{{short description|American musician and radio host}} '''Mary Workman''' (born '''Mary Arlene Higdon''', November 12, 1912 – June 13, 1979), better known by the stage name '''Sunshine Sue''', was an American country music singer best known for her work on the ''Old Dominion Barn Dance'' radio program. Her obituary, distributed by the Associated Press, noted that she was "the first woman radio show emcee in the country."<ref>{{cite news |title=Country singer dies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25912277/sunshine_sue/ |work=Vidette-Messenger of Porter County |agency=Associated Press |date=June 14, 1979 |location=Indiana, Valparaiso |page=29|via = Newspapers.com|access-date = December 2, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref>
== Early years == The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Grant Higdon,<ref name="bhe" /> Workman was born in Keosauqua, Iowa.<ref name="dmt" />
== Career == She and her husband formed a country music duo that entertained on small Iowan radio stations. They gained more attention by appearing on the ''National Barn Dance'' broadcast on radio station WLS in Chicago, which was where she gained the name Sunshine Sue.<ref name="dmt" /> In 1937, she went to WHAS radio in Louisville, Kentucky, performing with her Rock Creek Rangers on the daily ''Early Morning Jamboree''<ref>{{cite news |title=Unusual Mail Response |url=https://archive.org/stream/radiodailyaprjun01unse#page/n391/mode/1up/search/%22Sunshine+Sue%22 |access-date=4 December 2018 |work=Radio Daily |date=June 10, 1937 |page=2}}</ref> and on the weekly ''Kentucky Play Party''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wiederhold |first1=George |title=Blackout on Long Commercials While Cash Customers Are Present |url=https://archive.org/stream/variety136-1939-12#page/n189/mode/2up/search/%22Sunshine+Sue%22 |access-date=4 December 2018 |work=Variety |date=December 27, 1939 |page=31}}</ref>
Workman went to WRVA in Richmond, Virginia, in 1940,<ref name=":1">{{cite news |title=Careful Grooming of Local Act |url=https://archive.org/stream/variety140-1940-10#page/n166/mode/1up/search/%22Sunshine+Sue%22 |access-date=4 December 2018 |work=Variety |date=October 16, 1940 |page=47}}</ref> having the five-days-a-week ''Sunshine Sue & Her Rangers'' program<ref>{{cite news |title=Bottler's Tips |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/41-OCR/1941-01-27-BC-OCR-Page-0045.pdf |access-date=4 December 2018 |work=Broadcasting |date=January 27, 1941 |page=45}}</ref> that began as a local show and later was carried by approximately 40 other stations via the Mutual Broadcasting System.<ref name=":1" /> Later, she became known for her work on the ''Old Dominion Barn Dance'', which was broadcast nationally on CBS radio and internationally on Armed Forces Radio.<ref name="rm">{{cite news |last1=Kollatz |first1=Harry Jr. |title='Barn' Stormer |url=https://richmondmagazine.com/news/richmond-history/sunshine-sue/ |access-date=3 December 2018 |work=Richmond Magazine |date=September 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203025334/https://richmondmagazine.com/news/richmond-history/sunshine-sue/ |archive-date=3 December 2018 |location=Virginia, Richmond}}</ref> Besides the network broadcast, the program was carried daily on WRVA.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Connelly |first1=Lyn |title=A Peek at the Stars |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25886435/the_indian_journal/ |work=The Indian Journal |date=July 23, 1951 |location=Oklahoma, Eufaula |page=3|via = Newspapers.com|access-date = December 2, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref> She served as MC of the program in addition to singing and playing guitar and organ.<ref name=":0" />
Off the air, she oversaw the ''Old Dominion Barn Dance''<nowiki/>'s financial affairs and hired talent in her role as the head of Southland Shows, Inc. (SSI).<ref name=":0">{{cite news |title=Doctors To Give Reports On Progress In 3 Fields |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25886083/the_evening_sun/ |work=The Evening Sun |date=April 23, 1953 |location=Maryland, Baltimore |page=40|via = Newspapers.com|access-date = December 2, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref> The scope of the company grew beyond the ''Barn Dance'' as it brought to Richmond Gene Autry, Tex Ritter, and other stars in addition to touring shows that included ''Annie Get Your Gun'', ''Hollywood on Ice'', and ''Oklahoma!'' <ref name="carters" />
Formation of SSI shifted control of the program from WRVA to the company. SSI—primarily Workman—selected entertainers, "signed them to exclusive contracts, polished their acts, directed them, and sold them as a package to the WRVA barn-dance show."<ref name="carters" /> That exclusivity eventually led to the departure of Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters from WRVA. For 18 months, the Carters had worked under a non-exclusive contract with WRVA, performing in other venues when they didn't have a commitment on the station. In 1948, they resigned from the station rather than be brought under a new, exclusive contract.<ref name="carters" />
