Harry Babbitt

Harry Babbitt (November 2, 1913 - April 9, 2004) was an American singer and star during the Big Band era. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, he joined the Kay Kyser band in 1938. With Kyser he recorded several hits in his rich baritone. On some novelty tunes he adopted a high-pitched falsetto.

He sang such hits as "Three Little Fishies," "(I'd Like to Get You on a) Slow Boat to China" and "Jingle, Jangle, Jingle," but his biggest hit was the cover of Vera Lynn's "White Cliffs of Dover." He also sang the Spike Jones holiday hit, "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" and did the laugh on Kyser's "Woody Woodpecker" song with vocalist Gloria Wood. He appeared as a regular on Kyser's radio program, "Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge", and in seven movies with Kyser, including "That's Right - You're Wrong" (1939), "Thousands Cheer" (1943) and "Carolina Blues" (1944).

Babbitt served in the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946, then returned to Kyser's band, which he eventually left for good in 1949.

Babbitt retired from show business in 1964 and made money in real estate in Orange County, California. He died at the age of 90 in Newport Beach, California.

Listen to

* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1849317 NPR: "Woody Woodpecker's Laugh: Remembering Harry Babbitt"]

External links

* [http://www.kaykyser.net/harry-tribute.html Steve Beasley's Tribute to Harry Babbitt]