The group was originally composed of four brothers all born in Piqua, Ohio: John Jr (1911-1936) basso and guitarist, Herbert (1912-1989) tenor, Harry (1913-1982) baritone, and Donald (1915-1999) lead tenor. Their father owned a barber's shop, and founded a barbershop quartet called the Four Kings of Harmony. 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 their lessons at the Spring Street Grammar School, they would gather in front of their father's shop on Public Square or at the corner of Greene and Main to sing and play the kazoo to passersby.
They entered an amateur contest at Piqua's Mays Opera House, but while on stage Harry discovered he had lost his kazoo. He cupped his hands to his mouth and imitated a trumpet. The success of his imitation led to all the brothers taking on instruments to imitate and created their early signature sound. John Jr accompanied the four-part harmony first with a ukulele and then a guitar. They practised imitating orchestras they heard on the radio. John, as the bass, would imitate the tuba, Harry, a baritone, imitated the trumpet, Herbert became the second trumpet, and Donald the trombone. They entertained on the Midwest theatre circuit, at house parties, tent shows, music halls, and supper clubs throughout the area, and became well known for their close harmonies, mastery of scat singing, and their ability to imitate musical instruments with their voices.
In 1928, after playing May's Opera House in Piqua between Rin Tin Tin features, the brothers accompanied the Harold Greenameyer Band to Cincinnati for an audition with radio station WLW. The band was not hired, but the Mills brothers were. With the help of Seger Ellis, WLW Cincinnati D.J. and a music legend of the 1920s, they quickly became local radio stars and got their major break when Duke Ellington and his Orchestra played a date in Cincinnati. When the youngsters sang for Duke, he called Tommy Rockwell at Okeh Records, who signed them and took the group to New York.
In September 1930, Ralph Wonders urged broadcasting executive William S. Paley, at CBS Radio in New York, to turn on his office speaker and listen to an audition of four young men. For the audition they were "The Mills Brothers", but they had been known by many other names. They were billed as "The Steamboat Four" when they sang for Sohio, and had been called the "Four Boys and a Guitar" on their Sunday shows. When Paley heard their performance, he immediately went downstairs and put them on the air. The next day, the Mills Brothers signed a three-year contract and became the first black group to have a network show on radio.
Their first recording for Brunswick Records, a cover of the Original Dixieland Jass Band standard "Tiger Rag" became a nationwide best-seller and a number-one hit on the charts in a version with lyrics by Harry DaCosta. Other hits followed: "Goodbye Blues", their theme song, "Nobody's Sweetheart", "Ole Rockin' Chair", "Lazy River", "How'm I Doin'", and others. They remained on Brunswick until late 1934, when they signed with Decca, where they stayed well into the 1950s. On all of their Brunswick records, as well as the early Deccas, the label stated:
"No musical instruments or mechanical devices used on this recording other than one guitar."
They were a hit on CBS in 1930–1931, particularly when they co-starred on the widely popular The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour hosted by Rudy Vallee. They had their own popular radio series in 1932–1933, one of the earliest built around a black act, billed as the "Four Boys and a Guitar". Before their show announcers commonly explained to listeners that the only instrument was a guitar, as the vocal effects made many listeners think they were hearing a muted trumpet, saxophone, and string bass or tuba.
The Mills Brothers were sponsored by some of the largest advertisers in early radio; Standard Oil, Procter & Gamble, Crisco, and Crosley Radio. They began appearing in films. Their first, The Big Broadcast (1932) was an all-star radio revue that included Bing Crosby, Cab Calloway, and the Boswell Sisters. They also made three "bouncing ball" cartoon shorts for the Fleischer Brothers. In 1934, the brothers starred with Crosby for Woodbury Soap, and recorded their classics "Lazy Bones", "Sweet Sue", "Lulu's Back in Town", "Bye-Bye Blackbird", "Sleepy Head", and "Shoe Shine Boy". Their film appearances included Twenty Million Sweethearts (1934) and Broadway Gondolier (1935).
In 1934, The Mills Brothers became the first U.S. black musicians to give a command performance before British royalty. They performed at the Regal Theatre for a special audience: King George V, Queen Mary, and their mother. While performing in England, John Jr became ill. It took him months to recover from battling pneumonia. Before he was completely well, the brothers returned to England. John Jr once again became sick and died at the beginning of 1936.
The remaining brothers considered breaking up, but their mother told them John Jr would have wanted them to continue. They followed her suggestion and their father, John Sr, replaced John Jr as the baritone and tuba. At this time, Norman Brown joined the Brothers as their guitar player.
Through 1939 the group enjoyed remarkable success in Europe. In the period between John Jr's death and their return to the States, they re-recorded "Lazy River". It was followed by "Someday You'll Want Me to Want You", "Swing Is the Thing", "Long about Midnight", "Organ Grinder's Swing", and "The Song is Ended". They honoured Duke Ellington with a swing version of his "Caravan", and then produced a series of classic recordings: "South of the Border", which they performed in a tour of South America, along with "Ain't Misbehavin'", "It Don’t Mean a Thing", "Jeepers Creepers", "Three Little Fishies", and "Basin Street Blues".
During this era, there was also a brief time when the group performed with a non‑family singer. Gene Smith served as a stand-in for one year when Harry was drafted into the Army. Although Smith's solo singing did not particularly resemble the group's usual sound, he was able to harmonise well until the fourth brother's return. Smith is very noticeable in a number of the Mills Brothers' film appearances.
