The Essential Mills Brothers - Four Boys and a Guitar (1995)

2012-12-23T23:20:23Z

The Essential Mills Brothers - Four Boys and a Guitar (1995)


1. Dinah 3:00
2. Shine 3:19
3. I Heard 2:27
4. How'm I Doin'? (Hey, Hey!) 2:29
5. Rockin' Chair 3:12
6. Chinatown, My Chinatown 2:37
7. Sweet Sue, Just You 2:59
8. St. Louis Blues 2:22
9. Bugle Call Rag 2:01
10. Dirt Dishing Daisy 3:16
11. Diga Diga Doo 3:08
12. Doin' the New Low Down 3:10
13. Fiddlin' Joe 2:25
14. Swing It, Sister 2:34
15. Jungle Fever 3:10
16. Put on Your Old Grey Bonnet 2:39
17. Sleepy Head 3:03
18. My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekua, Hawaii 2:35

Personnel:
Donald Mills - Vocals
Harry Mills - Baritone (Vocal)
Herbert Mills - Tenor (Vocal)
John Mills, Jr. - Tenor (Vocal)
+
Bing Crosby - Vocals
Cab Calloway - Vocals
Johnny Hodges - Clarinet, Sax (Alto), Sax (Soprano)
Harry Carney - Clarinet, Sax (Baritone)
Jimmy Dorsey - Clarinet
Bunny Berigan - Trumpet
Juan Tizol - Trombone (Valve)
Duke Ellington & His Orchestra

An astonishing vocal group that grew into one of the longest-lasting oldies acts in American popular music, the Mills Brothers quickly moved from novelty wonders to pop successes and continued amazing audiences for decades. Originally billed as "Four Boys and a Guitar," the group's early records came complete with a note assuring listeners that the only musical instrument they were hearing was a guitar. The caution was understandable, since the Mills Brothers were so proficient at re-creating trumpets, trombones, and saxophones with only their voices that early singles like "Tiger Rag" and "St. Louis Blues" sounded closer to a hot Dixieland combo than a vocal group. And even after the novelty wore off, the group's intricate harmonies continued charming audiences for decades.

The four brothers were all born in Piqua, OH -- John, Jr. in 1910, Herbert in 1912, Harry in 1913, and Donald in 1915. Their father owned a barber shop and founded a barbershop quartet as well, called the Four Kings of Harmony. His sons obviously learned their close harmonies first-hand, and began performing around the area. At one show, Harry Mills forgot his kazoo -- the group's usual accompaniment -- and ended up trying to emulate the instrument by cupping his hand over his mouth. The brothers were surprised to hear the sound of a trumpet proceeding from Harry's mouth, so they began to work the novelty into their act, with John taking tuba, Donald trombone, and Herbert a second trumpet. The act was perfect for vaudeville, and the Mills Brothers also began broadcasting over a Cincinnati radio station during the late '20s. After moving to New York, the group became a sensation and hit it big during 1931 and early 1932 with the singles "Tiger Rag" and "Dinah" (the latter a duet with Bing Crosby). Dumbfounded listeners hardly believed the notice accompanying the records: "No musical instruments or mechanical devices used on this recording other than one guitar." Though the primitive audio of the era lent them a bit of latitude, the Mills Brothers indeed sounded exactly like they'd been backed by a small studio band. (It was, in essence, the flipside of early material by Duke Ellington's Orchestra, on which the plunger mutes of Bubber Miley and Tricky Sam Nanton resulted in horns sounding exactly like voices.)

The exposure continued during 1932, with appearances in the film The Big Broadcast and more hits including "St. Louis Blues" and "Bugle Call Rag." John, Jr.'s sudden death in 1936 was a huge blow to the group, but father John, Sr. took over as bass singer and Bernard Addison became the group's guitarist. Still, the novelty appeared to wear off by the late '30s; despite duets with Ella Fitzgerald ("Dedicated to You") and Louis Armstrong ("Darling Nelly Gray"), the Mills Brothers' records weren't performing as well as they had earlier in the decade. All that changed in 1943 with the release of "Paper Doll," a sweet, intimate ballad that became one of the biggest hits of the decade -- 12 weeks on the top of the charts, and six million records sold (plus sheet music). The group made appearances in several movies during the early '40s, and hit number one again in 1944 with "You'll Always Hurt the One You Love."

