''Shine'' (originally titled ''That's Why They Call Me Shine'') is a

popular song Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Funk ...

with lyrics by

Cecil Mack Cecil Mack (November 6, 1873 – August 1, 1944) was an American composer, lyricist and music publisher. Biography Born as Richard Cecil McPherson in Portsmouth, Virginia, he attended the Norfolk Mission College and Lincoln University in Pennsyl ...

and

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of History of music publishing, music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the American popular music, popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It origin ...

songwriter

Lew Brown Lew Brown (born Louis Brownstein; December 10, 1893 – February 5, 1958) was a lyricist for popular songs in the United States. During World War I and the Roaring Twenties, he wrote lyrics for several of the top Tin Pan Alley composers, esp ...

and music by Ford Dabney. It was published in 1910 by the

Gotham-Attucks Music Publishing Company The Gotham-Attucks Music Publishing Company ("The House of Melody") was an African-American owned firm based in Manhattan, New York, that was formed July 15, 1905, by merger of the Gotham Music Company and the Attucks Music Publishing Company. The ...

and used by

Aida Overton Walker Aida Overton Walker (February 14, 1880 – October 11, 1914), also billed as Ada Overton Walker and as "The Queen of the Cakewalk", was an American vaudeville performer, actress, singer, dancer, choreographer, and wife of vaudevillian George ...

in ''His Honor the Barber'', an African-American road show. According to

Perry Bradford Perry Bradford (February 14, 1893, Montgomery, Alabama – April 20, 1970, New York City) was an American composer, songwriter, and vaudeville performer. His most notable songs included "Crazy Blues," "That Thing Called Love," and "You Can't Kee ...

, himself a songster and publisher, the song was written about an actual man named Shine who was with George Walker when they were badly beaten during the New York City

race riot This is a list of ethnic riots by country, and includes riots based on ethnic, sectarian, xenophobic, and racial conflict. Some of these riots can also be classified as pogroms. Africa Americas United States Nativist period: 1700 ...

of 1900. It was later recorded by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

and jazz influenced artists such as The California Ramblers (their version was very popular in 1924),

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and Singing, vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and se ...

(recorded March 9, 1931 for Okeh Records, catalog No. 41486),

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

(recorded November 19, 1936 for Decca Records - catalog. No. 1062),

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His conc ...

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...

, and

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final ...

(1947 and 1957 - the 1947 version reached No. 9 in the Billboard charts), usually without the explanatory introduction.

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

The Mills Brothers The Mills Brothers, sometimes billed the Four Mills Brothers, and originally known as the Four Kings of Harmony, were an American jazz and traditional pop vocal quartet who made more than 2,000 recordings that sold more than 50 million copies an ...

recorded the song on February 29, 1932 with Studio orchestra conducted by

Victor Young Albert Victor Young (August 8, 1899– November 10, 1956)"Victor Young, Composer, Dies of Heart Attack", ''Oakland Tribune'', November 12, 1956. was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. Biography Young is commonly said to ...

. It was issued on

Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History From 1916 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing prod ...

11376-A, a

78 rpm record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

and it is assessed by Joel Whitburn as reaching the No. 7 position in the charts of the day. As a member of '' The Hoboken Four'', Frank Sinatra sang this song in 1935 on

Major Bowes Amateur Hour The ''Major Bowes Amateur Hour'' was an American radio talent show broadcast in the 1930s and 1940s, created and hosted by Edward Bowes (1874–1946). Selected performers from the program participated in touring vaudeville performances, under ...

Albert Nicholas Albert Nicholas (May 27, 1900 – September 3, 1973) was an American jazz clarinet player. Career Nicholas's primary instrument was the clarinet, which he studied with Lorenzo Tio in his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Late ...

, clarinet, with ''The Big Chief Jazz Band'' recorded it in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

on August 29, 1955. Released on the

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...

P 53037 H. Joe Brown and The Bruvvers recorded the song in 1961 and reached the British charts with a peak position of No. 33.

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray was the fir ...

included this song on her 1976 Capitol Records album, '' Keeping in Touch''. Ry Cooder recorded the song complete with introduction in 1978 (see below). Spanish vocal quartet Los Rosillo, recorded a Spanish version, with the original spoken intro, in their debut album in 1988.

