Norridge Mayhams

Norridge Bryant Mayhams (August 17, 1903 – July 22, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer, whose recordings between the 1930s and 1980s covered a wide range of genres including jazz, gospel, R&B, and novelty songs. He used a variety of performing names, most notably Norris the Troubadour, and released many of his recordings on his own independent record labels. His best known song as a writer, "We'll Build a Bungalow", was a chart hit for Johnny Long in 1950, and was performed by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in I Love Lucy. According to one source, "Mayhams authored a body of work that is staggering in its scope, quality and general strangeness." He was a ship's cook for several years, and learned to play the guitar and banjo before returning to New York City where he worked as a porter. By the late 1920s he also worked as a musician, according to his own account played banjo in one of Chick Webb's early bands, and appeared regularly on radio station WMCA. His radio program led to club appearances, and also to bookings in colleges around the country. His earliest recordings were made in New York in 1936, with his own small group, and were credited variously to The Blue Chips, The Hipp Cats, and Norridge Mayhams and His Barbecue Boys. They included gospel tracks such as "Crying Holy Unto The Lord" alongside hokum such as "Let's Get Drunk and Truck" (originally by The Harlem Hamfats). His recordings in the 1930s were released on various labels including Decca, ARC and Melotone.

His tours led to him writing songs for colleges. Increasingly billing himself as Norris the Troubadour, and using members of his family including his wife Shirley and daughter Betty as singers, often credited as the Little Blue Chips,

In 1943, Mayhams worked with Gypsy Rose Lee. He established his own record label, at first called Co-Ed Records and then, because the name was already taken by another company, Mayhams Records, later Mayhams Collegiate Records. He also set up a song publishing company, Sorority Fraternity.

In 1962, he helped set up another record label, Brandes. In 1976, he released a compilation double LP of some of his songs, Our Centennial Album , recorded over several years. A CD version of Our Centennial Album was issued in 2004.