Hear Morgane and Chris Stapleton Breathe New Life Into 'You Are My Sunshine' [Fresh Track]

You've heard "You Are My Sunshine" a thousand times if you've heard it once. It's not the fault of whoever originally wrote the song (there are conflicting accounts) that its vivid color might have faded through long years of use. That's the double-edged sword of being a good piece of work.

But the version by Morgane Stapleton and her husband Chris (who credits his multiple Grammy- and CMA-winning solo debut Traveller as much to her abilities as to his own) comes across almost like a new song. It's the familiar lyric, a burst of joy shot through with the grief of anticipated loss, but the Stapletons slow it way, way down, replacing the traditional bluegrass presentation with an introspective, soulful drawl. 

A staple of Stapleton's live set, a studio recording appears on Southern Family, the ambitious debut compilation due March 18 from ace producer Dave Cobb's new Elektra Records imprint Low Country Sound. "You Are My Sunshine" appears alongside cuts by Jason Isbell, Miranda Lambert, Anderson East, Brandy Clark and many others, and the track premiered over at NPR Music on Friday. Check it out after the jump.

http://www.npr.org/player/embed/466186106/466200256