The Mills Brothers, sometimes billed as The Four Mills
Brothers, and originally known as The Four Kings of Harmony, were an
African-American jazz and pop vocal quartet of the 20th century who made more
than 2,000 recordings that combined 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.
Born in Piqua, Ohio, Herbert (1912), Donald (1915), Harry
(1913), and John Mills, Jr. (1911) began practicing in their father’s
barbershop. John, Sr. himself was and
excellent light-opera stylist and sang with a group called the Four Kings of
Harmony. Barbershop harmony was the
Mills boys’ forte, and they never did bring much spiritual or gospel flavor
into their sound (although they did ultimately do a few sides for Decca’s Faith
series).
The brothers began performing at the local opera house (and
even on street corners) while imitating instruments with kazoos. In one performance during the 1920s the teens
forgot their kazoos and began improvising the sound of musical instruments with
their voices while cupping their hands over their mouths. (This became a musical breakthrough for them.) John mastered the bass trumpet and tuba;
Harry mimicked trumpet and sang baritone; Herbert did sax, trombone, and
trumpet; and Donald was the tenor lead vocal.
John, Jr. played the guitar-the only actual instrument the group used.
In the late ‘20s the quartet was signed to perform in a
variety of shows, on WLW-Cincinnati. In
order to make it seem as if more than one group was doing all that singing,
each sponsor of each show gave the act a different name. Hence they sang as the Steamboat Four, the
Tasty East Jesters, and Will, Willie, Wilbur and William, among other
names. They finally worked on a show
(ironically unsponsored) under the name the Mills Brothers.
The group’s fame spread to New York. Agent Tommy Rockwell got the drift and brought
the brothers east, where they wound up on the CBS radio network.
By 1931 they were recording for Brunswick Records. The brothers would go on to have five number
on records of which the first was “Tiger Rag,” issued in December of 1931. The amazing brothers were still youngsters
when they sat atop the musical world in 1931, ranging in age from 16 to
20. Brunswick then released their “Gems
from George White’s Scandals” with Bing Crosby and the Boswell Sisters. It reached number three while “Tiger Rag’s”
flip side, “Nobody’s Sweetheart,” held the number four spot. Their second chart topper came shortly after
their first: “Dinah,” again with Bing Crosby, charted on January 9, 1932, and
spent two weeks at number one.
Perhaps trying to draw attention to the Brothers’ talent,
Brunswick had its labels all read, “No musical instruments or mechanical
devices used on this recording other that one guitar.”
Film now became a big part of the group’s across-the-board
exposure, as they performed in The Big Broadcast (1932), operator 133 (1933),
and Twenty Million Sweethearts (1934).
Jimmy Durante Lupe Velez Mills Brothers Strictly Dynamite 1934.
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Not only were the Mills Brothers destined to be emulated by
hundreds of vocal groups, but many of their recordings would later be covered
by other groups in the style that came to be called rhythm and blues. “Rockin’ Chair” (#4), issued in May of 1932,
had what some historians consider to be the first talking-bass part in a black
group record.
In 1934 the group went to Decca Records and to England. While Decca released new sides, Brunswick recordings were being reissued on the Melotone and Perfect labels as budget line issues. Since British tastes differed, Mills Brothers releases on British Decca (not all of which made it to the States) were generally more jazz and blues oriented than their domestic product.
In 1934 the group went to Decca Records and to England. While Decca released new sides, Brunswick recordings were being reissued on the Melotone and Perfect labels as budget line issues. Since British tastes differed, Mills Brothers releases on British Decca (not all of which made it to the States) were generally more jazz and blues oriented than their domestic product.
After a royal command performance at the London Palladium in
1935, John, Jr. became ill. He died in
January of 1936 at the age of 25. John,
Sr. then took over for his son.
Hits like “Chinatown, My Chinatown” (#10, 1932), “Sweet Sue”
(#8, 1938) kept the group touring the world from Europe to Australia.
