Harris (1896-1944) was most successful in the 20's. She was the first widely known white singer to sing jazz and blues; she first played in vaudeville in Chicago around 1914. Two years later she began recording. She continued to appear on Broadway in the 20s. She returned in 1927 to New York theater, made more recordings and appeared in an eight-minute promotional film, Marion Harris, Songbird of Jazz. After a Hollywood movie, Devil-May-Care with Ramon Navarro, she temporarily withdrew from performing because of an undisclosed illness. Between 1931 and 1933, she performed on NBC radio shows. In early 1931 she performed in London, returning for 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. In 1944 she travelled to New York for medical treatment, where she died when she fell asleep while smoking in bed. This outstanding record was made in 1930.
