Mills Brothers

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The Mills Brothers
Photo courtesy of the Fraser MacPherson estate
Photo courtesy of the Fraser MacPherson estate
Background information
Origin Piqua, Ohio, United States
Genre(s) Jazz, Traditional Pop
Years active 1928-1982
Label(s) Brunswick, Decca, Dot
Website The Mills Brothers official site
Former members
John Mills Jr
Herbert Mills,
Harry Mills,
and Donald Mills;
John Mills Sr
replacing John Mills Jr.

The Mills Brothers were a major African-American jazz and pop vocal quartet of the 20th century producing more than 2,000 recordings that sold more than 50 million copies and garnered at least three dozen gold records. The Mills Brothers were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998.

Contents

[edit] The early years

The group was originally composed of four brothers all born in Piqua, Ohio, just 25 miles (40 km) north of Dayton: John Jr. (February, 1911 - January 23, 1936) basso and guitarist, Herbert (April 2, 1912 - April 12, 1989) tenor, Harry (August 19, 1913 - June 28, 1982) baritone, and Donald (April 29, 1915 - November 13, 1999) lead tenor.

Their parents were John H. (February 11, 1889 – December 8, 1967) and Eathel Mills. John Sr. owned a barber shop and founded a barbershop quartet, called the '"Four Kings of Harmony"'.

As the boys grew older, they began singing in the choir of the Cyrene African Methodist Episcopal Church and in the Park Avenue Baptist Church in Piqua. After their lessons at the Spring Street Grammar School, they would gather in front of their father's barbershop on Public Square or at the corner of Greene and Main to sing and play the kazoo to passerbys.

They entered an amateur contest at Piqua's Mays Opera House. That fateful day, while on stage, Harry discovered he had lost his kazoo. He cupped his hands to his mouth and imitated a trumpet. The success of his imitation led to all the brothers taking on instruments to imitate and created their early signature sound. John Jr. accompanied the four-part harmony first with a ukulele and then a guitar. They practiced imitating orchestras they heard on the radio. John, as the bass, would imitate the tuba. Harry, a baritone, imitated the trumpet. Herbert became the second trumpet and Donald the trombone. They entertained on the Midwest theater circuit, at house parties, tent shows, music halls and supper clubs throughout the area and became well known for their close harmonies, mastery of scat singing, and their amazing ability to imitate musical instruments with their voices.

[edit] The Rise To Stardom

Then in 1928, after playing May's Opera House in Piqua between Rin Tin Tin features, they accompanied the Harold Greenameyer Band to Cincinnati for an audition with radio station WLW. The Band was not hired, but the Mills brothers were. With the help of Seger Ellis, WLW Cincinnati DJ and a music legend of the '20s, they quickly became local radio stars and got their major break when Duke Ellington and his Orchestra played a date in Cincinnati. When the youngsters sang for Duke, he was so impressed he called Tommy Rockwell at Okeh Records, who signed them and brought the group to New York.

In September 1930, Ralph Wonders urged broadcasting executive William S. Paley, at CBS Radio in New York, to turn on his office speaker and listen to an audition of four young men. For the audition they were '"The Mills Brothers,"' but they had been known by many other names. They were billed as 'The Steamboat Four' when they sang for Sohio. They had been called the 'Four Boys and a Guitar' on their Sunday shows. When Paley heard their performance, he immediately went downstairs and put them on CBS radio. The next day, the Mills Brothers signed a three-year contract and became the first African-Americans to have a network show on radio.

Their very first record recorded for Brunswick, a cover of the Original Dixieland Jass Band standard "Tiger Rag" became a nationwide seller. Other hits quickly followed -- "Goodbye Blues", their theme song, "You're Nobody's Sweetheart Now", "Ole Rockin' Chair", "Lazy River", "How'm I Doin'", and others -- cementing them in the minds of the nation and making them national stars. They remained on Brunswick until late 1934, when they signed with Decca, where they stayed well into the 1950's.

On all of their Brunswick records, as well as the early Decca's, the label always stated:

  • "No musical instruments or mechanical devices used in this recording other than one guitar"

They were a sensation on CBS in 1930-1931, particularly when they co-starred on the widely popular The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour hosted by Rudy Vallee. They had their own popular radio series in 1932-1933, one of the earliest built around a black act, billed as the "Four Boys and a Guitar". Before their show announcers commonly explained to listeners that the only instrument was a guitar, as the vocal effects made many listeners think they were hearing a muted trumpet, saxophone, and string bass.

