Louisiana

Fourteen-year-old James Houston Davis, the music-loving son of a poor sharecropper, is determined to get a good education and help improve life in his beloved state of Louisiana. With help from his self-sacrificing parents, Jimmie graduates from Beech Springs High School and is accepted at Louisiana College. After financing his way through college by working odd jobs and selling songs he has written, Jimmie graduates with a B.A. and returns to teach at Beech Springs High. The next year he enrolls at Louisiana State University and earns his Master's degree. He becomes a history and social-sciences professor at the all-female Dodd College in Shreveport, where he meets Charlie Mitchell, a jazz-band leader who recognizes Jimmie's musical talent and tricks him into agreeing to sing one of his songs on his radio show. Sure that Jimmie will be a hit, Charlie connives to increase the small station's broadcast range, and Jimmie's performance is heard all the way to Alaska. Jimmie's singing is also heard at Dodd, and the college's understanding but traditional president, Dr. M. E. Dodd, reluctantly asks Jimmie to choose between teaching and music. Urged by both Charlie and Alvern Adams, an intelligent young woman whom Charlie has introduced to Jimmie, to pursue his singing career, Jimmie resigns from Dodd. Jimmie marries Alvern soon after, and while still singing and composing, he takes a job as the court clerk of Shreveport. He is then asked to run for police commissioner of Shreveport. Although Jimmie is wary of entering politics, Alvern persuades him that he is the best man for the job. Uncomfortable with speech-making, Jimmie sings with his band during his rallies and easily wins the election. Immediately afterward, Tomlins, a Shreveport racketeer, tries to bribe Jimmie into allowing him to continue his illegal gaming activities, but Jimmie refuses. Jimmie then leads a series of raids against Tomlins, and the racketeer is eventually sentenced to a two-year prison term. His leadership abilities recognized, Jimmie is asked to run as the state's public service commissioner--and wins. At the same time, Jimmie and Charlie's tune "You Are My Sunshine" is recorded by Bing Crosby and becomes a nationwide hit. To celebrate Jimmie's hefty royalty check, Jimmie, Alvern, and Charlie, who is now Jimmie's campaign manager, go to an elegant restaurant in New Orleans, where Jimmie is approached by political boss Fred Astor. Astor and the state political machine offer Jimmie the nomination for governor, as well as $100,000, but Jimmie, fearing corruption, declines the offer. Alvern urges Jimmie to run for governor as an independent, but he refuses, sure he would be defeated by Astor's machine and refuses. Alvern's disappointment in his decision causes Jimmie to return home to Beech Springs and seek the advice of his father. After Mr. Davis counsels his son to run for governor if he desires the honor of the office more than the greed, Jimmie announces his candidacy. As Jimmie grows more and more popular around the state, Astor and his candidate, Leonard Herman, grow more and more nervous. Hoping to find something scandalous from his past, Astor orders an investigation into Jimmie's background. When the search yields nothing, Herman plays an old, somewhat risque' record of Jimmie's, "Bang, Bang," during one of his rallies. Instead of being outraged by the song, the crowd cheers and starts dancing to the music. The day of the election is plagued by severe rainstorms, and Jimmie, whose main support is in the state's rural areas, fears defeat. Despite the inclement weather, Jimmie's supporters make their way to the polls, and Jimmie wins by a landslide.