“You Are My Sunshine” is one of the most widely-recognized songs in all of music. Originally recorded by country artist Jimmie Davis, “You Are My Sunshine” held on to its country identity for a while. But eventually, the song’s popularity allowed it to transcend multiple genres.
Over the decades, “You Are My Sunshine” has been recorded by a wide array of artists, including everyone from Nat King Cole to Johnny Cash. The song has merged back into popularity in recent years, due in large part to country star Chris Stapleton and his wife, Morgane.
Anyone who’s watched Chris perform has noticed that Morgane is always right there by his side. While she sings backing vocals on most of his songs, she’s the one who takes the lead on their version of “You Are My Sunshine.”
Chris and Morgane’s recording of “You Are My Sunshine” appears on the compilation album Southern Family, which was released in March 2016. But the couple had been performing the song long before that, and it’s been a staple of Chris’ live shows for years.
However, no one really knew about their version prior to late 2015, which is when Stapleton shot to fame following his performance at the CMA Awards. So imagine our surprise when we came across a video from 2014 of a duo singing “You Are My Sunshine” much like Chris and Morgane.
Courtney Arnold and Jake Vanover decided to sit down one day and record themselves performing the American classic. The two took a seat across from one another in the living room, with Jake playing his acoustic guitar to kick things off.
The two seemed nervous as they moved into their performance, but they really shouldn’t have been! We had chills as soon as they started singing, because the harmony on their first note was something from out of this world.
Courtney and Jake sang together for a while before Courtney took the lead on the next part. Her voice is soft and sweet, yet she is also able to belt out the high notes with ease.
At the end of the performance, you’ll hear someone proclaim that the duo’s cover needs to be on YouTube. Well it’s there, and now we have it here to share with you!
Every second of this performance is one worth watching. Tune into the clip below to witness an outstanding showcase of talent unfold before your eyes.