The Mills Brothers were sponsored by some of the largest advertisers in early radio; Standard Oil, Procter & Gamble, Crisco, and Crosley Radio. They began appearing in films. Their first, The Big Broadcast (Paramount Pictures, 1932) was an all-star radio revue that included Bing Crosby, Cab Calloway, and the Boswell Sisters. In 1934, the Brothers starred with Crosby for Woodbury Soap, and recorded their classics "Lazy Bones", "Sweet Sue", "Lulu's Back in Town", "Bye-Bye Blackbird", "Sleepy Head", and "Shoe Shine Boy". Their film appearances included Twenty Million Sweethearts (Warner Brothers, 1934) and Broadway Gondolier, (Warner Brothers, 1935).

By now the brothers were highly successful and recognized all over the world. In 1934, The Mills Brothers became the first African-Americans to give a command performance before British royalty. They performed at the Regal Theatre for a special audience: King George V, Queen Mary, and their mother. While performing in England, John Jr. became ill. It took him months to recover from battling pneumonia. Before he was completely well, the brothers returned to England. John Jr. once again became sick and died in the beginning of 1936.

This was a difficult time for the remaining brothers. They considered breaking up, when their mother told them John Jr. would want them to continue. They followed her suggestion and their father, John Sr., as the baritone and tuba, replaced the deceased Brother, John Jr. At this time, Norman Brown joined the Brothers as their guitar player.

[edit] The War Years

Soon they were back in Europe. Through 1939 they enjoyed remarkable success in Europe. Herbert recalls, "We left England for the last time just three days before war was declared on Germany and the only boat we could get was to Australia. We were overseas from then on except for two months in 1940 and then we went back to South America. We didn't get back until 1941. In the meantime the Ink Spots were coming up, and people had sort of forgotten us."

In the period between John Jr.'s death and their return to the States, they re-recorded "Lazy River." It was followed by "Someday You'll Want Me to Want You," "Swing Is the Thing," "Long About Midnight," "Organ Grinders Swing," and "The Song is Ended." They honored Duke Ellington with a swing version of the "Caravan," and then produced a series of classic recordings; "South of the Border," which they performed in a tour of South America, along with "Ain't Misbehavin," "It Don’t Mean a Thing," "Jeepers Creepers," "Three Little Fishes," and "Basin Street Blues."

During this era, there was also a brief time when the group performed with a non‑family singer. Gene Smith served as a stand-in for one year when Harry was drafted into the Army. Although Smith's solo singing did not particularly resemble the group's usual sound, he was able to harmonize well in Harry's stead until the fourth brother's return. Smith is very noticeable in a number of the Mills Brothers' film appearances.

[edit] The Post War Years

Returning to the states, the Brothers were anxious for a hit. They recorded "I'll be Around". Donald Mills chose "Paper Doll" as the B-side of the record. "I'll Be Around" became a popular hit, then a disk jockey turned the record over. "Paper Doll", recorded in just fifteen minutes, sold six million copies and became the group's biggest hit.

The rise of rock and roll in the early fifties did little to decrease the Mills Brothers popularity. "Glow Worm" jumped to number one on the pop charts in 1952. "Opus One", an updated version to the Tommy Dorsey hit, was soon on the charts as well, followed by "You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You", "Yellow Bird", "Standing on the Corner", and "If I had My Way".

In 1957, John Sr. reluctantly stopped touring with the group. He was seventy-five, but his retirement did not stop the Brothers. As a trio, the Mills Brothers recorded for Dot Records and were frequent guests on The Jack Benny Show, The Perry Como Show, The Tonight Show and The Hollywood Palace. They played theatres and clubs, touring up to forty weeks a year.

A move from Decca to Dot Records brought a moderate 1958 hit, a cover of the Silhouettes' "Get a Job" that made explicit the considerable influence on doo-wop that the early Mills Brothers records had exerted.

"Cab Driver", recorded in 1968, was their last great hit. It was written by songwriter C. Carson Parks.

[edit] The Later Years

Their fiftieth anniversary in show business was celebrated in 1976 with a tribute at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. Bing Crosby hosted this nostalgic tribute. Few in the audience realized that Harry was now almost blind because of diabetes.

As a trio, Herbert, Harry and Donald continued performing on the oldies circuit until Harry's death in 1982. Herbert and Donald continued until Herbert's death in 1989. Then, Donald began performing with the third generation of the family -- his son, John III. In 1998 the Recording Academy recognized the Mills family's contributions to popular music when it presented Donald, as the surviving member, with a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement.

