Marion Harris (April 4 1896 — April 23, 1944) was an American popular singe… Read Full Bio ↴Marion Harris (April 4 1896 — April 23, 1944) was an American popular singer, most successful in the 1920's. She was the first widely known white singer to sing jazz and blues songs.
Born Mary Ellen Harrison, probably in Indiana, she first played vaudeville and movie theaters in Chicago around 1914. Dancer Vernon Castle introduced her to the theater community in New York where she debuted in a 1915 Irving Berlin revue, Stop! Look! Listen!
In 1916, she began recording for Victor Records, singing a variety of songs, such as "Everybody's Crazy 'bout the Doggone Blues, But I'm Happy", "After You've Gone", "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" (later recorded by Bessie Smith) and her biggest success, "I Ain't Got Nobody". In July of 1917 she recorded "When I Hear That Jazz Band Play" which can be considered the first rendition of a jazz song that was recorded by a woman or at least the first song recorded by a woman that included "Jazz" in the title. To the general public she must have seemed the epitome of a flapper with her blonde bobbed hair and Jazz themed songs such as "Jazz Baby", Take Me to the Land of Jazz" and "I'm A Jazz Vampire".
In 1918 she appeared in the Broadway musical "Listen Lester" at the Knickerbocker Theatre.
In 1920, after the Victor label would not allow her to record W.C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues", she joined Columbia Records where she recorded the song successfully. Sometimes billed as "The Queen of the Blues,"she tended to record blues- or jazz-flavored tunes throughout her career. Handy wrote of Harris that "she sang blues so well that people hearing her records sometimes thought that the singer was colored." Harris commented, "You usually do best what comes naturally, so I just naturally started singing Southern dialect songs and the modern blues songs."
In 1922 she moved to the Brunswick label. She continued to appear in Broadway theatres throughout the 1920s. She regularly played the Palace Theatre, appeared in Florenz Ziegfeld's Midnight Frolic and toured the country with vaudeville shows. After a marriage which produced two children, and her subsequent divorce, she returned in 1927 to New York theater, made more recordings with Victor and appeared in an eight-minute promotional film, Marion Harris, Songbird of Jazz. After a Hollywood movie, the early musical Devil-May-Care (1929) with Ramon Navarro, she temporarily withdrew from performing because of an undisclosed illness.
In early 1931 she performed in London, returning for long engagements at the Café de Paris. In London she appeared in the musical Ever Green and broadcast on BBC radio. She also recorded in England in the early 1930s but retired soon afterwards and married an English theatrical agent. Their house was destroyed in a German rocket attack in 1941, and in 1944 she travelled to New York to seek treatment for a neurological disorder. Although she was discharged two months later, she died soon afterwards in a hotel fire that started when she fell asleep while smoking in bed.
Born Mary Ellen Harrison, probably in Indiana, she first played vaudeville and movie theaters in Chicago around 1914. Dancer Vernon Castle introduced her to the theater community in New York where she debuted in a 1915 Irving Berlin revue, Stop! Look! Listen!
In 1916, she began recording for Victor Records, singing a variety of songs, such as "Everybody's Crazy 'bout the Doggone Blues, But I'm Happy", "After You've Gone", "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" (later recorded by Bessie Smith) and her biggest success, "I Ain't Got Nobody". In July of 1917 she recorded "When I Hear That Jazz Band Play" which can be considered the first rendition of a jazz song that was recorded by a woman or at least the first song recorded by a woman that included "Jazz" in the title. To the general public she must have seemed the epitome of a flapper with her blonde bobbed hair and Jazz themed songs such as "Jazz Baby", Take Me to the Land of Jazz" and "I'm A Jazz Vampire".
In 1918 she appeared in the Broadway musical "Listen Lester" at the Knickerbocker Theatre.
In 1920, after the Victor label would not allow her to record W.C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues", she joined Columbia Records where she recorded the song successfully. Sometimes billed as "The Queen of the Blues,"she tended to record blues- or jazz-flavored tunes throughout her career. Handy wrote of Harris that "she sang blues so well that people hearing her records sometimes thought that the singer was colored." Harris commented, "You usually do best what comes naturally, so I just naturally started singing Southern dialect songs and the modern blues songs."
