The Mills Brothers
The Mills Brothers were an American a cappella vocal group of the 20th century in the jazz, swing and pop area, which can look back on over 50 years of stage anniversary.
history
The quartet originally consisted of four brothers from Piqua , Ohio :
- John (February 1, 1910 - January 24, 1936), (guitar and tuba)
- Herbert (April 2, 1912 - April 12, 1989), (tenor and saxophone)
- Harry (born August 19, 1913 - † June 28, 1982), (baritone and trumpet)
- Donald (born April 29, 1915 - † November 13, 1999), (tenor and saxophone)
The brothers came into contact with vocal music at an early age through their father, John Mills Sr., who was the founder and member of a barbershop quartet called the "Four Kings of Harmony" . They also received musical training in the church choirs of the city's Methodist and Baptist congregations. The brothers formed their own quartet under the name “Four Boys and a Guitar” when they were young and had their first appearances in smaller theaters in Ohio in the 1920s. With radio appearances at the station WLW Radio in Cincinnati , Ohio , in the year 1928 they gained national fame. There they were allegedly discovered by Duke Ellington , who is said to have given them a recording contract with Brunswick Records in New York in 1931.
In 1930 they first appeared in New York under the name "The Mills Brothers" . In the first studio appointment on October 12, 1931, their versions of the title " Tiger Rag " / "Nobody's Sweetheart" were created for the first single, which took first place on the pop hit parade for four weeks and helped the quartet to its first million seller in 1932. The characteristics of the group, which sang a cappella and was only accompanied by a guitar, were deceptively real imitations of bass, trumpet, trombone and saxophone. In 1931 she made her film debut in New York in the numbered film "The Big Broadcast" , which was followed by a number of other film appearances. A tour of Great Britain and appearances at the London Palladium in 1934 made her known in Europe. After the death of the eldest brother John in 1936, the father, John (born February 11, 1889, † December 8, 1967; he sang the bass), joined the group, who until then still worked as a hairdresser. From that time on, Norman Brown was the guitarist of the Mills Brothers.
In 1943 the Mills Brothers had their biggest hit with “ Paper Doll ” , which sold six million times and topped the charts for 12 weeks. Other million-sellers were You Always Hurt The One You Love, recorded on February 27, 1944, and "Glow Worm" , recorded on July 7, 1952, which was also her last number one hit. Little by little the group changed their repertoire and recorded records with different bands. In 1957, John Mills withdrew from the group after a leg amputation. The group continued their work as a trio and changed their repertoire in the following years towards Schlager.
They had their last hit parade entry in November 1968 with "The Ol 'Race Track". After the death of Harry Mills in 1982, the Mills Brothers story ended for a few years. Donald wanted to bring his son John into the group and continue as a trio. Herbert couldn't go on stage because of back problems, so Donald and John performed as a duo. In the mid-1990s, they released the CD Still There's You , which included new songs and old Mills Brothers hits. The two have performed all over the United States. Donald wanted to spend the millennium on stage, but died shortly before. John continues the Mills Brothers tradition with Elmer Hopper (former member of The Platters ). Mills Brothers fans from all over the world meet in Piqua every year.
The Mills Brothers made 2,490 recordings in the course of their career, among others with jazz musicians such as Duke Ellington (1931), Don Redman (1931), Ella Fitzgerald (1937) and Louis Armstrong (1937-1940). They were the most successful vocal group in the history of American popular music.