After Donald's death of pneumonia on November 13, 1999, John III began touring under the name "The Mills Brothers" with Elmer Hopper, who had previously sang lead with Paul Robi's Platters.

[edit] Influence

In the late 1960s, Dean Martin, hosting The Dean Martin Show, requested that his producer Greg Garrison book the Mills Brothers on the show, later explaining to Garrison that Harry Mills was in fact his greatest musical influence, more influential than Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. Garrison related this story in a DVD reissue of the best of the Martin shows.

[edit] In popular culture

  • Several of the Mills Brothers hits including "Tiger Rag", "Chinatown", "Moanin' For You" and "Caravan", were featured in the soundtrack of the game Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven. The Brothers' music fit in with the game's ambience and time period.

[edit] Incomplete Singles Discography

  • '"Tiger Rag'"
  • '"Dinah"' - (with Bing Crosby) Recorded 12/16/31
  • '"Goodbye Blues"'
  • '"How'm I Doin'? (Hey, Hey!)"'
  • '"Baby Won't You Please Come Home"'
  • '"You Rascal You
  • '"My Romance/The Old Man of the Mountains"' (with Frank Munn, The Boswell Sisters, Connee Boswell, and Fran Frey)
  • '"Anytime, Anyday, Anywhere"'
  • '"That's Georgia"'
  • '"Jungle Fever"'
  • '"Swing It, Sister"'
  • '"Smoke Rings"'
  • '"I Heard"'
  • '"Put On Your Old Grey Bonnet"'
  • '"Sleepy Head"'
  • '"Lazybones"'
  • '"Old Fashioned Love"'
  • '"Miss Otis Regrets"'
  • '"Sweeter Than Sugar"'
  • '"Limehouse Blues"'
  • '"Shuffle Your Feet"' - (with Don Redman)
  • '"Nobody's Sweetheart"' (also known as Nobody's Sweetheart Now)
  • '"Rockin' Chair"' - Recorded 3/8/32
  • '"Dedicated to You"' - (with Ella Fitzgerald)
  • '"Flat Foot Floogie"' - (with Louis Armstrong)
  • '"Paper Doll"' - Recorded 2/18/42
  • '"Cherry"' - (with Louis Armstrong)
  • '"Wish Me Luck Amigo, (I Yi, Yi, Yi)"'
  • '"Lazy River"' - Recorded 10/22/41
  • '"I'll Be Around"'
  • '"Till Then"' - Recorded 3/8/32 & 2/27/44
  • '"You Always Hurt The One You Love"' - Recorded 3/8/32
  • '"I Wish"' - Recorded 3/8/32
  • '"Don't Be A Baby, Baby"' - Recorded 3/8/32
  • '"I Don't Know Enough About You"' - Recorded 3/8/32
  • '"I Guess I'll Get The Papers And Go Home"' - Recorded 3/8/32
  • '"Too Many Irons In The Fire"'
  • '"Across The Alley From The Alamo"' - Recorded 3/3/47
  • '"You Never Miss The Water Til The Well Runs Dry"'
  • '"Gloria"'
  • '"Is It True What They Say About Dixie?"' - (with Al Jolson)
  • '"You Tell Me Your Dream, I'll Tell You Mine"' - Recorded 11/2/49
  • '"I Love You So Much It Hurts"'
  • '"I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm"'
  • '"Someday (You'll Want Me To Want You)"'
  • '"If I Had My Way"'
  • '"When You Were Sweet Sixteen"'
  • '"Daddy's Little Girl"' - Recorded 1/3/50
  • '"Nevertheless"'
  • '"Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone"' - (with Tommy Dorsey)
  • '"Be My Life's Companion"' - Recorded 11/14/51
  • '"Glow Worm"' - Recorded 7/7/52 #1(Pop)
  • '"The Window Washer Man"' - Recorded 7/10/52
  • '"Shoulder To Weep On, A"' - (with Sy Oliver & His Orchestra)
  • '"Say Si Si"'
  • '"Pretty Butterfly"'
  • '"Jones Boy, The"' - (with Sy Oliver & His Orchestra) Recorded 10/13/53
  • '"She Was Five And He Was Ten"' - (with Sy Oliver & His Orchestra)
  • '"You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You"' - (with Sy Oliver & His Orchestra)
  • '"Opus One"' - (with Sy Oliver & His Orchestra) Recorded 9/17/54
  • '"In a Mellow Tone"' - Recorded 9/1/55
  • '"Smack Dab in the Middle"' - (with Sy Oliver & His Orchestra)
  • '"Standing On The Corner"' - (with Sonny Burke & His Orchestra)
  • '"Queen of the Senior Prom"' - (with Sy Oliver & His Orchestra)
  • '"When I Lost You"'
  • '"Yellow Bird"' - (with Milton DeLugg & His Orchestra)
  • '"April in Paris"' - (with Count Basie & His Orchestra)
  • '"Blue and Sentimental"' - (with Count Basie & His Orchestra)
  • '"My Shy Violet"'
  • '"Cab Driver"'
  • '"Sweet Georgia Brown"'
  • '"My Gal Sal"'
  • '"Tennesee Waltz"'
  • '"Aincha Aincha Aincha'"

