The Sunshine Boys [US1]

Aliases: Sunshine Boys Quartet
Country: United States
Comments: The Sunshine Boys were formed in Macon, Georgia in the late 1930s as a country & western band. The original four members were John "Tennessee" Smith (tenor), his brother A.L. "Smitty" Smith (lead), Milton "Ace" Richman (bass), and Pat Patterson (baritone). Patterson was replaced by Eddie Wallace in 1942. Wallace had a gospel background so they added that to their reportoire.

They would perform on the radio as two personas - a Western Swing band called "Light Crust Doughboys", and a gospel act called "Sunshine Boys". In 1945 they moved to California and began appearing in Western movies as the Sunshine Boys.

In the latter 1940s they recorded a number of gospel songs and the band membership changed as some wanted to stay with the C&W style so they departed. Henceforth, gospel was the band's main reportoire.

In the 1950s they signed with Decca and would be asked to record with other artists, with their biggest success backing Red Foley on his "Peace in the Valley" single.
Member: J.D. Sumner Bass vocals (1949-1954)

Originals

		Title	Performer	Release date	Covered by
		I Was There When It Happened	Jimmie Davis with The Sunshine Boys	July 1955	(11 artists)

Title	Performer	Release date	Originally by
Goodnight Irene	Red Foley and Ernest Tubb with The Sunshine Trio	July 1950	Lead Belly REL, Leadbelly REC
He Was There	The Sunshine Boys [US1]	1958	Ken Curtis and The Top Hands
Jesus Hits Like the Atom Bomb	Sunshine Boys Quartet	April 1950	The Charming Bells
Precious Memories	Sunshine Boys Quartet	April 1950	Simmons Sacred Singers REL, Turkey Mountain Singers REC
Satisfied	The Sunshine Boys [US1]	1958	Martha Carson and The Gospel Singers
Strange Things Happening Every Day	Red Foley with The Sunshine Boys Quartet	May 1955	Sister Rosetta Tharpe
There'll Be Peace in the Valley for Me	Red Foley with The Sunshine Boys Quartet	June 1951	Flying Clouds of Detroit
We Need a Lot More of Jesus (And a Lot Less Rock and Roll)	The Sunshine Boys [US1]	May 1960	Wayne Raney

	Title	Performer	Release date	Label
	The Sunshine Boys Sing Their Most Popular Spirituals, Hymns, and Gospel Songs	The Sunshine Boys [US1]	1958	Dot Records
	The Word	The Sunshine Boys [US1]	May 1960	Starday Records

Title	Performer	Release date	Label
Goodnight Irene	Red Foley and Ernest Tubb with The Sunshine Trio	July 1950	Decca
Have a Little Talk with Jesus - Strange Things Happening Every Day	Red Foley and Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Red Foley with The Sunshine Boys Quartet	May 1955	Decca
Jesus Hits Like the Atom Bomb	Sunshine Boys Quartet	April 1950	Decca
There'll Be Peace in the Valley for Me	Red Foley with The Sunshine Boys Quartet	June 1951	Decca
When the Savior Reached Down for Me	Jimmie Davis with The Sunshine Boys	July 1955	Decca