The influence of middle of the road pop slowly crept into their material from the '40s; by the end of the decade, the Mills Brothers began recording with traditional orchestras (usually conducted by Sy Oliver, Hal McIntyre, or Sonny Burke). In 1952, "The Glow Worm" became their last number one hit. The group soldiered on during the '50s, though John, Sr. semi-permanently retired from the group in 1956. A move from Decca to Dot brought a moderate 1958 hit, a cover of the Silhouettes' "Get a Job" that made explicit the considerable influence on doo wop exerted by early Mills Brothers records. As a trio, Herbert, Harry and Donald continued performing on the oldies circuit until Harry's death in 1982, and Herbert's in 1988. The last surviving sibling, Donald, began performing with the third generation of the family -- his son, John II -- until his own death in 1999. --- John Bush, Rovi

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The Mills Brothers - Swing is the Thing - Original 1934-1938 Recordings (2005)

2016-10-23T11:29:33Z

The Mills Brothers - Swing is the Thing - Original 1934-1938 Recordings (2005)


01. Sweet Georgia Brown
02. Old Fashioned Love
03. Miss Otis Regrets
04. Sweeter Than Sugar
05. Rockin' Chair
06. I've Found A New Baby
07. Some Of These Days
08. Limehouse Blues
09. Lulu's Back In Town
10. Sweet And Slow
11. London Rhythm
12. Solitude
13. Swing Is The Thing
14. Carry Me Back To Old Virginny
15. Darling Nellie Gray
16. Organ Grinder's Swing
17. Caravan
18. Flat Foot Floogie
19. My Walking Stick
20. Funiculi Funicula
21. The Yam
22. The Lambeth Walk

John Mills, Sr. - vocals
Herbert Mills - vocals
Harry Mills - vocals
Donald Mills - vocals
Bernard Addison - guitar
Norman Brown – guitar

Combining the traditional elements of vaudeville and barbershop with more recent developments in the jazz idiom, with their ‘Four Boys And a Guitar’ billing the Mills Brothers elevated Negro minstrelsy to new heights.And while their ‘No Other Instruments except comb and paper…’ may at times have been less than accurate, for versatility in contrived orchestral imitation (albeit derivative – it owed something to the Comedy Harmonists) was nothing less than sensational.They were prolific recording artists whose catalogue of seventy hit records between 1931 and 1968 (including the estimated equivalent of five No.1s between 1931 and 1954) places them high among the most popular vocal groups of all time.

During the mid-1920s the trio of brothers Herbert, (1912-1989), Harry (1913-1982) and Donald (1915-1999) would harmonise for their own enjoyment at home in their native Piqua, Ohio. Encouraged by their ballad-singer-turnedbarber father John Mills Senior (1882-1967) they were joined by their elder brother John (1911-1936), a talented guitarist who doubled with vocal imitations of bass and tuba, and appeared together in the Piqua area in dances and vaudeville shows. Billed as ‘Four Boys And A Kazoo’ they improvised their own backing with lifelike imitations of saxophones, trumpets, trombones and a variety of other instruments.

The Mills Brothers’ hit records sold globally in large numbers and, like other entertainers of the early talkie era, they also endeared themselves to world audiences via radio and films, beginning with Big Broadcast Of 1932 (for Paramount, 1932; co-starring Bing Crosby, Kate Smith, Burns and Allen, Cab Calloway and the Boswell Sisters) in which they reintroduced “Tiger Rag”.

In 1935 the Brothers had made another successful screen appearance (in Broadway Gondolier, a Warner Bros musical starring Dick Powell) but in 1936 John Mills Jr. suddenly and prematurely died and their first instinct was to disband. However, John Sr. soon filled the breach and remained with the group until he retired, in 1956, and Herbert, Harry and Donald continued the group as a trio until the 1970s. After 1937, the effects of the Depression had abated and the Brothers made regular tours and appeared on radio and records with Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald and others.Throughout the war years they retained their popularity, not least through their Golden Disc versions of “Lazy River”,“You Always Hurt The One You Love” and “Paper Doll” (their biggest hit of all, with sales over six million, after ‘White Christmas’ this last ranks as the major smash of the 1940s). --- Peter Dempsey, naxos.com

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The Essential Mills Brothers - Four Boys and a Guitar (1995)

The Mills Brothers - Swing is the Thing - Original 1934-1938 Recordings (2005)