Sunshine Sue

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."

Early years The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Grant Higdon, and on the weekly Kentucky Play Party.

Workman went to WRVA in Richmond, Virginia, in 1940, having the five-days-a-week Sunshine Sue & Her Rangers program that began as a local show and later was carried by approximately 40 other stations via the Mutual Broadcasting System. Besides the network broadcast, the program was carried daily on WRVA. She served as MC of the program in addition to singing and playing guitar and organ. 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!

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".

In 1953, Workman had a 5-minute Sunshine Sue afternoon program on CBS radio. She also performed in the Broadway show Hayride (1954). In the late 1950s, she had a program, Sunshine Sue and Her Rangers, on WRVA-TV in Richmond.

In 1963, Workman retired after having a heart attack. They had a son, Bill, and a daughter, Ginger, and they remained wed until her death.

Recognition Workman was a 1972-1973 honorary inductee of the Virginia Country Music Hall of Fame.