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About this cache: This cache is located in Jimmie Davis State Park in North Central Louisiana. The park is named after the 47th governor of Louisiana. James Houston Davis (September 11, 1899 – November 5, 2000) was an American singer, songwriter, and politician. After achieving fame for releasing both sacred and popular songs, Davis served as governor of Louisiana from 1944 to 1948 and again from 1960 to 1964.
Davis was a nationally popular country and gospel music singer from the 1930s into the 1960s, occasionally recording and performing as late as the early 1990s. He appeared as himself in a number of Hollywood movies. He was inducted into six halls of fame, including the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Southern Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame, and the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
In 1999, "You Are My Sunshine" was honored with a Grammy Hall of Fame Award, and the Recording Industry Association of America named it one of the Songs of the Century. "You Are My Sunshine" was ranked in 2003 as No. 73 on CMT's 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music. Virginia Shehee, a Shreveport businesswoman, philanthropist, and state senator, introduced legislation to designate "You Are My Sunshine" as the official state song.
Davis often performed during his campaign stops while running for governor of Louisiana. After being elected in 1944, he became known as the "singing governor". While governor, he had a No. 1 hit single in 1945 with "There's a New Moon Over My Shoulder". Davis recorded for the Victor Talking Machine Company, and Decca Records for decades and released more than 40 albums.
A number of his songs were used as part of motion picture soundtracks. Davis appeared in half a dozen films, including one starring Ozzie and Harriet, who had a TV series under their names. Members of Davis's last band included Allen "Puddler" Harris of Lake Charles. He had served as pianist for singer Ricky Nelson early in his career.
Davis was also a close acquaintance of the country singer-songwriter Hank Williams, with whom he co-wrote the top-10 hit "(I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle" in 1951, supposedly on a fishing day they spent together.
Davis died on November 5, 2000. He had suffered a fall in his home some ten months earlier and may have had a stroke in his last days. He is interred alongside his first wife at the Jimmie Davis Tabernacle Cemetery in his native Beech Springs community near Quitman.
The park is currently open daily from 6:00 am until 10:00 pm. There is currently a small entrance fee ($3/person) required for persons between the ages of 4 and 61.
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