Obit: Mitch Miller, 99, "Sing Along With Mitch"

[RicoGregg]

He passed over the weekend in NYC:

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-mew-mitch-miller-20100803,0,5743152.story

 

[Ultimajock]

...I assume both Frank Sinatra and Dagmar will still be avoiding him in Heaven because of "Mama Will Bark" ;-) ...

 

[FreddyE1977]

Wow, I had no idea he was still alive! I think my dad owned everything he ever recorded on either LP or 8-track.

 

[easttxtv]

I remember my dad having the Sing Along With Mitch album.

 

[landtuna]

Wow, I had no idea he was still alive!

Me either. Last I remember hearing about him was when he was ranting about that new "rock n roll" music and proclaiming it would never last.

At least he had a long time to think about it.

 

[LKellerIII]

I remember my dad having the Sing Along With Mitch album.

Your dad didn't have "the" (only) Sing Along ith Mitch Album. There were a series of them. According to the LA Times obit, they were the best selling albums in the late 50s and 60s, until the Beatles came along. The article said the Beatles displaced Mitch in '74, but I think they meant '64.

Mitch was quite an accomplished guy...not my personal cup of tea, since I was a baby boomer rock and roller, but definitely a musical icon of my parents' generation.

 

[Bob1370]

Mitch Miller became known as an opponent of rock based on his famous speech at the 1958 Kansas City radio announcers' convention blasting the state of pop radio at that moment.

But the reality isn't so cut and dried. He wasn't the rock-hater many people think he was.

I interviewed him several times in his later years, found him to be a warm and personable man, and far from a knee-jerk critic of rock or any other musical form. What he really was critical of, was the combination of bubble-gum songwriting, shlock production and performance, and ethically dodgy promotion and hype which dominated late 50s top 40 playlists.

In fact, Miller's critique of 1958-63 pop was a lot like that of many later album rock artists and radio hosts. Many of the later rock, soul and pop artists and singer/songwriters had Miller's respect. As Columbia's A&R boss until his retirement in 1976 he presided over the initial signings of people from Bob Dylan to Aretha Franklin to Bruce Springsteen. Aretha moved on to Atlantic because Ahmet Ertegun gave her more freedom to explore her blues passion, but Dylan and Springsteen stayed and thrived.

What he really fought for was quality in modern popular music. He got it, and helped make it happen. He'll be much missed. I'm glad to have known him.

 

[Ultimajock]

As Columbia's A&R boss until his retirement in 1976 he presided over the initial signings of people from Bob Dylan to Aretha Franklin to Bruce Springsteen.

...those were John Hammond signings that Miller had nothing to do with. In fact, Miller overrode Hammond re Aretha Franklin and had her record pop arrangements of stuff like "Rock-a-bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody," which led Hammond to complain all the way up the chain of command to Bill Paley about the situation. I don't know where you got your 1976 "retirement" date; Miller was nowhere to be found at Columbia A&R by the time Springsteen was brought in. He also falsely claimed to have played oboe in the Bernard Herrman orchestra on the 1938 Orson Welles War of the Worlds broadcast, and claimed to have been in the studio with Charlie Parker when "Repetition" was recorded (in actuality, Norman Granz simply had Parker overdub his solo over a pre-recorded track that Miller had a hand in, and Miller was nowhere near the studio that day)...

 

[TheBigA]

But the reality isn't so cut and dried. He wasn't the rock-hater many people think he was.

Those inside Columbia at the time would disagree.

In his first book, Clive Davis specifically points to Miller for why Columbia missed out on a lot of great rock signings in the 60s. RCA wasn't much better. They had the Jefferson Airplane and Elvis. Columbia, to their credit, signed Dylan in 1961, and that was because of John Hammond. Same with Simon & Garfunkel. Columbia completely bungled the career of Aretha Franklin. She had to leave Columbia for the indie world of Atlantic and Tom Dowd, who truely understood her gifts. Columbia would never have allowed her to record in Muscle Shoals.

Obviously Clive Davis is a self-promoter, and he'll be glad to take the credit for Janis Joplin. And he wrote his book right after Columbia fired him. But let's face it: Mitch Miller wasn't going to sign her.

But yes, Mitch was a very warm and personable man. So is Elton John. At times.

 

[Limp73]

First Top 40 song I heard released on Columbia was "Hey Little Cobra" by The Rip Chords and their follow-up "Three Window Coupe." Paul Revere and The Raiders signed on a year later and churned out the hits for Columbia well into the 70s.

Question: Remember the red 60s era LP labels with "360 Sound" STEREO "360 Sound" at the bottom? Wasn't that a reference to Miller's audio production style? The heavy reveberation,overdubs and "bigger than life" orchestration....it's there in such songs by Rosemary Clooney (Come On-a My House),Jimmy Dean (Big Bad John),Marty Robbins (A White Sport Coat) The New Christy Minstrels (Today) Andy Williams (Days of Wine And Roses) Bobby Vinton (Roses Are Red My Love),The Les and Larry Elgart Band's swing interpretation of "Begin The Beguine" and practically all of Johnny Mathis' major hits and I can go on....and of course need I say more about Percy Faith's "A Summer Place" theme. Even some of Mahalia Jackson's gospel recordings on Columbia employed that distinctive "360 Sound" reverberation. Johnny Cash on the other hand didn't....but hey...he was Johnny Cash, not Mitch....he was the rebel in the Columbia stall.

