In 1936, Harris became musical director of
The Jell-O Program Starring Jack Benny singing and leading his band, with Mahlon Merrick writing much of the show's music. When Harris exhibited a knack for saying snappy one-liners, he joined the cast, portraying himself as a hip, hard-drinking Southerner whose good nature superseded his ego. He gave the others nicknames, such as "Jackson" for Jack Benny. His signature song was "That's What I Like About the South". Many of his vocal recordings were comic novelty "talking blues", similar to the songs of
Bert Williams, which are sometimes considered a precursor to rap. In 1942, Harris and his band joined the
U.S. Merchant Marine and served for 16 weeks. In 1946, he and his wife Alice Faye began co-hosting
The Fitch Bandwagon, a comedy-variety program which followed the Jack Benny show on Sunday nights. On
The Fitch Bandwagon and its later incarnation as
The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show, Harris played a vain, stumbling husband, while Faye played his sarcastic but loving wife.
Gerald Nachman has written that Harris was a soft-spoken, modest man off the air. In
On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio John Dunning wrote that Harris's character made the show popular.
The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show appeared until 1954. Harris continued to appear on Jack Benny's show from 1948 to 1952. == Recording career ==