CS-8342 |||||||| MITCH MILLER - MEMORIES SING ALONG WITH MITCH

(Courtesy of CBS Special Products, a Service of CBS, Inc.)

In his long career, he brought you the sing-along --- and so much more.

For those of us old enough who can remember who Mitch Miller was (he passed away in 2010 at 99 years of age) we probably have the memory of his NBC TV show "Sing Along With Mitch" whereupon he led his (mostly male) chorus in hundreds of old songs from Tin Pan Alley. Old songs from the turn of the century (the 20th century!). However, those of us who only remember that image of the man know but a small part of his career and huge influence on the music industry.

Mitch Miller graduated from the Eastman School of Music, and was a master of the oboe and English horn. He was in great demand in New York during the 1930s and 1940s for work with symphony orchestras and Broadway pit orchestras - for, you see, the oboe was a difficult reed instrument to master, and he was one of the very best on the New York musical scene at the time. This work later segued into his involvement at Keynote and Mercury records in the 1940s. He worked on the early multi-voice records for Patti Page at Mercury, and also helped Frankie Laine at that same label with the novelty hit "Mule Train".

In 1950, Mitch jumped over as chief A&R man at Columbia Records. This proved to be his most important contribution to the music world. He personally handled the careers of new stars Rosemary Clooney, Tony Bennett, Guy Mitchell, Johnnie Ray, Johnny Mathis, and discovered Leslie Uggams. In addition, he worked very closely with the established stars at the label like Doris Day, Frank Sinatra, Jo Stafford and Marty Robbins. He brought Frankie Laine and Vic Damone over from Mercury, and hired Percy Faith as his "right-hand" A&R man in New York.

Mitch had the uncanny ability to sense what the public would like, was always interested in new sounds, and took full advantage of all the new high fidelity techniques available in the recording studios in the early 1950s. His musical instincts most often paid off in huge sales. Frank Sinatra initially liked him, then blamed him for the slump Frank experienced in his record sales (and overall career) in the later years of Sinatra's tenure at Columbia (while Mitch pointed out that his affair with Ava Gardner and the changing tastes of the former "bobby-soxers" really caused Sinatra's temporary decline). Rosemary Clooney - who was forced to sing "Come-On-A-My- House" by Mitch - did not always agree with his choices. But, after she left Columbia, she had to admit that she never had any additional big hits at her subsequent labels.

While all this was going on, Mitch was also heavily involved producing Little Golden Records - those little yellow 78 rpm children's records that sold for 29 cents. Mitch always disliked rock and roll, and would not allow any of it on Columbia (although Columbia's country producers Don Law and Frank Jones snuck some rockabilly onto the label!). As the 1960s dawned, Mitch's influence waned somewhat, primarily because of his new found stardom via his TV show. One particular selection - "Cuban Nightingale" is a good example of "pre sing-along" Mitch Miller when he was constantly busy producing records - in this instance, one of his own. His use here of the harpsichord (Stan Freeman), the infectious latin beat, and the chorus singing the catchy but strange "Sun Sun Sun Ba Ba Ee!" is a good example of Mitch and his musical imagination in full swing. Produced and conducted by Mitch Miller.

- Michael McKenna