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 ...

“You Are My Sunshine: Jimmie Davis and the Biography of a Song,” by Robert Mann, Louisiana State University Press, 216 pages “You Are My Sunshine" is one of the most popular songs in the world.

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.

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.