To accommodate the ''Old Dominion Barn Dance'', WRVA rented the 1,300-seat Lyric Theatre in Richmond, with the highest tickets selling for 95 cents.<ref name=rm/> By 1953, in-person attendance for broadcasts had totaled more than 700,000. Workman attributed the popularity of her music to the contrast of its style with problems in the world. In a newspaper story distributed by United Press in 1953, she said:<blockquote>There's a lot of conflict and confusion in the world these days, as anyone can testify. Our kind of music is so simple, soothing, reassuring and direct that people just naturally seem to need it to give them peace of mind.<ref>{{cite news |title='Queen of Hillbillies' Pleased That Her Music Brings in 'Golden Corn' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25911045/sunshine_sue/ |work=The Tribune |date=May 11, 1953 |location=Ohio, Coshocton |page=2|via = Newspapers.com|access-date = December 2, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref></blockquote>
Workman's fans included William M. Tuck, Virginia's governor from 1946 to 1950. He reserved a private box for each Saturday night performance, often using it to entertain visiting dignitaries. He also issued an official proclamation designating Sunshine Sue "Queen of the Hillbillies".<ref name="carters">{{cite book |last1=Zwonitzer |first1=Mark |last2=Hirshberg |first2=Charles |title=Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone?: The Carter Family and Their Legacy in American Mus |date=2014 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=9781439127445 |pages=262–263 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yi2lBAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Sunshine+Sue%22&pg=PA262 |access-date=3 December 2018 |language=en}}</ref>
In 1953, Workman had a 5-minute ''Sunshine Sue'' afternoon program on CBS radio.<ref>{{cite magazine |title='People Funny' Sold by CBS |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/50s/1953/Billboard%201953-04-18.pdf |access-date=3 December 2018 |magazine=Billboard |date=April 18, 1953 |page=6}}</ref> She also performed in the Broadway show ''Hayride'' (1954).<ref>{{cite web |title=Sunshine Sue |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/sunshine-sue-478040 |website=Internet Broadway Database |publisher=The Broadway League |access-date=3 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203033104/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/sunshine-sue-478040 |archive-date=3 December 2018}}</ref> In the late 1950s, she had a program, ''Sunshine Sue and Her Rangers'', on WRVA-TV in Richmond.<ref>{{cite news |title=(WRVA-TV advertisement) |url=https://archive.org/stream/sponsor58sponno2#page/n1242/mode/1up/search/%22Sunshine+Sue%22 |work=Sponsor |date=July 26, 1958 |page=47}}</ref>
In 1963, Workman retired after having a heart attack.<ref name="dmt" />
== Personal life == On May 11, 1930, she married John Workman in Fairfield, Iowa.<ref name="bhe">{{cite news |title=Miss Mary Higdon Becomes Bride of John Edward Workman |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19088100/mary_higdon_john_workman_marriage/ |work=The Burlington Hawk-Eye |date=May 21, 1930 |location=Iowa, Burlington |page=2|via = Newspapers.com|access-date = December 2, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref> They had a son, Bill, and a daughter, Ginger, and they remained wed until her death.<ref name="dmt" />
==Death== On June 13, 1979, Workman died in a hospital in Richmond, Virginia, following complications resulting from a series of strokes. She was 66.<ref name="dmt">{{cite news |title=Iowan 'Sunshine Sue' of radio fame dies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25885176/sunshine_sue/ |work=Des Moines Tribune |agency=Associated Press |date=June 14, 1979 |location=Iowa, Des Moines |page=8|via = Newspapers.com|access-date = December 2, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref>
==Recognition== Workman was a 1972-1973 honorary inductee of the Virginia Country Music Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hall of Fame |url=https://vafolkmusic.squarespace.com/hall-of-fame/ |website=Virginia Folk Music Association |access-date=3 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203015210/https://vafolkmusic.squarespace.com/hall-of-fame/ |archive-date=3 December 2018}}</ref>
==References== {{Portal|Biography|Music|Radio}} {{Reflist}}
Category:1912 births Category:1979 deaths Category:20th-century American women singers Category:Country musicians from Iowa Category:20th-century American singers Category:American radio personalities