Johnny and the Hurricanes were an American instrumental rock and roll band … Read Full Bio ↴Johnny and the Hurricanes were an American instrumental rock and roll band from Toledo, Ohio, that had a number of hits, especially in the UK, in the 1950s and early 1960s.

They began as the Orbits in Toledo in 1957. Led by saxophonist Johnny Paris (born John Matthew Pocisk in Walbridge, Ohio, 29 August 1940 - 1 May 2006, Ann Arbor, Michigan), they were school friends who played on a few recordings behind Mack Vickery, a local rockabilly singer.

They signed with Harry Balk and Irving Micahnik of Twirl Records, which led to national engagements in 1959. Johnny and the Hurricanes recorded "Crossfire" in a vacant cinema to provide echo. It became a nationwide U.S. hit, and ranked No. 23 in the U.S. chart in the summer of 1959.

Johnny and the Hurricanes followed with "Red River Rock", an instrumental version of "Red River Valley", on Warwick Records, that became a top ten hit on both sides of the Atlantic (No. 5 in the U.S., No. 3 in the UK), and sold over a million copies. The musicians in the band then were Paris on saxophone, Paul Tesluk on a Hammond Chord organ, Dave Yorko on guitar, Lionel "Butch" Mattice on bass, and Bill "Little Bo" Savich on drums.

They specialised in versions of old tunes with a rock and roll beat. They chose these songs because they were well recognized and easier to accept with the beat. Tunes were credited to 'King, Mack' and usually one other name: King and Mack were in fact pseudonyms for Harry Balk and Irving Micahnik, the band's managers. In 1960, they recorded the United States Army bugle call, "Reveille", as "Reveille Rock", and turned "Blue Tail Fly" into "Beatnik Fly". Both tunes made the Top 40 achieving number 15 and 25 respectively. The band also recorded "Down Yonder" for Big Top Records. In the same year, they recorded "When The Saints Go Marching In" as "Revival", but it ranked in the charts for just one week, peaking at No. 97. The record was flipped over in the UK, where "Rocking Goose" reached No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart.

The band developed a following in Europe. In 1962, they played at the Star-Club in Hamburg, where the Beatles, then a little-known band, served as an opening act. Johnny and the Hurricanes cut records until 1987, with "Old Smokie" (their cover of "On Top of Old Smokey"), and an original tune, "Traffic Jam", both on Big Top Records, being their last releases to chart in America. Johnny Paris, the only constant member of the band, continued to tour with his Hurricanes in Europe and the United States until his death. He had an uncle, a realtor, in Rossford, Ohio, Johnny's home town, who owned a building on the main street and offered Johnny's first wife, Sharon Venier-Pocisk, space for an antique shop. When not on the road he helped out with the antique shop and vending machine business as payment for the store front for his first wife.

Johnny Paris and his band toured Europe occasionally until the end of 2005. He died on 1 May 2006 at the University Clinic of Ann Arbor, Michigan, of hospital-borne infections after an operation. Paris's second wife and widow, the German journalist, novelist and vocalist Sonja Verena (Reuter) Paris, took over his business (Atila Records, Sirius 1 Music and Johnny and the Hurricanes Incorporated) and the rights to his songs and trademarks. Paris claimed that over 300 musicians played in the band in its fifty-year existence.

The band inspired the song "Johnny and the Hurricanes" on the album How I Learned to Love the Bootboys, by the band the Auteurs. They were also namechecked in the Kinks' 1973 song "One of the Survivors", and in "Bridge in Time" on the 1990 Burton Cummings album Plus Signs.

Drummer Bill "Little Bo" Savich died on 4 January 2002. Bassist Lionel "Butch" Mattice died on October 16, 2006. Guitarist David Yorko died on 17 February 2017 at the age of 73.

You Are My Sunshine
Johnny & The Hurricanes Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You are my sunshine my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You'll never know dear how much I love you
So please don't take my sunshine away

I'll always love you and make you happy
If you will only say the same
But if you leave me for another

You'll regret it all some day

You are my sunshine my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You'll never know dear how much I love you
So please don't take my sunshine away

The other night dear, as I lay sleeping
I dreamed I held you in my arms
But when I awoke, dear, I was mistaken
I was peeping through the bars

You are my sunshine my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You'll never know dear how much I love you
So please don't take my sunshine away

You are my sunshine my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You'll never know dear how much I love you

So please don't take my sunshine away
So please don't take my sunshine away

Overall Meaning

"You Are My Sunshine" is a love song that speaks to the importance of a loved one in your life, someone who brings happiness even during difficult times. The song opens by acknowledging the impact that the person has on the singer's life, as they bring joy even during the "grey" and dreary moments. The second verse reveals that the singer is deeply in love with this person, and wants to always make them happy. However, there is also a fear here that the loved one might leave, which would lead to a great sense of regret down the line.

The third and final verse tells a story of a dream, where the singer holds their love in their arms. But they quickly realize that it is just a dream when they wake up "peeping through the bars." It's unclear what the bars represent, but they could symbolize the distance between the singer and their loved one, or perhaps the singer's own feelings of being trapped or confined.

Overall, "You Are My Sunshine" is a song about the depth of love and the fear of loss. It's a testament to the power of a special person in our lives, and a reminder to hold onto them tightly.

Line by Line Meaning

You are my sunshine my only sunshine
You are the light that brightens my days and makes my life worth living. Without you, my days would be dark and meaningless.

You make me happy when skies are grey
You bring joy and happiness into my life, even when things aren't going well for me. You are the ray of sunshine that helps me see the bright side of things.

You'll never know dear how much I love you
I don't always show it, but I love you deeply and profoundly. Words cannot express the depth of my feelings for you.

So please don't take my sunshine away
Please don't leave me, because without you in my life, I would be lost and alone. You are my everything, and I can't imagine life without you.

I'll always love you and make you happy
I promise to always love you and do whatever it takes to keep you happy. Your happiness is my top priority, and I will always put you first.

If you will only say the same
All I ask is that you reciprocate my love and devotion. If you love me as much as I love you, we can have a beautiful and happy life together.

But if you leave me for another
If you ever decide to leave me for someone else, you will regret it eventually. You will realize that no one else can give you the love and happiness that I can.

You are my sunshine my only sunshine
You are the most important person in my life, and I can't imagine living without you. You are the sunshine that brightens my days and makes life worth living.

The other night dear, as I lay sleeping
I had a dream about you the other night, as I slept peacefully. In my dream, we were together and happy, just like we used to be.

I dreamed I held you in my arms
In my dream, I held you tightly in my arms, and we were both filled with love and happiness. The feeling was so real that I never wanted to wake up.

But when I awoke, dear, I was mistaken
When I woke up from my dream, I realized that it wasn't real. It was just a figment of my imagination, and the reality without you was not as joyful.

I was peeping through the bars
In my dream, I felt as though I was trapped, behind some sort of bars. It made me feel helpless and alone, like I was locked away from the person I loved the most.

So please don't take my sunshine away
You are everything to me, and I can't imagine living without you. Please don't leave me, because without you, my life would be incomplete and empty.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JOHN S HURT

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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