''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 songwriter Lew Brown 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 W ...

in ''His Honor the Barber'', an African-American road show. According to Perry Bradford, 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: 1700s� ...

of 1900. It was later recorded by jazz 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 vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

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

, Harry James, and

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

(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 recorded the song on February 29, 1932 with Studio orchestra conducted by Victor Young. It was issued on Brunswick Records 11376-A, a 78 rpm record and it is assessed by

Joel Whitburn Joel Carver Whitburn (November 29, 1939 – June 14, 2022) was an American author and music historian, responsible for setting up the Record Research, Inc. series of books on record chart placings. Early life Joel Carver Whitburn was born in Wau ...

as reaching the No. 7 position in the charts of the day. As a member of '' The Hoboken Four'',

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

sang this song in 1935 on Major Bowes Amateur Hour.

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 The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

, with ''The Big Chief Jazz Band'' recorded it in Oslo on August 29, 1955. Released on the 78 rpm record Philips 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 included this song on her 1976 Capitol Records album, ''

Keeping in Touch ''Keeping in Touch'' is the eleventh studio album by Canadian country pop artist Anne Murray, released in 1976. In the U.S., the album peaked at number 26 on the country album charts and number 96 on the pop albums chart, and in Canada, the al ...

''.

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, an ...

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 ''Rhapsody in Black and Blue'' is a short ten-minute film that was created and released in 1932, starring Sidney Easton"A Rhapsody in Black and Blue." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. March 8, 2013. and Fanny Belle DeKnight. It is an early example of ...

'' 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 and long instrumental 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. The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) is a method for purchasers (governments, institutions, consumers, etc.) to evaluate the effect of a product on the environment. It assesses various lifecycle environmental aspects of a dev ...

SHINE (That's Why They Call Me Shine) (Cecil Mack, Lew Brown)

Ry Cooder version with original introduction

On his 1978 album '' Jazz'',

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 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

- performed by Louis Armstrong and band *1941

Birth of the Blues ''Birth of the Blues'' is a 1941 American musical film directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring Bing Crosby, Mary Martin and Brian Donlevy. The plot loosely follows the origins and breakthrough success of the Original Dixieland Jass Band i ...

- sung by Bing Crosby *1942

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

- 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) animates "Shine" brilliantly in a song-and-dance number in the movie. *1955 The Benny Goodman Story - performed on trumpet by Harry James. *1956 The Eddy Duchin Story - 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