Harry Brannon
Encyclopedia
Harry Brannon was an American popular singer born on June 19, 1920 in Gloucester City
Gloucester City, New Jersey
Gloucester City is a city in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the city population was 11,456.-Geography:Gloucester City is located at ....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. Brannon was characterized by his contemporaries as "having a voice sweeter than Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
's." In fact, in the late 1940s, Brannon was frequently introduced as "Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
with a voice" at Andy's Log Cabin near Camden, New Jersey
Camden, New Jersey
The city of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 77,344...
.
Brannon regularly introduced new pop songs in a live format over New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
radio on the WOR
WOR
WOR or Wor may refer to:* WOR , a radio station licensed to New York, New York, United States* WRKS, a radio station licensed to New York, New York, United States, which used the call sign WOR-FM from 1948 to October 1972...
Mutual Broadcasting Company broadcast coast to coast. Early in November 1949, Brannon sang Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer over the airwaves for WOR
WOR
WOR or Wor may refer to:* WOR , a radio station licensed to New York, New York, United States* WRKS, a radio station licensed to New York, New York, United States, which used the call sign WOR-FM from 1948 to October 1972...
, promoting the Gene Autry
Gene Autry
Orvon Grover Autry , better known as Gene Autry, was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television for more than three decades beginning in the 1930s...
classic. By November 25, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer began its appearance on the music charts. Various popular artists had initially turned down the opportunity to promote the record, including Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, due to its slow tempo. However, after hearing the faster and more upbeat Brannon rendition, Crosby sang his own rendition during his CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
Chesterfield
Chesterfield
Chesterfield is a market town and a borough of Derbyshire, England. It lies north of Derby, on a confluence of the rivers Rother and Hipper. Its population is 70,260 , making it Derbyshire's largest town...
radio show on December 14, 1949.
Brannon is known to have recorded at least two songs during his short career in music. Both were released in early 1948. One was titled Orchids in the Snow, written by composer Edward A. Khoury,and the other was titled I'm A Tumbleweed, written by Rusty Keefer.
In March, 1954, Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, still mourning the recent death of his wife Dixie Lee
Dixie Lee
Dixie Lee was an American actress, dancer, and singer.Born Wilma Wyatt, she adopted the professional name "Dixie Carroll" as a singer and showgirl. Winfield Sheehan of the Fox film studio changed the name to Dixie Lee, to avoid confusion with actresses Nancy Carroll and Sue Carol...
, was considering retirement. Almost immediately, plans were made by a Hollywood production company to issue a biopic of the famous crooner and approached Brannon (who possessed a similar appearance to Crosby) to play the lead. As Brannon mulled over the offer, he became aware of organized-crime connections to the project. Brannon "dragged his feet" and put it off as long as possible until Crosby, reveling in the success of his recently released film White Christmas
White Christmas
A white Christmas refers to the presence of snow on Christmas Day. This phenomenon is most common in the northern countries of the Northern Hemisphere...
, rescinded his retirement plans and the biopic was shelved indefinitely.
Due to a deferred movie career and through the prompting of his wife, Pauline Woolman-Brannon (ex-wife of stuntman Harry Woolman
Harry Woolman
Harry Simon Woolman was a race-circuit, film, and TV stuntman, specializing in motorcycle jumps, car crashes, and pyrotechnics, from the 1930s through the early 1960s. From the 1960s until his retirement in the mid-1980s, he designed mechanical special effects for films and television...
), Brannon left New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(and the recording industry) in late 1954 and resettled in Gloucester City
Gloucester City, New Jersey
Gloucester City is a city in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the city population was 11,456.-Geography:Gloucester City is located at ....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. Brannon took a management position at a nightclub called Lew Palma's House of Fun on Powell Street. Brannon was a regular performer in it and lived with his family on the second floor.
Through his wife, Brannon soon became affiliated with the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, presently known as the Community of Christ
Community of Christ
The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , is an American-based international Christian church established in April 1830 that claims as its mission "to proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace"...
, and was ordained as a priest by the mid-1960s.
Brannon's adopted son, Harry Gerald Brannon, a Sergeant in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, died in South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
on August 15, 1966 at age 30. Harry, known as Jerry, was the biological son of stuntman Harry Woolman
Harry Woolman
Harry Simon Woolman was a race-circuit, film, and TV stuntman, specializing in motorcycle jumps, car crashes, and pyrotechnics, from the 1930s through the early 1960s. From the 1960s until his retirement in the mid-1980s, he designed mechanical special effects for films and television...
.
He died of Alzheimer’s disease on December 29, 1991 at age 71.