Harry Barris (November 24, 1905 – December 13, 1962) was an American popular singer and songwriter. He was one of the earliest singers to use "scat singing" in recordings. Barris, one of Paul Whiteman's Rhythm Boys, along with Bing Crosby and Al Rinker, scatted on several songs, including "Mississippi Mud," which Barris wrote in 1927.
Biography
Barris was born to Jewish parents in New York City. Gary Giddins described him as "small, wiry, and moon-faced with glittery eyes, and dark hair slicked back and parted in the middle."[1] He was educated in Denver, Colorado. Barris became a professional pianist at the age of 14.[2] He led a band which toured the Far East at the age of 17.[3]
Barris married Hazelle Thompson in 1925 and they had a daughter, Hazelle Barris, in 1926.
The same year, Barris played the piano and occasionally sang in Paul Ash's orchestra.[4] In the same year, Al Rinker and Bing Crosby became members of Paul Whiteman's Orchestra as a singing duo. However, appearing at the vast New York Paramount in February 1927, where there were no microphones, they could not be heard by the audience. They were promptly dropped from the bill. However, a band member who knew Barris suggested that they add him to make a trio and The Rhythm Boys were formed in April 1927.[5]
In 1930, Barris divorced Hazelle Thompson. The Rhythm Boys left Paul Whiteman the same year and joined Gus Arnheim's Cocoanut Grove Orchestra. They made one more recording together, "Them There Eyes" (November 20, 1930),[6] but the boys decided to quit in May 1931 and they went their separate ways. However, Barris changed his mind and returned to the Cocoanut Grove to complete his contract.[7] Barris joined Arnheim's singing group The Three Ambassadors. Barris met Loyce Whiteman, who also sang with the Orchestra, and married her in 1931. They appear together in an episode of Rambling 'Round Radio Row. They had one daughter, Marti Barris, who also became a musician. They divorced in 1946.
Barris appeared in 57 films between 1931 and 1950, usually as a band member, pianist and/or singer. Seven of those films had Bing Crosby as the star.[8] In 1932, Barris signed a contract to star in six shorts for Educational Pictures, similar to Bing Crosby's launch into films.[9][10] The first of these shorts was That Rascal. In The Lost Weekend (1945), he is the nightclub pianist who humiliates Ray Milland by singing "Somebody Stole My Purse". An unusual change of pace for Barris was his comedy role in The Fleet's In (1942), as a runty sailor named Pee Wee who perpetrates malapropisms in a surprisingly deep voice.
Barris had a lifelong drinking problem.[1] In a fall, he fractured his hip in March 1961. Despite a series of operations, his condition deteriorated.[3] He died in Burbank, California, aged 57. His composition "Never Been So Lost" was published shortly before his death.
In 1926, Barris, billed as "Happy Harry Barris," made a solo record performing his own composition, "And She'll Do It For a Long, Long Time" (Cameo 1080), showcasing his talents as a pianist, vocalist, and songwriter.[14] While this record survives, his few other solos recorded in 1926 have been lost. They include:
"Could I, I Certainly Could" (Victor Matrix BVE-37174)[15]
"I'm Out in Nowhere, Going to Go Somewhere" (Victor Matrix BVE-37175)[16]
"I Got a Sweet Lil' Girl" (Victor Matrix BVE-37176)[17]
During the 1930s, it was uncommon to hear Barris perform completely solo outside of films. A rare example is a Cocoanut Grove broadcast tape of "It's the Darndest Thing."
