear that Paul Rice wrote the song and then, needing money, sold it. Said Rice, “I wrote ‘You Are my Sunshine’ in 1937.

The official state song is “ Give Me Louisiana,” written in 1970 by Doralice Fontane, and not only former Gov. Jimmie Davis’ version of “ You Are My Sunshine, ” as many thought.

Robert Mann’s 10th book, “You Are My Sunshine: Jimmie Davis & the Biography of a Song,” wraps musicology and social and political history into 161 concise pages. Straightforward though ...

Every night before bed, I sing my kids this song: “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my ...

He earned a master's degree from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and started a career in music and politics. And he penned the song, "You Are My Sunshine" in 1940 earning a Grammy Award.

Ray Charles's rendition of "You Are My Sunshine" helped disassociate it from its connection to segregation. The song's journey to becoming Louisiana's state song is detailed in Mann's book.