Biography
Born in New York City in 1905, Harry Barris spent his childhood in Denver, Colorado, where he launched his career as a working pianist at fourteen. By seventeen he was already directing a traveling ensemble. From the mid-1920s into the 1940s the composer, singer, and pianist recorded alongside Paul Whiteman, Bix Beiderbecke, Bing Crosby, and Duke Ellington while also supplying enduring pop standards such as “I Surrender Dear.” During the mid-1920s he teamed with Al Rinker and Bing Crosby to form the vocal trio the Rhythm Boys; Barris supplied much of the group’s repertoire and the trio cut sides with cornetist Bix Beiderbecke before becoming featured vocalists with Paul Whiteman’s orchestra. The Rhythm Boys parted ways with Whiteman once the full band appeared in the 1930 film King of Jazz, after which the singers worked in Los Angeles until Crosby departed for a solo path. Over the following two decades Barris led several of his own groups—one of them spotlighting his wife, vocalist Loyce Whiteman—and also directed Bob Kinney’s band from 1936 to 1937 while maintaining a presence on radio. Occasional screen appearances included small parts in the Bing Crosby vehicle Double or Nothing (1937) as well as Hollywood Party (1934) and Some Like It Hot (1939). Among the lasting standards he composed were “Mississippi Mud” (1924), “It Must Be True” (1930), “Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams,” “I Surrender Dear” (1931), and “Naturally” (1938). During one year of World War II, Barris joined comedian Joe E. Brown in performing for U.S. troops abroad.