love me some Mills Brothers

Subject: in praise of the Mills Brothers
From: keberoxu
Date: 16 Dec 18 - 03:37 PM

A Mudcat thread exists for Hoagy Carmichael's Up A Lazy River.
For at least one generation, that song brings back memories
of the Mills Brothers who started singing it in their youth
and went on singing it for literally decades.

Up A Lazy River: early Mills Brothers 'soundie'


with Bing Crosby in 1949


1961: Jack Benny's writers script a sketch for the Mills Brothers [the singing starts at 4 minutes]

1967: Dean Martin show with the Mills Brother

I don't think the blue clickies are clicking ...

<a href=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_WhfbPQDsQ>1967: Dean Martin show with the Mills Brother</a>

Subject: RE: love me some Mills Brothers
From: GUEST,keberoxu
Date: 16 Dec 18 - 04:38 PM

right, well, at least the blue clicky went blue that time.
I'm not giving up yet.

Mills Brothers begin singing at 4 minutes (Jack Benny show, 1961)


by George, I think I've got it

Subject: RE: love me some Mills Brothers
From: GUEST,keberoxu
Date: 16 Dec 18 - 05:00 PM

Showbiz careers work better with connections.
In this case, there is a Warner Brothers films connection,
with the radio shows in between the two world wars.

This is a rare video of the earliest of all the variations
of the Mills Brothers group:
because it contains all four brothers!

John Mills, Jr., plays the guitar and sings the bass parts.
The story goes that it was John Jr., the oldest I believe of the brothers,
who was keenest to succeed and progress in show business
and whose ambitions nudged the other brothers along.

Yes, when they began, they sang two types of arrangements:
words and music in harmony, with the guitar, and
wordless mimicry of a brass band. Watch their faces --
when you hear the hornlike sounds --
they do all that INSIDE the mouth and it doesn't show outside.
They were so good that they used to sing, a cappella,
early Duke Ellington arrangements!

This film dates from 1934.
Sadly, John Mills Jr. had only two more years to live,
and his untimely death was a serious blow.
The remaining brothers had a hiatus from performing while
mourning their brother;

fortunately for music history,
the family rallied around, and
they resumed performing with some lineup changes.
Which is a story for another post.

"Twenty Million Sweethearts," Warner Brothers film

Subject: RE: love me some Mills Brothers
From: leeneia
Date: 16 Dec 18 - 11:25 PM

I'm a fan of the Mills Brothers too.

Subject: RE: love me some Mills Brothers
From: leeneia
Date: 16 Dec 18 - 11:30 PM

When I tried the blue clicky above, I got "Video unavailable."

This should link to the Mills Bros singing Lazy River. I love how they seem to make a small orchestra with their voices.

Mills Bros on TV

Subject: RE: love me some Mills Brothers
From: GUEST,keberoxu
Date: 17 Dec 18 - 09:16 AM

Leeneia, dear friend,
you want the clicky link
in the THIRD post.

it's the SECOND post link that has faulty URL code.

Subject: RE: love me some Mills Brothers
From: leeneia
Date: 17 Dec 18 - 11:11 AM

Sorry. None of them worked for me.

I love their performance of Yellow Bird, too.

Subject: RE: love me some Mills Brothers
From: GUEST,keberoxu
Date: 17 Dec 18 - 01:51 PM

Leeneia, I'm really truly sorry to hear that news.
From the third post on the thread,
all the links, yours as well as mine.
work for me; wonder what the problem is.


The last 16 Dec post on the thread, the one from you,
I may be mistaken about this but
I believe that "Lazy River" video
dates from before 1940
and was intended for the cinema of the day,
rather than for television.

That "soundie" film of "Lazy River" includes
an unusual line-up for the Mills Brothers.
By the time it was filmed,
the death of the oldest (I believe) of the brothers,
John Mills Sr. who
used to sing bass and play the guitar,
demanded a personnel replacement.

The guitarist is not a family member, if my info is correct.
As you can see, the guitarist does not sing, as the departed brother did.
Then there is Harry Mills.
My info says that at the time of this film,
Harry -- who, otherwise, would have been the singer second from the right --
was serving in the armed forces.
Again, my info may be inexact here,
but I believe this film was shot before World War II.
So Harry Mills did his service during peacetime.
I cannot identify his replacement. Also, as the guitarist, not family.

Harry sang the baritone, or upper bass (if there is such a thing).
As for the lowest part, the bass voice,
John Mills Sr., the father of the Mills Brothers,
appears on the far right, where his oldest son used to be.

So this "soundie" film clip
shows a group with two brothers, one father, and two non-relatives.

Subject: RE: love me some Mills Brothers
From: keberoxu
Date: 17 Dec 18 - 10:02 PM

This link, although it's YouTube, is no video, but a sound recording.
The performance was live on Bing Crosby's radio show.

Bing Crosby, 1949, radio appearance with the Mills Brothers

Bing Crosby was young enough, in 1949,
that he still had some high notes left!
You can hear one such when he takes a chorus of "Paper Doll."

Subject: RE: love me some Mills Brothers
From: keberoxu
Date: 18 Dec 18 - 12:48 PM

From the Dean Martin television show, dated 12/28/1967.
By this time, the Mills Brothers had been singing together
for over thirty years, with or without their big brother John Jr.

John Sr., their father, finally retired from the group, pleading old age;
his surviving three sons continued, as the Mills Brothers,
without their father, and that is how you see them
on the broadcast of the Dean Martin show.
As with the Jack Benny show, sketch/skit dialogue has been written
so that the host can perform with the guest artists.
Note Dean Martin saying, "I have all your records" -- he meant it.
Some of Dean Martin's singing diction comes from the Mills Brothers.

Dean Martin with the Mills Brothers

Subject: RE: love me some Mills Brothers
From: keberoxu
Date: 18 Dec 18 - 06:13 PM

The fourth post on this thread drops the name of Duke Ellington.
Let's see what the Mills Brothers did with it.

1932 (with John Mills Jr.): "It Don't Mean A Thing"


"Desert Caravan"


by way of warning, here's my transcription of the jive/rap/recitation
that precedes the music-making in the "soundie" film clip.



Look here, children, now, how come
This here barbecue looks so glum
?   ?   sister, you ain't dumb

[I lost about four lines here]

No jive and no jumpin'
Well I guess this calls for some p'n

Subject: RE: love me some Mills Brothers
From: leeneia
Date: 21 Dec 18 - 01:26 PM

Thanks, keb. Those are great! I didn't know that the Mills Bros were into mouth music early on.

The middle of the Caravan shows that break dancing has been around a lot longer than I thought.

Subject: RE: love me some Mills Brothers
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 21 Dec 18 - 07:24 PM

Here are some Mills Brothers songs whose lyrics have been posted at Mudcat:

ACROSS THE ALLEY FROM THE ALAMO
BRIGHTEN THE CORNER WHERE YOU ARE
DADDY'S LITTLE GIRL
JUST A KID NAMED JOE
PAPER DOLL
ROCKIN’ CHAIR
SALLY SUNSHINE
THE JONES BOY
YELLOW BIRD