If you remember the Mills Brothers, you are much older than we thought you were, or you are one who has swallowed an enormous amount of the American songbook no matter your age. For those of you puzzled by the impact of the brothers on our music history, there was a time when they, whether as a quartet or trio, made a countless number of recordings and sold more than 50 million copies and embossed their legacy with some three dozen gold records.
Our usual practice is to devote this column to a single, and sometimes a couple, of personalities under the radar of public recognition. Once you get a notion of the Mills Brothers’ historic importance, however, only the passing of time and changing tastes in music can diminish their popularity—and even that is no guarantee of erasing their name.
To begin with, the four Mills Brothers were made up of Donald, the lead singer, and tenor (1915-1999); Herbert, second tenor (1912-1989); Harry, baritone (1913-1982); and John, Jr., tenor, guitar and double bass (1910-1936). They were members of a family of nine, a nonet that had their beginning in Piqua, Ohio. John Hutchinson Mills, their father was a barber with his own barbershop, and perhaps inevitably, a harmonizing quartet. The brothers began singing in the choir of the Cyrene African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Park Avenue Baptist Church in their hometown.
However, the quartet’s most prominent venue was right in front of their father’s barbershop, after lessons from the Spring Street Grammar School, at May’s Opera House. Here they gained recognition after Harry lost his kazoo, and he mimicked the sound of a trumpet by cupping his hands over his mouth. It was such an effective improvisation that they decided to include it in their act with John imitating the tuba; Harry, the trumpet; Herbert, the second trumpet, and Donald, the trombone. John accompanied the created instrumentation with an actual ukulele and guitar performance. The idea was to capture the sound of the current bands and orchestras.
The group really began to garner attention after a 1928 appearance at May’s between Rin Tin Tin features, where they accompanied the Harold Greenameyer Big Band to Cincinnati for an audition with radio station WLW. For the most part, it was a successful venture, and the Brothers were hired, but not the band. Soon they received an even bigger break and exposure when Duke Ellington and his orchestra came to town and the maestro heard a performance. Ellington arranged an audition for them with Okeh Records where they signed and set for a date in New York City.
Two years later, William S. Paley, the executive of CBS Radio, was asked to listen to a broadcast of the brothers. He immediately went down and put them on the air. The next day they were no longer “The Steamboat Four,” but the Mills Brothers and signed to a three-year contract—making them the first African Americans to have a network show on radio.
Along with the radio exposure, the brothers recorded their first release for Brunswick Records, “Tiger Rag,” and it became a number-one hit, sold over a million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. A string of top-selling records followed including “Ole Rockin’ Chair,” and “Lazy River.” After four years with Brunswick, they signed with Decca where they remained until the 1950s. The only instrument used on the recordings at these two companies was the guitar. Meanwhile, they continued to be popular on radio where in the 1930s they were sponsored by Standard Oil, Procter & Gamble, Crisco, and Crosley Radio.
The Mills Brothers received additional recognition when they began appearing in films, none more significant than their first, “The Big Broadcast” with such luminaries as Bing Crosby, Cab Calloway, and the Boswell Sisters. They also performed in cartoon shorts for the Fleischer Brothers. But it was their regular CBS show that kept them in public view, along with such recordings as “Sleepy Head,” “Lazy Bones,” “Sweet Sue,” and “Shoe Shine Boy.”
So extensive was their renown that they were invited to give a command performance before British royalty in 1934—another first for African Americans. It was during this time that John, Jr. became ill and died. Their father, John Sr., replaced him on tuba and singing bass. They were also joined by guitarist Bernard Addison.
Their recordings with Louis Armstrong gave them more fame and fortune. From 1939 through the war years, their recordings were bestsellers, and they truly hit the gold mine with the recording of “Paper Doll,” which became their signature song.
To offset the power and surge of rock and roll, they recorded Johnny Mercer’s “Glow Worm,” and that kept them on the hit parade. In 1976, at their 50th anniversary, Bing Crosby was the host, and the only sad note to the affair was diabetes that had robbed Harry of his sight. After Harry’s death in 1982, the group continued through the years with other members of the family filling in for the deceased and departed.
In 1998, when Donald was the last surviving member, the group was presented with a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement. Donald died of pneumonia in 1999, and the group was left for John II. and his eldest brother to carry on the seemingly inexhaustible Mills Brothers tradition.