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Jimmie Davis was the son of sharecroppers and one of 11 children. He was born in Beech Springs, Louisiana, a town that no longer exists, but was near Quitman, in Jackson Parish. Despite his family's poverty, he managed to work his way through college and eventually earned a master's degree in history. He taught at a female college in Shreveport before beginning his musical career.

Davis launched his long recording career in He was initially much influenced by bluesy country superstar Jimmie Rodgers. Davis is notable as an early country musician who performed with African-American sidemen. His recording of "Where the Old Red River Flows" was his biggest early success, but his series of risqué blues tunes later became even more prominent. All of these songs were self-composed.

"Nobody's Darling But Mine," initially recorded in , became one of the biggest country hits of the Great Depression. Even bigger was "You Are My Sunshine" (), which became a much-recorded standard and a state song of Louisiana.

His popularity as a musician led to a successful career in politics. Jimmie Davis served as the governor of Louisiana from to and then was re-elected and served his second term from to

Jimmie Davis has more than song titles to his name, including such enduring favorites as "Sweethearts or Strangers," "Shackles and Chains" and "There's a New Moon Over My Shoulder."

"You Are My Sunshine" was recorded three times prior to the Jimmie Davis version. The Rice Brothers Gang, who issued it in , were active in Shreveport, as was Davis. Paul Rice was said to be the song's author, and another claimant was Georgia singer-songwriter Oliver Hood. But Davis and his accompanist Charles Mitchell copyrighted it. To the end of his life, Davis insisted that he composed it when he was a graduate student at Louisiana State University.

He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in , the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in and the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in Jimmie Davis performed until he was age 99 and lived to be years old.