Louis Armstrong version

The song was performed in a film short '' A Rhapsody in Black and Blue'' by Armstrong. The 1931 recording by Armstrong with his Sebastian New Cotton Club Orchestra is a subset of the complete lyric of the 1910 version and the expanded later version, with added

scat singing In vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. In scat singing, the singer improvises melodies and rhythms using the voice as an instrument rather than a speaking medium. ...

and long

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...

ending: :: nstrumental opening ~35 sec. ::''Oh chocolate drop, that’s me'' ::''’Cause, my hair is curly'' ::''Just because my teeth are pearly'' ::''Just because I always wear a smile'' ::''Like to dress up in the latest style'' ::''’Cause I’m glad I’m livin’'' ::''Take troubles all with a smile'' ::''Just because my color's shady'' ::''Makes no difference, baby'' ::''That’s why they call me "Shine"'' :: epeat words with scat and straight jazz instrumental ~2 min. SHINE (That's Why They Call Me Shine) (Cecil Mack, Lew Brown)

Ry Cooder version with original introduction

On his 1978 album ''

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

'', Ry Cooder performed the song in a "52nd Street" small band setting, with the introductory verse that explains what the song is all about. He noted that it had been written in 1910 near the end of the "

Coon song Coon songs were a genre of music that presented a stereotype of black people. They were popular in the United States and Australia from around 1880 to 1920, though the earliest such songs date from minstrel shows as far back as 1848, when they we ...

era", and described it as a unique comment on the

black face Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people, Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of ...

sensibilities of that genre. *INTRODUCTION: ::''When I was born they christened me plain Samuel Johnson Brown'' ::''But I hadn't grown so very big, 'fore some folks in this town'' ::''Had changed it 'round to "Sambo"; I was "Rastus" to a few'' ::''Then "Chocolate Drop" was added by some others that I knew'' ::''And then to cap the climax, I was strolling down the line'' ::''When someone shouted, "Fellas, hey! Come on and pipe the shine!"'' ::''But I don't care a bit. Here's how I figure it:'' ::''Well, just because my hair is curly'' ::''And just because my teeth are pearly'' ::''Just because I always wear a smile'' ::''Likes to dress up in the latest style*'' ::''Just because I'm glad I'm livin' '' ::''Take trouble smilin', never whine'' ::''Just because my color's shady'' ::''Slightly different maybe'' ::''That's why they call me shine.'' *ALTERNATIVE LINE: :''Wear my jeans like a man of means (he always dresses in the latest style).'' Also included in Ken Burns: A Jazz Collection Documentary and three disc related collection music album

Film appearances

*1931 A Rhapsody in Black and Blue - performed by Louis Armstrong and band *1941 Birth of the Blues - sung by Bing Crosby *1942 Casablanca - the song is sung by Sam (

Dooley Wilson Arthur "Dooley" Wilson (April 3, 1886 – May 30, 1953) was an American actor, singer and musician who is best remembered for his portrayal of Sam in the 1942 film ''Casablanca (film), Casablanca''. In that romantic drama, he performs its theme ...

) and the band at Rick's Cafe in the movie. *1943 Cabin in the Sky John William Sublett (aka

John W. Bubbles John William Sublett (February 19, 1902 – May 18, 1986), known by his stage name John W. Bubbles, was an American tap dancer, vaudevillian, movie actor, and television performer. He performed in the duo "Buck and Bubbles", who were the fi ...

) animates "Shine" brilliantly in a song-and-dance number in the movie. *1955

The Benny Goodman Story Dick Winslow ''The Benny Goodman Story'' is a biographical film starring Steve Allen and Donna Reed, directed by Valentine Davies, and released by Universal-International in 1956. The film was intended as a follow-up to Universal's 1954 hit '' Th ...

- performed on trumpet by

. *1956

The Eddy Duchin Story ''The Eddy Duchin Story'' is a 1956 Technicolor film biopic of band leader and pianist Eddy Duchin. It was directed by George Sidney, written by Samuel A. Taylor, and starred Tyrone Power and Kim Novak. Harry Stradling received an Academy Award ...

- performed by Tyrone Power as Eddy Duchin and Rex Thompson as Peter Duchin with accompaniment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shine (1910 Song) 1910 songs Jazz songs Songs with lyrics by Cecil Mack Louis Armstrong songs Frankie Laine songs Songs with lyrics by Lew Brown Okeh Records singles