No. 15. “I’m Just Wild About Harry”

SHUFFLE ALONG (1921). By Eubie Blake (music), Noble Sissle (lyrics), and Flournoy Miller & Aubrey Lyles (book).

The original Broadway cast of SHUFFLE ALONG

"I’m Just Wild About Harry” is possibly the most obscure song that has nevertheless been heard by most people in America (on earth?). It comes from Shuffle Along, a smash hit 1921 musical that was the first on Broadway to boast of entirely black cast and writing team. It was a milestone achievement that integrated Broadway audiences, elevated public perception of black performers, launched the careers of stars like Josephine Baker and Paul Robeson, and helped usher in the Harlem Renaissance. Despite its significance—and many attempted revivals—Shuffle Along has rarely been seen following its original production and subsequent tours. (The reasons why are not mysterious. Even if there was a way to make the libretto of 1921 race jokes inoffensive—and that’s a big “if”—you’d still be left with a story thin enough to use as a cheesecloth.) But “…Harry” has endured, appearing in over thirty films and TV series including Daffy Duck and Michigan J. Frog Looney Tunes shorts, My Girl, and Harry and the Hendersons. It was also Harry Truman’s campaign song in the 1948 “Dewey Defeats Truman” presidential election. It’s a nifty, compact song. (The phrase “Wild About Harry” is also fodder for episode titles, headlines, or social media captions about anyone named Harry—I’ve learned a lot about Harry Styles this past week!) The type where you hear one phrase and can kind of predict what the next one will be (though composer Eubie Blake throws in little curveballs to keep it interesting). CAUTION: If you listen to it once, it might be stuck in your head for days.

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