In 1922 she moved to the Brunswick label. She continued to appear in Broadway theatres throughout the 1920s. She regularly played the Palace Theatre, appeared in Florenz Ziegfeld's Midnight Frolic and toured the country with vaudeville shows. After a marriage which produced two children, and her subsequent divorce, she returned in 1927 to New York theater, made more recordings with Victor and appeared in an eight-minute promotional film, Marion Harris, Songbird of Jazz. After a Hollywood movie, the early musical Devil-May-Care (1929) with Ramon Navarro, she temporarily withdrew from performing because of an undisclosed illness.
In early 1931 she performed in London, returning for long engagements at the Café de Paris. In London she appeared in the musical Ever Green and broadcast on BBC radio. She also recorded in England in the early 1930s but retired soon afterwards and married an English theatrical agent. Their house was destroyed in a German rocket attack in 1941, and in 1944 she travelled to New York to seek treatment for a neurological disorder. Although she was discharged two months later, she died soon afterwards in a hotel fire that started when she fell asleep while smoking in bed.
I Ain't Got Nobody
Marion Harris Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'I Ain't Got Nobody' by these artists:
Adrian Rollini and His Orchestra Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears W…
Ann-Margret There's been a sayin' goin' round And I begin to think…
Art Kahn and His Orchestra Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears W…
Asleep At The Wheel I ain't gonna give nobody none of my jellyroll How 'bout…
Basie's Bad Boys Now I, ain't got nobody, nobody cares for me And I'm…
Benny Carter Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears W…
Benny Carter and His Orchestra Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears …
Benny Goodman Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears W…
Bessie Smith There's a saying going 'round and I begin to think…
Bill Coleman & His Orchestra Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears W…
Bing Crosby There's been a sayin' goin' round And I begin to think…
Bob Wilber & Bobby Gordon Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears W…
Bob Wills Ah dang There's a saying going 'round I began to think it's…
Bobby Darin I ain't gonna give nobody none of my jellyroll How `bout…
Bobby Gordon and Bob Wilber Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears W…
Cab Calloway Say, I ain't got nobody, and nobody cares for me! That's…
Charles Redland & His Orchestra Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears W…
Cisco Houston; Woody Guthrie I ain't got nobody, ain't nobody got me I'm just like…
Connee Boswell There's been a sayin' goin' round And I begin to think…
Count Basie Now I, ain't got nobody, nobody cares for me And I'm…
Count Basie Walter Page Jo Jones Now I, ain't got nobody, nobody cares for me And I'm…
David Lee Roth I'm just a gigolo and everywhere I go People know the…
Dick Curless There's been a sayin' goin' round And I begin to think…
Duke Ellington Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears W…
Ella Fitzgerald and Chick Webb There's been a sayin' goin' 'round And I begin to think…
Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears W…
Jean-Michel Bernard Well, I ain't got nobody, nobody cares for me And I'm…
Jean-Michel Bernard & The Passaic High School Marching Band Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears W…
Jelly Roll Morton & Louis Armstrong My heart is sad and lonely For you I sigh, for…
John Lee Hooker I've been watching you sitting there alone Just like me I'v…
Jon Montgomery & the Exile Blues Band Well I ainu0027t got nobody, baby left me all alone Well…
Keely Smith Embrace me, my sweet embraceable you Embrace me, you irrepla…
Lena Horne The poets say that all who love are blind But I'm…
Leon Redbone There's been a sayin' goin' round And I begin to think…
Lester Young Now I, ain't got nobody, nobody cares for me And I'm…
Louis Armstrong My heart is sad and lonely For you I sigh, for…
Louis Armstrong And His Orchestra Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears W…
Louis Prima I'm just a gigolo and everywhere I go People know the…
Louis Prima/Keely Smith There's been a sayin' goin' round And I begin to think…
Merle Haggard Well there's been sayin' goin' round I began to think…
Merle Haggard And The Strangers Well there's been saying goin' round I began to think…
Mos Def & Jean-Michel Bernard Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears W…
Mose Allison There's been a sayin' goin' round And I begin to think…
