Shine (1910 song)
Shine is a popular song with lyrics by Cecil Mack and Tin Pan Alley songwriter Lew Brown and music by Ford Dabney. The song was first published as That's Why They Call Me Shine in 1910, with Mack and Dabney credited as the only writers. At the time of the initial publication, Mack was already established in the world of African-American popular songwriting, having worked on hits with Chris Smith, while Dabney had not written a hit song. The 1910 version of the song was published by African-American owned firm Gotham-Attucks Music Publishing Company, and used by Aida Overton Walker in His Honor the Barber, an African-American road show. According to Perry Bradford, himself a songster and publisher, the original version of 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 of 1900.
In 1924, the revised version ("Shine") crediting both Mack and Lew Brown for the lyrics was published by Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., a Tin Pan Alley firm that was publishing songs by Lew Brown at the time. The 1924 version has an entirely new lyric for the chorus and verses, and completely new music for the verses. In the chorus, the new lyric shifts the narrative from that of an African-American person who likes to "take troubles smiling, never whine" to a less-specific narrative about smiling and keeping shoes and rooms tidy as a way to achieve happiness. Likewise, the 1924 verse lyric replaces the theme of ignoring derogatory name-calling with a story about a poor shoeshiner who "had a grin guaranteed to bring the business in." Some sheet music editions with the 1924 copyright feature both chorus lyrics, while others feature only the newer lyric co-credited to Lew Brown. The 1910 verse lyrics did not get reprinted after the version of the lyrics with Lew Brown as co-writer were introduced. Also changed for the 1924 edition of the song was the length of the chorus, which in the 1910 version had been 30 bars with an ABAC structure. In the 1910 version, the "B" section was an unusual 6 bars in length. (In both versions, A1 and A2 differ slightly.) For the 1924 version, the structure of the chorus was changed to the more standard thirty-two-bar form, still with the ABAC structure.
The song was recorded by jazz and jazz-influenced artists such as The California Ramblers (their version was very popular in 1924), Louis Armstrong (recorded March 9, 1931 for Okeh Records, catalog No. 41486), Ella Fitzgerald (recorded November 19, 1936 for Decca Records – catalog. No. 1062), Benny Goodman, Harry James, and Frankie Laine (1947 and 1957 – the 1947 version reached No. 9 in the Billboard charts), usually without the sectional verse that introduces the song's narrator.
Bing Crosby & 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 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 the Major Bowes Amateur Hour.
Albert Nicholas, clarinet, with The Big Chief Jazz Band recorded it in Oslo on August 29, 1955. It was 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.
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.