I have, somewhere in my stored "items of interest," the original album by Phil Harris which contains "The Preacher and the Bear." Oddly, that was not the #1 song on the album. The one which got all the airplay was "The Thing." "The Persian Kitty" was also on this LP, along with a number of the other "talking blues" style things for which Phil Harris was known. "That's What I Like About the South" was something of a theme song for him.

Most younger people know his voice and may never have seen the man himself. "The Jungle Book" film by Disney contains the song "The Bare Necessities," for instance. He and his wife, the actress Alice Faye, were staples on radio in the 30's, 40's and 50's. He spent several years as a regular on the old Jack Benny Show. He, Bing Crosby and another golfing buddy, whose name escapes me, introduced "Three Fingers" reposado 100% agave tequila to the US years ago, one of the first really premium tequilas imported from Mexico. And, according to an uncle who once worked with him, he was a really nice guy.