Noble Sissle

Noble Lee Sissle (July 10, 1889 – December 17, 1975)[1] was an American jazz composer, lyricist, bandleader, singer, and playwright, best known for the Broadway musical Shuffle Along (1921), and its hit song "I'm Just Wild About Harry".

This would later become the New York 369th Infantry "Hell Fighters" Regiment that served nobly in France in World War I, with Europe as a lieutenant and Sissle as his sergeant and lead vocalist.

[10][11] Sissle and his band appear in a 1931 British Pathétone Weekly filmed at Ciro's nightclub in London, performing Walter Donaldson's "Little White Lies" and "Happy Feet", written by Jack Yellen and Milton Ager.

In February 1931, Sissle accompanied Adelaide Hall on piano at the prestigious Palace Theatre (Broadway) in New York during her 1931-32 world tour.

[12] In 1932, Noble Sissle and Band appeared in the Vitaphone film "That's the Spirit," also featuring Cora La Redd and Miller and Moreland.

Sissle collaborated with other artists such as Lena Horne and Duke Ellington, and was friends with Ethel Waters, Cab Calloway, and Nat King Cole.

Noble Sissle photo taken by Carl Van Vechten , 1951
Sheet music cover for " I'm Just Wild About Harry " from the musical Shuffle Along by Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake , 1921
Noble Lee Sissle circa 1920 (NYPL Digital Collection)