The Brothers’ biggest hit came smack in the middle of World
War II. Recorded February 18, 1942, and
released in May, “Paper Doll” took more than a year to chart. When it did so on July 17, 1943, it reached
number one and stayed there for a full 12 weeks, ultimately selling more than
six million copies. Their fourth number
one came in the summer of 1944 with “You Always Hurt the One You Love,” and its
flip, “Till Then,” made it to number eight.
“Till Then” was also their biggest R&B charter, going to number
one. As the available listings only started
in the early ‘40s, the Mills Brothers racked up only 11 recordings on the R&B
hit lists between 1943 and 1949, indicating they may have been going over
better with whites than blacks.
By 1950 the quartet had 50 chart hits. Their last number one was 1952’s “Glow Worm,”
adapted from the German operetta Lysistrata.
It also became their only hit in England, ranking number 10 at the
beginning of 1953.
Up to 1950 almost every Mills Brothers recording featured
only a guitar behind their voices in harmony and/or imitating instruments. It was a gutsy move to imitate trumpets
behind Louis Armstrong and his real trumpet (“Marie” and “The Old Folks at
Home,” among others), and on one cut, “Caravan” (1938), they didn’t sing at
all, just parodied their instruments.
The group dropped their
instrumental mimicking in the early ‘50s, opting instead for backing bands and orchestras. To keep in step with the time the Brothers occasionally found themselves doing renditions of songs by groups who had learned from Mills Brothers’ own records of the ‘30s and ‘40s. They covered THE CHARMS’ “Gumdrop” in 1955, THE CLOVERS’ “Smack Dab in the Middle,” and a cover of THE SILHOUETTES’ rocker “Get a Job” in early 1958, though by now their pop barbershop sound was becoming passé.
John, Sr. retired in the mid-‘50s, but the brothers stayed on the performing scene as a trio and continued to record for Dot. In 1959 “Yellow Bird” peaked at number 70, and it looked like the record buyers had moved on to other sounds. But nine years later the group, now in their mid-to late 50s, hit the charts three times in the midst of the soul and psychedelic era. “Cab Driver” (#23, 1968) was followed by “My Shy Violet” (#73) and “The Ol’ Race Track” (#83), their last charter ever.
instrumental mimicking in the early ‘50s, opting instead for backing bands and orchestras. To keep in step with the time the Brothers occasionally found themselves doing renditions of songs by groups who had learned from Mills Brothers’ own records of the ‘30s and ‘40s. They covered THE CHARMS’ “Gumdrop” in 1955, THE CLOVERS’ “Smack Dab in the Middle,” and a cover of THE SILHOUETTES’ rocker “Get a Job” in early 1958, though by now their pop barbershop sound was becoming passé.
John, Sr. retired in the mid-‘50s, but the brothers stayed on the performing scene as a trio and continued to record for Dot. In 1959 “Yellow Bird” peaked at number 70, and it looked like the record buyers had moved on to other sounds. But nine years later the group, now in their mid-to late 50s, hit the charts three times in the midst of the soul and psychedelic era. “Cab Driver” (#23, 1968) was followed by “My Shy Violet” (#73) and “The Ol’ Race Track” (#83), their last charter ever.
Unfortunately, John, Sr. never go to see the comeback: he
died in 1967. Harry died in 1982 at the
age of 68 while Herbert passed away in 1989 at the age of 77. In the early ‘90s, Donald and his son John
III continued on as a duo. In 1999, Donald Mills, the last remaining original
Mills brother passed away.
A 1950's session with Peggy Lee |
The Mills Brothers’ influence was pervasive: they made black
music acceptable to a wide audience and encouraged other black vocalists to
carry on what they had started. And lest
we forget, they did it with dignity and grace in difficult racial times,
carried forward by their warmth of character and mellow sound. (info mainly from
vocalgroup.org)
1 comment:
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