What if Bruce Springsteen,Journey,Elvis Costello,Eddie Money,Mariah Carey and other Columbia and Epic artists from the past three decades employed Mitch's reverb sound techniques (without the orchestra and chorus of course) in their hits??? Would it sell?

Probably not...but I can dream. Mitch was no rock n' roller...but he had our parents hooked while we in our childhood were taught by our first grade teachers to sing "This Old Man" (aka: The Children's Marching Song)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKj_4dk45KY&feature=related

Rest in peace Mitch!

 

[TheBigA]

and of course need I say more about Percy Faith's "A Summer Place" theme.

You mean Perthy Face?

 

[wbhist]

Another act that had chart hits during Miller's reign at Columbia was The Four Lads ["Istanbul (Not Constantinople)," "Skokiaan," "Moments to Remember," "No, Not Much!" and "Standing on the Corner"]. I could easily envision the fictitious "5 Neat Guys" from the SCTV faux-ads fitting in at the Columbia of Miller's time, what with the clean-cut persona, the corny novelty numbers, etc. Only someone on another board noted that he'd've had one of the members shave their moustache, another ditch the glasses, and so forth; plus having them wear one uniform color of sweaters for all members rather than one color for each.

 

[Corky Marlowe]

I could easily envision the fictitious "5 Neat Guys" from the SCTV faux-ads fitting in at the Columbia of Miller's time, what with the clean-cut persona, the corny novelty numbers, etc.

"She Does It...She Does It...The Whole Town Says She Does It..."

I think the first rock act Columbia signed besides Aretha Franklin was Dion, who only had a couple hits there, "Lovers Who Wander" and "Donna The Prima Donna".

As has been pointed out elsewhere, while Miller did favor gimmicky novelty stuff and was often the very definition of schmaltz, his use of out-of-left-field instrumentation and production techniques did influence people like Brian Wilson, Phil Spector, and George Martin (even if they may not admit it!)

 

[TheBigA]

I think the first rock act Columbia signed besides Aretha Franklin was Dion, who only had a couple hits there, "Lovers Who Wander" and "Donna The Prima Donna".

Dion's biggest hits were all on Laurie Records. Even "Abraham, Martin & John" was on Laurie.

Columbia's LA office signed The Byrds before Dion. But credit John Hammond again for his work in attempting to reinvent Dion, and kept his career alive in the 60s.

 

[wbhist]

I think the first rock act Columbia signed besides Aretha Franklin was Dion, who only had a couple hits there, "Lovers Who Wander" and "Donna The Prima Donna".

Actually, besides "Donna the Prima Donna," Dion's other Columbia hits were "Ruby Baby" and "Drip Drop"; and to a lesser extent, "Be Careful of Stones That You Throw." "Lovers Who Wander" was one of Dion's Laurie hits.

As has been pointed out elsewhere, while Miller did favor gimmicky novelty stuff and was often the very definition of schmaltz, his use of out-of-left-field instrumentation and production techniques did influence people like Brian Wilson, Phil Spector, and George Martin (even if they may not admit it!)

Meanwhile, another person whose production techniques owed something in part to Miller was Barry White - especially his use of harpsichords on such hits as "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby" and "Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up," and of French horns as heard on songs like the Love Unlimited Orchestra's "Love's Theme." Plus the delayed reverb on some of his other productions.

 

[Corky Marlowe]

Actually, besides "Donna the Prima Donna," Dion's other Columbia hits were "Ruby Baby" and "Drip Drop"; and to a lesser extent, "Be Careful of Stones That You Throw." "Lovers Who Wander" was one of Dion's Laurie hits.

That's right...

 

[The King Bee]

Mitch was so deeply involved with ASCAP (est. 1892), the music licenser that was far more "traditional" with all the old-line publishers in tow, that he had to denigrate BMI (est. 1941)-associated R&B, C&W and Rock and Roll musicians, writers and publishers such as ARC Music (Chess Records), Dynatone (King), Progressive and Tiger (Atlantic), and others.

As rock eventually dominated the industry and artists and writers began "cross-listing" their work with both BMI, ASCAP and SESAC (for example, Berry Gordy's Motown publishing arms were Jobete-BMI, Stone Diamond-ASCAP, and Stein & Van Stock-ASCAP) this anti-rock bias disappeared. Columbia Records, after years of being passed by the other major labels and buried by the independents, finaly got their feet wet in rock in the late 1950s and took the full plunge in the 1960's.

Even late editions of "Sing Along With Mitch, as I remember, had some strange choral arrangements of rock and roll songs.

 

[ixnay]

A John Hammond was mentioned earlier in this thread. Who was he?

ixnay

 

[Ultimajock]

A John Hammond was mentioned earlier in this thread. Who was he?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_H._Hammond