[edit] Incomplete LP Discography

  • Were You There
  • The Mills Brothers Sing
  • Stardust Records Presents The Mills Brothers: The Best Of The War Years: The Mills Brothers
  • Souvenir Album
  • Dream
  • San Antonio Rose
  • Memory Lane - 2005
  • The Very Best of the Mills Brothers - 2005
  1. Be My Life's Companion
  2. Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland
  3. When You Were Sweet Sixteen
  4. Nevertheless
  5. I'll Be Around
  6. Paper Doll
  7. Tiger Rag
  8. Some of These Days
  9. My Gal Sal
  10. Ida, Sweet As Apple Cider
  11. If I Had My Way
  12. The Jones Boy
  13. Till Then
  14. You Always Hurt The One You Love
  15. Basin Street Blues
  16. Lazy River
  17. Cielito River
  18. Three Little Fishes
  19. The Very Thought of You
  20. Marie
  21. Cherry
  22. The Glow Worm
  23. Strawberry Frair
  24. Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone

•Paper Doll [Pulse]- 2005

    • Disc 1:
  1. Paper Doll
  2. You Always Hurt the One You Love
  3. Moonlight Bay
  4. Stardust
  5. Say Si Si
  6. Lord Ups an' Downs (From Epsom Downs)
  7. I'll Be Around
  8. Till Then
  9. When You Come Back to Me
  10. Twice as Much
  11. I'm Afraid to Love You
  12. Someone Loved Someone
  13. Don't Be a Baby, Baby
  14. (If You Can't Sing It) You'll Have to Swing It
  15. Nagasaki
  16. I Met Her on Monday
  17. On the Banks of the Wabash
  18. (I Want) Someone to Care For
  19. There's No One But You
  20. Meet Me Tonight Dreamland
    • Disc 2:
  1. Too Many Irons in the Fire
  2. You Tell Me Your Dream, I'll Tell You Mine
  3. I Don't Know Enough About You
  4. Never Make a Promise in Vain
  5. Put Another Chair at the Table
  6. Oh! My Achin' Heart
  7. Shoe Shine Boy
  8. Just a Kid Named Joe
  9. Sweet Adeline
  10. By the Watermelon Vine, Lindy Lou
  11. I Can't Give You Anything But Love
  12. I Wish
  13. London Rhythm
  14. The Yam'long About Midnight
  15. The Yam
  16. Diga Diga Doo
  17. Loveless Love
  18. Lazy Bones
  19. Solitude
  20. Swing Is the Thing
  • London Sessions: 1934-1939 - 2002
  • Shoe Shine Boy - 2002
  • Boog It - 2001
  • Sweet Harmony [Universal] - 1998
  • The Mills Brothers Anthology 1931-1968 - 1995
    • DISC 1:
  1. Tiger Rag
  2. Nobody's Sweetheart (also known as Nobody's Sweetheart Now)
  3. Rockin' Chair
  4. Dedicated To You - (with Ella Fitzgerald)
  5. Flat Foot Floogie - (with Louis Armstrong)
  6. You Tell Me Your Dream, I'll Tell You Mine
  7. Cherry - (with Louis Armstrong)
  8. Wish Me Luck Amigo, (I Yi, Yi, Yi)
  9. Lazy River
  10. I'll Be Around
  11. Paper Doll
  12. Till Then
  13. You Always Hurt The One You Love
  14. I Wish
  15. Don't Be A Baby, Baby
  16. I Don't Know Enough About You
  17. I Guess I'll Get The Papers And Go Home
  18. Too Many Irons In The Fire
  19. Across The Alley From The Alamo
  20. You Never Miss The Water Til The Well Runs Dry
  21. Gloria
  22. Is It True What They Say About Dixie? - (with Al Jolson)
  23. I Love You So Much It Hurts
  24. I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm
    • DISC 2:
  1. Someday (You'll Want Me To Want You)
  2. If I Had My Way
  3. When You Were Sweet Sixteen
  4. Daddy's Little Girl
  5. Nevertheless
  6. Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone - (with Tommy Dorsey)
  7. Be My Life's Companion - (with Sy Oliver & His Orchestra)
  8. Glow Worm, The - (with Hal McIntyre & His Orchestra)
