Song:What's The Matter With Deep Elem?
Album:Western Swing: The Absolutely Essential 3 CD Collection
Here's a little slice of late 30s Western Swing that seems obscure compared to some of the stars of the era. But The Sunshine Boys have a long history first in Western Swing and then in Gospel. They were formed in 1938 by John "Tennessee" Smith and his brother A.L. "Smitty" Smith, known as The Smith Brothers along with Milton "Ace" Richman and Pat Patterson. They met in Columbus, OH and performed on radio stations in Atlanta and Macon. What's The Matter With Deep Elem? was recorded around this time and was written by session musicians Slim Harbart and Moon Mullican. Pat Patterson left The Sunshine Boys when he was drafted in 1942 and was replaced by Eddie Wallace who had a gospel background. They continued to perform on the radio as The Sunshine Boys and The Light Crust Dough Boys. And they even went to Hollywood and appeared in some B westerns. By the late 40s, The Smith Brothers wanted to perform country music as opposed to gospel. So they left and had a long career as a duo. Richman and Wallace brought in JD Sumner and Fred Daniel and The Sunshine Boys became a gospel group. In the 50s, they recorded for Decca and even had their own TV show and were the first gospel group to play Las Vegas. Apparently they are still around and Eddie Wallace still leads The Sunshine Boys. But they started out in Western Swing and you can get What's The Matter With Deep Elem? on this 3CD various artists comp. Thanks to Grand Ole Gospel Reunion for the info about The Sunshine Boys. Here's a video for What's The Matter With Deep Elem? by The Sunshine Boys.
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