John Gasquet took this photograph on Inauguration Day of Governor Jimmie Davis riding his palomino mare Sunshine to the top of the steps of the Louisiana State Capitol on May 10, 1960.
It was May 10, 1960, and Jimmie Davis was about to be sworn in for his second term as governor of Louisiana.
Although Davis was the politician par excellence, he was also an entertainer, best known for his hit “You Are My Sunshine.”
It is correct to call the song an all-time hit, because musicologists have ranked it as the second most famous song in the world. Not in the country, but in the entire world.
The number one song? Well, that would be “Happy Birthday.”
Jimmie Davis during his first term as governor from 1944 to 1948
But May 10 was not Davis’ birthday, but the day he was to take the reins of the state, namely after leading his faithful palomino mare Sunshine onto the steps of the Louisiana State Capitol.
As an entertainer, he could not let the event pass without great fanfare. His white cowboy hat crowned the western outfit that he often wore when performing with his country and western band.
All of this got Julia Davis of Baton Rouge thinking about Davis’s performance on Inauguration Day. She had always heard that Davis rode his horse up the steps, but…
“Did he ride his horse down the steps?” she asked. “And why?”
The question is: why did he do it in the first place?
After a hectic campaign, gubernatorial candidate Jimmie H. Davis relaxes on his farm, mounts “Sunshine,” a Tennessee Walking Horse, and tends his 400 head of cattle in Newellton with his friend Grady Rasberry, a poultry farmer from Jonesboro.
Pineville historian Michael Wynne, who grew close to the singing governor through hours of visits and interviews, said Davis brought Sunshine to the Capitol that morning as a publicity stunt.
“Not only did he ride Sunshine up the stairs, he rode the horse into the grand Memorial Hall and up to the door of the governor’s office, which was then on the first floor,” said Wynne, who compiled his interviews with Davis in the 2020 book “A Life Of Sunshine: Remembrances of the Extraordinary Life of Louisiana Governor James H. ‘Jimmie’ Davis.” “And yes, he rode Sunshine back down the stairs.”
A horse trailer was waiting for Sunshine below.
One of Jimmie Davis’ saddles is on permanent display at the Louisiana State Archives.
“And Sunshine was probably ready to go in,” Wynne said. “It was a total drama with newsreels and everything. I once saw a very poor quality photo of Jimmie Davis and Sunshine outside the governor’s office. It wasn’t a good picture because the lighting in the Capitol was bad. I haven’t seen the photo since and I’m not sure where it is.”
Wynne noted that the governor’s office was moved to the fourth floor after Davis completed his second term as governor in 1964.
And when Sunshine died years later, Davis buried the beloved animal on his family’s Jackson Parish farm in northeast Louisiana.
Davis himself was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1972 and 1999, and “You Are My Sunshine” received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award. The Recording Industry Association of America also named the song one of the songs of the century.
Jimmie Davis on guitar. The former governor of Louisiana was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1972.
Davis’ third attempt to become governor was thwarted by the then up-and-coming Edwin Edwards, who made Baton Rouge his permanent residence.
Davis died on November 5, 2000. He was 101 years old.
Although the former governor donated many of his memorabilia to the Louisiana State Archives before his death, one of the saddles he rode Sunshine on is on permanent display at the Old Governor’s Mansion in Louisiana.
“Southeastern Louisiana University approached him and he donated a lot of stuff to them as well, including one of his saddles,” Wynne said. “You know, when you’re a rider, you have more than one saddle.”