  9. Shoulder To Weep On, A - (with Sy Oliver & His Orchestra)
  10. Say Si Si
  11. Pretty Butterfly
  12. Jones Boy, The - (with Sy Oliver & His Orchestra)
  13. She Was Five And He Was Ten - (with Sy Oliver & His Orchestra)
  14. You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You - (with Sy Oliver & His Orchestra)
  15. Opus No. 1 (1943 song)Opus One - (with Sy Oliver & His Orchestra)
  16. Smack Dab In The Middle - (with Sy Oliver & His Orchestra)
  17. Standing On The Corner - (with Sonny Burke & His Orchestra)
  18. Queen Of The Senior Prom - (with Sy Oliver & His Orchestra)
  19. When I Lost You
  20. Yellow Bird - (with Milton DeLugg & His Orchestra)
  21. April In Paris - (with Count Basie & His Orchestra)
  22. Blue And Sentimental - (with Count Basie & His Orchestra)
  23. My Shy Violet
  24. Cab Driver
  • Singing the Biggest Christmas Songs - 1995
  • Merry Christmas - 1978
  • Glow with the Mills Brothers - 1978
  • The Best of The Mills Brothers, Volume II (Famous Twinsets # PAS 2-1027)
    • Side A
  1. Daddy's Little Girl
  2. Queen of the Senior Prom
  3. Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland
  4. When You Were Sweet Sixteen
  5. Oh! Ma-Ma (The Butcher Boy)
  6. Ballerina
  7. Cool Water
    • Side B
  1. I Guess I'll Get the Papers and Go Home
  2. I Found a Million Dollar Baby (In a Five and Dime Store)
  3. Let Me Call You Sweetheart
  4. Sweet Adeline
  5. Honeysuckle Rose Blues Bossa Nova
  6. One Dozen Roses
    • Side C
  1. Moonlight and Roses
  2. Poor Butterfly
  3. Memories of You
  4. On the Banks of the Wabash
  5. You Can't Be True, Dear
    • Side D
  1. Any Time
  2. Bye Bye Blackbird
  3. Beer Barrel Polka (Roll Out the Barrel)
  4. South of the Border
  5. Home on the Range
  6. You Never Miss the Water 'till the Well Runs Dry
  7. Tennessee Waltz
  • Such Sweet Singing - 1969 (unverified date) (Vocalion, a div. of DECCA Records, # VL 73859)
    • Side A
  1. When I Lost You
  2. I Cried Like a Baby
  3. All By Myself
  4. Till We Meet Again
  5. Daddy's Little Girl
    • Side B
  1. Oh, How I Miss You Tonight
  2. Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland
  3. If I Had My Way
  4. My Girl Sal
  5. Moonlight Bay
  • Fortuosity - 1968
  • My Shy Violet - 1968
  • The Board of Directors Annual Report (with Count Basie) - 1968
  1. Gentle On My Mind
  2. Cherry
  3. You Never Miss The Water Till The Well Runs Dry
  4. The Glow Worm
  5. Sent for You Yesterday (And Here You Are Today)
  6. Sunny
  7. I'll Be Around
  8. Cielito Lindo
  9. Blue and Sentimental
  10. Every Day I Have The Blues
  • The Mills Brothers Live - 1967
  • The Board of Directors - 1966
  • These Are the Mills Brothers - 1966
  • That Country Feeling - 1964
  • Hymns We Love - 1964
  • Say Si Si and Other Great Latin Hits
  • Everest Records Archive of Folk and Jazz Music: Mills Brothers - 1973
  1. Till Then
  2. I Can't Stop Loving You
  3. Mr. Sandman
  4. He'll Have To Go
  5. You Always Hurt The One You Love
  6. Glow Worm
  7. So Rare
  8. Mood Indigo
  9. One Dozen Roses
  10. Across The Valley From the Alimo

[edit] Film Appearances

[edit] Gallery

John Mills - son, grandson and nephew of the original group’s members

Elmer Hopper - spent 21 years with The Platters in Concert March 2005

[edit] References

 This article does not cite any references or sources. (January 2008)
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[edit] External links