The Mills Brothers
The Mills Brothers, sometimes billed The Four Mills Brothers and originally known as Four Boys and a Guitar,[1] were an American jazz and traditional pop vocal quartet who made more than 2,000 recordings that sold more than 50 million copies and garnered at least three dozen gold records.
"Donald Mills" redirects here. For other uses, see Don Mills (disambiguation).
The Mills Brothers
1925–1982
- John Mills II
- Randy Taylor
- John Mills Jr.
- Herbert Mills
- Harry Mills
- Donald Mills
- John Mills Sr.
- Norman Brown
- Elmer Hopper
The Mills Brothers were the first African-American artists to have their own show on national network radio (on CBS in 1930); they made appearances in film;[2] and were the first to have a No. 1 hit on the Billboard singles chart, with "Paper Doll" in 1943. They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998.
Early years[edit]
The Mills Brothers were born into a family of nine in Piqua, Ohio, United States.[3]
The quartet consisted of Donald (lead tenor vocals, April 29, 1915 – November 13, 1999),[4] Herbert (tenor vocals, April 2, 1912 – April 12, 1989),[5] Harry (baritone vocals, August 9, 1913 – June 28, 1982), and John Jr. (tenor (four-string) guitar, double bass, bass vocals; October 19, 1910 – January 23, 1936).
Their father, John Hutchinson Mills (February 11, 1882 – December 8, 1967), was a barber with his own shop and founded a barbershop quartet[6] called "The Four Kings of Harmony". He was the son of William Hutchinson Mills and Cecilia Simms who lived in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.[7]
As the boys grew older, they began singing in the choir of the Cyrene African Methodist Episcopal Church and in the Park Avenue Baptist Church in Piqua. After lessons at the Spring Street Grammar School, they gathered in front of their father's barbershop or on the corner to perform. They entered an amateur contest at May's Opera House but while on stage Harry realized he had lost his kazoo. He improvised by cupping his hand over his mouth and mimicking the sound of trumpet.[6] The brothers liked the idea and worked it into their act. John, the bass vocalist, would imitate the tuba. Harry, a baritone, imitated the trumpet, Herbert became the second trumpet, and Donald the trombone. John accompanied the four-part harmony on ukulele and then guitar. They practiced imitating orchestras they heard on the radio.[8]
Postwar years[edit]
The rise of rock and roll did little to decrease the Mills Brothers' popularity. "Glow Worm" jumped to number two on the pop charts in 1952. It was the fifth million selling record for the Mills Brothers.[12] The track also peaked at No. 10 in the UK Singles Chart in January 1953.[13] "Opus One", an updated version of the Tommy Dorsey hit, was soon on the charts as well, followed by "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "The Jones Boy", "Yellow Bird", "Standing on the Corner", and "If I Had My Way".[12]
In 1956, John Sr., when he was 68, stopped touring with the group.[3] As a trio, the Mills Brothers were frequent guests on television talk shows and variety shows. After leaving Decca for Dot Records, they had a hit in 1958 with a version of "Get a Job", originally recorded by The Silhouettes.[6] They reached the charts with "Yellow Bird" two years before Arthur Lyman's version was a Top Ten hit. "Cab Driver", written by Carson Parks and recorded in 1968, was their last hit (No. 23 Pop, No. 3 Easy Listening).[3]
The Mills Brothers in concert, March 2005
John Mills, son, grandson and nephew of the original group's members
The Mills Brothers' fiftieth anniversary in show business was celebrated in 1976 with a tribute at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, hosted by Bing Crosby. At the time, Harry was now almost blind because of diabetes.
As a trio, Herbert, Harry and Donald continued performing on the oldies circuit until Harry's death in 1982.[3] Herbert and Donald continued until Herbert's death in 1989.[3] Then, Donald began performing with his son, John II.[3] In 1998 the Recording Academy recognized the Mills family's contributions to popular music when it presented Donald, as the sole surviving member, with a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement.
After Donald's death of pneumonia on November 13, 1999, John II became the next family member to tour under the name "The Mills Brothers" with Elmer Hopper, who had previously sung lead with Paul Robi's Platters. They were at times joined by John II's eldest brother, Don Mills, Jr. Following Hopper's death on May 5, 2019, John II started performing with Randy Taylor as a featured vocalist.
Other references[edit]
The song "You Always Hurt the One You Love" was featured in the 2010 video game Bioshock 2.