<P> Although the frequency of its recording dropped off as the century progressed, "My Old Kentucky Home" continued to be used as material by some of the major popular singers of the day . Versions were recorded by Kate Smith, Bing Crosby, and Al Jolson . A version by operatic contralto Marian Anderson was released in Japan and Paul Robeson recorded his version for an English company while living in London in the late 1920s . The song continued to find expression in non-traditional forms, including a New Orleans jazz version by Louis Armstrong and a swing version by Gene Krupa . For a listing of some other recorded versions of the song, see External links . </P> <P> In 2001, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Recording Industry Association of America promulgated a list of the 365 "Songs of the Century" that best displayed "historical significance of not only the song but also of the record and artist". "My Old Kentucky Home" appeared on that list (the only song written by Foster to do so), represented by the 1908 recording of operatic soprano Geraldine Farrar (Victor Records 88238). </P> <P> By the time that commercial music began to be recorded, the verse melody of "My Old Kentucky Home" had become so widely known that recording artists sometimes quoted it in material that was otherwise unrelated to Foster's song . Henry Burr's 1921 recording of "Kentucky Home" quotes the melody in an interlude midway through the record . And vaudeville singer Billy Murray's 1923 recording of "Happy and Go - Lucky in My Old Kentucky Home" adds the melody in the record's finale . An earlier recording by Murray, 1915's "We'll Have a Jubilee in My Old Kentucky Home", takes the further step of incorporating a portion of Foster's melody (but not his lyrics) into each chorus . And a few decades earlier than that, a young Charles Ives, while still a student at Yale University in the 1890s, used Foster's melody (both the verse and the chorus) as a strain in one of his marches . Ives often quoted from Foster and musicologist Clayton Henderson has detected material from "My Old Kentucky Home" in eight of his works . </P> <P> In the mid-1960s, songwriter Randy Newman used the verse of "My Old Kentucky Home" (with modified lyrics) as the chorus to his "Turpentine and Dandelion Wine". Newman recorded this adaptation for his 12 Songs album (1970, Reprise RS 6373) under the title "Old Kentucky Home". However, the adaptation had been recorded earlier at least twice . The first was by the Beau Brummels, who recorded it for their Triangle album (1967, Warner Brothers WS 1692). The second was by the Alan Price Set, who included it as the B - side to their "Love Story" single (1968, Decca F 12808). Since Newman's recording, the adaptation was covered several times more . The only version that charted was by Johnny Cash, who released it as a single from his John R. Cash album (1975, Columbia KC 33370). The single reached No. 42 on Billboard's country - music chart . Note that the various cover versions generally use slightly different titles, some adding "My" to Newman's title, others omitting "Old". Also, some use Newman's original title of "Turpentine and Dandelion Wine" as a subtitle . A more complete listing of these cover versions can be found in External links . </P>

The sun shines bright on my old kentucky home