Miller, Mitch(ell William)

Miller, Mitch(ell William), American chorus leader, conductor, and oboist; b. Rochester, N.Y, July 4, 1911. Miller’s Sing Along albums of choral favorites made him one of the most successful recording artists of the second half of the 1950s, after he had spent the first half of the decade producing hits for Columbia Records’ roster of popular singers, including Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, Jo Stafford, and Doris Day.

Miller’s parents were Abram Charles and Hinda Rosenblum Miller. He took up the oboe at the age of 12 and made his professional debut at 15 with the Rochester Philharmonic Orch., of which he was a member from 1930 to 1933. From 1928 to 1933 he studied with Arthur Forman. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in music from the Eastman School of Music in 1932. From 1933 to 1936 he played with various orchestras. He married Frances Josephine Alexander on Sept. 10, 1935; they had three children.

Miller was a member of the Columbia Broadcasting System Symphony Orch. from 1936 to 1947, when he became musical director of the classical music division of Mercury Records, taking over the pop music division in 1948. At Mercury he handled successful recordings by such singers as Frankie Laine, Patti Page, and Vic Damone. Columbia Records hired him away in 1950, and he also began to make his mark as a recording artist. “Tzena Tzena Tzena” (music by Issachar Miron [Michrovsky] and Julius Grossman, English lyrics by Mitchell Parish), credited to Mitch Miller and His Orch. and Chorus, peaked in the Top Ten in July 1950. He topped the charts with the million-selling “The Yellow Rose of Texas” (traditional, adaptation by Don George) in September 1955 and returned to the Top Ten with the instrumental “Theme Song from Song for a Summer Night” (music and lyrics by Robert Allen) in September 1956 and with “The Children’s Marching Song” (music and lyrics by Malcolm Arnold, adapted from the traditional song “This Old Man”) in January 1959.

Miller released his first Sing Along LP, Sing Along with Mitch, credited to Mitch Miller & the Gang, in June 1958. It featured a male chorus of 28 singing such familiar songs as “By the Light of the Silvery Moon” (music by Gus Edwards, lyrics by Edward Madden), “You Are My Sunshine” (music and lyrics by Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell), and “Don’t Fence Me In” (music and lyrics by Cole Porter), with lyrics included so that listeners could join in. The result was phenomenal success: the album topped the charts and went gold. Miller followed with a series of similar albums, each of which reached the Top Ten and/or went gold.

On May 24, 1960, Miller had tried out the Sing Along concept as a television special broadcast on Ford Star-time. Sing Along with Mitch the TV series began on a trial basis, running once every two weeks, in January 1961, running through April, then gained a regular weekly slot on NBC in September, running for three seasons, through September 1964. By then the Sing Along phenomenon had run its course. Miller retired from Columbia Records but occasionally worked as a guest conductor for various orchestras.

Discography

Christmas Sing-Along with Mitch (1958); More Sing Along with Mitch (1958); Still More! Sing Along with Mitch (1959); Folk Songs Sing Along with Mitch (1959); Party Sing Along with Mitch (1959); Fireside Sing Along with Mitch (1959); Saturday Night Sing Along with Mitch (1960); Sentimental Sing Along with Mitch (1960); Memories Sing Along with Mitch (1960); Happy Times! Sing Along with Mitch (1961); Mitch’s Greatest Hits (1961); TV Sing Along with Mitch (1961); Your Request Sing Along with Mitch (1961); Holiday Sing Along with Mitch (1961).

—William Ruhlmann