Phil Harris

about

Phil Harris (born Wonga Philip Harris) (June 24, 1904 – August 11, 1995) was an American singer, songwriter, jazz musician and comedian. Though successful as an orchestra leader, Harris is remembered today for his recordings as a vocalist, his voice work in animation and the radio situation comedy in which he co-starred with his second wife, singer-actress Alice Faye, for eight years. Although he was born in Linton, Indiana, Harris actually spent much of his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee, which accounted for both his trace of a Southern accent and, in later years, the self-deprecating Southern jokes of his radio character. Harris began his music career as a drummer in San Francisco, forming an orchestra with Carol Lofner in the latter 1920s and starting a long engagement at the St. Francis Hotel. The partnership ended by 1932, and Harris led and sang with his own band, now based in Los Angeles. On September 2, 1927, he was married to actress Marcia Ralston in Sydney, Australia. The couple adopted a son, Phil Harris, Jr. (b. 1935). They were divorced in September, 1940. In 1936, Harris became musical director of The Jell-O Show Starring Jack Benny (later renamed The Jack Benny Program), singing and leading his band and---when his knack for snappy one-liners became apparent---joining the Benny ensemble playing Phil Harris, scripted as a hipster-talking, hard-drinking, brash Southerner whose good nature overcame his ego. His trademark was his jive-talk nicknaming of the ot

top songs

albums

The Jungle Book Original Soundtrack (English Version)

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Disney's Greatest Volume 2

The Jungle Book

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Pure Disney

Disney's Greatest Hits

Songs from the Aristocats

That's What I Like About Phil Harris

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Disney Classics

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Now That's What I Call Disney

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Disney's Greatest Volume 3

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Disney Greatest Hits

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Disney Greatest Musicals

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