Selected songs
- Across The Alley From The Alamo, March 3, 1947
- Any Time (Lawson)
- Any Time, Any Day, Anywhere (Young - Wiley)
- Autumn Leaves (Mercer - Prevert - Kosma)
- Baby Won't You Please Come Home (Williams - Warfield)
- Basin Street Blues ( S. Williams )
- Be My Life's Companion (1952)
- Big Boy Blue (1937) with Ella Fitzgerald
- Blue and Sentimental (with Count Basie Orchestra)
- Boog It (J. Plamer - C. Calloway - R. "Buck" Ram) with Louis Armstrong
- By the Light of the Silvery Moon
- Cab Driver (1968)
- Caravan
- Carry Me Back to Old Virginny (T. Bland) with Louis Armstrong
- Cherry (D. Redman - Ascap) (1940) with Louis Armstrong
- Chinatown, My Chinatown (Jerome - Schwartz) (1942)
- Coney Island Washboard (Nestor - Shugart - Durant - Adams)
- Daddy's Little Girl (1950)
- Darling Nelly Gray (BR Hanby) (1937)
- Don't Be Afraid To Tell Your Mother (Grier - Poe - Tomlin)
- Dream of You ( Sy Oliver - J. Lunceford - EP Moran)
- Every Little Moment (The Boswell Sisters)
- Fiddlin´ Joe (Bagar - Cavanaugh)
- Gloria (L. Rene)
- Glow Worm (Lincke - Mercer) (1952)
- Goodbye Blues (McHugh - Fields - Johnson)
- He'll Have To Go (Allison)
- How Am I Doing Hey Hey (Branch - Redman)
- If I Had My Way (J. Kendis - L. Klein)
- In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree (E. Van Alsthyne - HH Williams) with Louis Armstrong
- I Still Get A Thrill (Davis - Coots)
- I Yi Yi Amigo (J. Redmont - J. Cavanaugh)
- I Heard (Redmann - Mills)
- I'll See You In My Dreams (Kahn - Jones)
- It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) (Ellington - Mills)
- I've Found A New Baby (Palmer - Williams)
- I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm (1949)
- Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider (Traditional)
- Jungle Fever (Dietz - Donaldson)
- Lazybones ( Hoagy Carmichael - Mercer)
- Lazy River (H. Carmichael / S. Arodin)
- Limehouse Blues (Braham - Furber)
- Lulu's Back in Town (H. Warren)
- Marie (I. Berlin) (1940) with Louis Armstrong
- Miss Otis Regrets ( Porter )
- Mister Sandman (Ballard)
- Moanin 'For You (Pilar)
- Mood Indigo (Ellington - Mills - Bicard)
- My Gal Sal (Paul - Dresser)
- My Walking Stick (I. Berlin) with Louis Armstrong
- Nagasaki (H. Warren - M. Dixon)
- Nevertheless (1950)
- Nobody's Sweetheart (Kahn - Erdmann - Meyers - Schoebel)
- Old Fashioned Love (Traditional)
- Opus One ( Sy Oliver - S. Garis)
- Organ Grinders Swing
- Queen Of The Senior Prom (E. Penney - J. Richards - S. Lee)
- Paper Doll (JS Black) (1943)
- Poor Butterfly (Hubbell - Golden)
- Put on Your Old Gray Bonnet (Murphy - Wenrich)
- Rockin 'Chair (Carmichael)
- Rockin 'Chair Swing (Schaeffer- Lopez)
- Say Si Si (E. Leucon - A. Stillman - F. Luban)
- Since We Fell Out OF Love (Tomlin)
- Smack Dab In The Middle (CE Calhoun)
- Smoke Rings (Washington - Gifford)
- Some of These Days (Brooks)
- St. Louis Blues (cell phone)
- Stardust (Carmichael - Parish)
- Sweet Georgia Brown (Bernie - Pinkard - Casey)
- Sweet Lucy Brown (Bolian - Reed)
- Sweet Sue, Just You (Harris - Young)
- Sweeter Than Sugar (Boalin - Reed)
- Swing high, swing low
- Tea For Two (Youmans - Caesar)
- There Goes My Headache (Tomlin)
- Tiger Rag (Fields - La Rocca)
- Till Then (Wood - Marcus - Seiler) (1944)
- That Cat Is High
- The Flat Foot Floogie (B. Green - S. Gaillard - S. Steward) (1938) with Louis Armstrong
- The Jones Boy (V. Mizzy - M. Curtis) (1954)
- The Music Goes Round And Round
- The Old Folks At Home (S. Foster) with Louis Armstrong
- The Old Man Of The Mountain (Young - Brown)
- The Window Washer Man (H. Malanga - M. Barry)
- What's The Reason I'm Not Pleasin 'You (Traditional)
- WPA (J. Stone) with Louis Armstrong
- You Always Hurt The One You Love (Roberts - Fischer) (1944)
- You Rascal You (Theard)
- You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You (R. Morgan - L. Stock - J. Cavanaugh)
- You Tell Me Your Dream (C. Daniels - S. Rice - A. Brown)
List of film appearances (incomplete)
- The Big Broadcast (Paramount 1932)
- Operator 13 (MGM 1934)
- Twenty Million Sweethearts (Warner Brothers 1934)
- Broadway Gondolier (Warner Brothers 1935)
- Reveille with Beverly (Columbia 1943)
- If I had you (1950)
Individual evidence
- ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 25.
- ↑ ( ex. )
- ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , 1985, 37.
- ↑ Butler County Biografies, pp. 23 f.
literature
- Warner, Jay: The Billboard Book Of American Singing Groups. A History 1940–1990 . New York City / New York: Billboard Books, 1992, pp. 44-49