Murphy & Marckx Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears W…
Oliver Sy There's been a sayin' goin' round And I begin to think…
Oscar Rabin & His Orchestra Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears W…
Peggy Lee Now I, ain't got nobody, nobody cares for me And I'm…
Peggy Lee Dave Barbour Four There's been a sayin' goin' round And I begin to think…
Ralph Sutton & Ruby Braff Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears W…
Rosemary Clooney There's been a sayin' goin' round And I begin to think…
Roy Eldridge and His Orchestra Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears W…
Sammy Davis I ain't got nobody, and nobody cares for me And I'm…
Sammy Davis, Jr. There's been a sayin' goin' round And I begin to think…
Sly & The Family Stone I ain't got nobody Lookin' out for me I ain't got nobody I…
Stanley Black and His Orchestra Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears W…
Sy Oliver There's been a sayin' goin' round And I begin to think…
Ted Lewis And His Orchestra Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears W…
Teresa Brewer Now I, ain't got nobody, nobody cares for me And I'm…
The Rat Pack There's been a sayin' goin' round And I begin to think…
Urbie Green Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears W…
Village People Now I ain't got nobody babe And there's nobody, cares for…
Wingy Manone & His Orchestra Though folks with good intentions Tell me to save my tears W…
Woody Guthrie I ain't got nobody, ain't nobody got me I'm just like…
Woody Herman There's been a sayin' goin' round And I begin to think…
We have lyrics for these tracks by Marion Harris:
After You've Gone Now won't you listen honey, while I say, How could…
After You've Gone [1918] Now won't you listen honey, while I say How could you…
Before You Go McY THE ROcD RISE WITH YOU /go N-éiri an bóthair…
Blue Blue again Blue again And you know darn well It's you again …
Blue Again Blue again Blue again And you know darn well It's you aga…
How Come You Do Me Like You Do How come you do me like you do do do? How…
How Come You Do Me Like You Do? How come you do me like you do do do? How…
I'm a Jazz Vampire Say, did you ever hear the saxophone Let out an awful moan L…
I'm Nobody's Baby I'm nobody's baby I wonder why Each night and day I pray…
Im Nobodys Baby I'm nobody's baby I wonder why Each night and day I pray…
It Had to Be You It had to be you, it had to be you. I…
I`m Nobody`s Baby I'm nobody's baby I wonder why Each night and day I pray…
Look for the Silver Lining Please don′t be offended If I preach to you awhile Tears are…
Mammy's Chocolate Soldier Pickaninny cute in his khaki suit Wanted to join the kiddies…
St. Louis Blues I hate to see that evening sun go down I hate…
St. Louis Blues a I hate to see that evening sun go down I hate…
St. Louis Blues : The "St. Louis" Blues I hate to see that evening sun go down I hate…
The St. Louis Blues I hate to see that evening sun go down I hate…
You Do Something to Me How come you do me like you do do do? How…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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Katy M
I could totally imagine sitting in a bar or club drinking with friends while listening to this. 104 years later and her voice is stilling singing, here's to hoping people 100 years from now keep this stuff alive too
Billy
Not me. I not drink alcohol. I not going to bar for drink coke either. I wish I could hearing this with my sister and she had like this song
Katy M
@Billy that's very sweet!
Big Bubba
Speakeasies was where she made and performed these songs at so, it would definitely be fitting.
Billy
@Katy M I have only taste 1/5 glas of red whine and it was not good. it was on a christmas. Never red whine again. It was for sweet for me. I like diet coke better.
Billy
I try to hearing Marion Harris every day. 9 of 10 days I hearing her sing 45 minutes or more. I hearing her so often because I really love hearing her sing.
Katie La
"Igor!"
"Froderick!"
Love this version! Marion Harris had such a beautiful voice! Adored her version of "Who's Sorry Now?" too. Wish more twenty-six year olds like myself listened to music like this.
Prince GayBlack
im 32 and i just discovered this song a few years ago in 2019, before my 29 bitrthday that year; i was 28 when i found this lovely tune here on youtube 😊
Jodie Redgap 🆓️👻
I know I'm a year late I'm just turning 26 and I like to listen to music like this 😊
Marcel Gomes
Imagine , 1916.....and i love her so much.
Her voice brings a bit of life into a hopeless world.
A bit of hope, streetlights and vision. ❤️🌹🍷