Returning to the States, the Brothers were anxious for a hit and recorded "I'll be Around" in 1943. Donald Mills chose "Paper Doll" as the B-side of the record. "I'll Be Around" became a popular hit, then a disk jockey turned the record over. "Paper Doll", recorded in fifteen minutes, sold six million copies and became the group's biggest hit.
The rise of rock and roll in the early 1950s did little to decrease the Mills Brothers' popularity. "Glow Worm" jumped to number one on the pop charts in 1952. The track also reached number ten in the U.K. singles chart in January 1953. "Opus One", an updated version of the Tommy Dorsey hit, was soon in the charts as well, followed by "You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You", "The Jones Boy", "Yellow Bird", "Standing on the Corner", and "If I Had My Way".
In 1957, John Sr, who was then sixty-eight, stopped touring with the group. As a trio, the Mills Brothers were frequent guests on The Jack Benny Show, The Perry Como Show, The Tonight Show, The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, The Dean Martin Show, and The Hollywood Palace. A move from Decca to Dot Records brought a moderate 1958 hit, a cover of the Silhouettes' "Get a Job" that made explicit the considerable influence on doo-wop that the early Mills Brothers records had exerted. The Mills Brothers also charted "Yellow Bird" two years before Arthur Lyman's top-ten hit remake.
"Cab Driver", recorded in 1968, was their last hit. It was written by songwriter C. Carson Parks, who also wrote "Somethin' Stupid", a hit the previous year for Frank Sinatra and his daughter Nancy.
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 as a result of diabetes.
As a trio, Herbert, Harry, and Donald continued performing on the oldies circuit until Harry's death in 1982. Herbert and Donald continued until Herbert's death in 1989. Then Donald began performing with the third generation of the family, his son, John III. In 1998 the Recording Academy recognised 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 the 13th November 1999, John III began touring under the name "The Mills Brothers" with Elmer Hopper, who had previously sung lead with Paul Robi's Platters.
Altogether, the group recorded more than 2,000 recordings, selling more than fifty million copies and gaining them at least three dozen gold records. The Mills Brothers were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998.
Bye Bye Blackbird
The Mills Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Right outside of my door
Blackbird, blackbird who do you sit and say
There's no sunshine in store
All through the winter you hung around
Now I begin to feel homeward bound
Blackbird, blackbird gotta be on my way
Pack up all my care and woe
Here I go, singing low
Bye bye blackbird
Where somebody waits for me
Sugar's sweet, so is she
Bye bye blackbird
No one here can love and understand me
Oh, what hard luck stories they all hand me
Make my bed and light the light
I'll arrive late tonight
Blackbird, bye bye
Bluebird bluebird calling me far away
I've been longing for you
Bluebird bluebird what do I hear you say
Skies are turning to blue
I'm like a flower that's fading here
Where every hour is one long tear
Bluebird bluebird this is my lucky day
Now my dreams will come true
Pack up all my care and woe
Here I go, singing low
Bye bye blackbird
Where somebody waits for me
Sugar's sweet, so is she
Bye bye blackbird
No one here can love and understand me
Oh, what hard luck stories they all hand me
Make my bed and light the light
I'll arrive late tonight
Blackbird, bye bye
The Mills Brothers's song Bye Bye Blackbird is a melancholic tune where the singer bids farewell to a blackbird who has been singing the blues outside his door all day long. The blackbird is seen as a metaphor for the singer's own sadness and feelings of being stuck in a place where there is no hope or happiness. He reflects on how the blackbird has been around all through winter, a time that signifies darkness, and now he is finally homeward bound, towards a place where there is sunshine galore. The singer packs up all his care and woe, and decides to leave, hoping to find someone who understands and loves him, as he has been surrounded by people who only give him hard luck stories.
The song presents a vivid picture of loneliness, but also a glimmer of hope. The mention of a bluebird, a symbol of happiness and joy, towards the end of the song suggests that the singer has finally found a ray of hope and is eager to leave his past behind in search of better days. The lyrics are simple yet deeply emotive, and the Mills Brothers's soothing harmonies and smooth jazz melody add to the song's melancholic but cathartic mood.
Line by Line Meaning
Blackbird, blackbird singing the blues all day
The blackbird outside the door is constantly singing sadly.
Right outside of my door
The blackbird is just outside.
Blackbird, blackbird who do you sit and say
Who are you talking to, blackbird?
There's no sunshine in store
The blackbird predicts that there will be no good times ahead.
All through the winter you hung around
The blackbird stayed there all winter long.
Now I begin to feel homeward bound
The singer starts to feel like returning home.
Blackbird, blackbird gotta be on my way
The singer knows that they have to move on.
Where there's sunshine galore
They seek happiness where the sun shines brightly.
Pack up all my care and woe
The singer is leaving their troubles behind.
Here I go, singing low
They sing a sad farewell.
Bye bye blackbird
An acknowledgement to the blackbird that they are leaving.
Where somebody waits for me
The singer has a destination waiting for them.
Sugar's sweet, so is she
The person waiting for them is kind and sweet.
No one here can love and understand me
They don't feel understood or appreciated where they are leaving from.
Oh, what hard luck stories they all hand me
People share their own problems with the singer, making things worse.
Make my bed and light the light
They are ready to sleep.
I'll arrive late tonight
They will arrive at their destination late in the evening.
Blackbird, bye bye
A final farewell to the blackbird.
Bluebird bluebird calling me far away
The bluebird is calling the singer to go somewhere else.
I've been longing for you
The singer has been waiting to leave and go somewhere better.
Bluebird bluebird what do I hear you say
The bluebird is saying that the skies are clearing.
Skies are turning to blue
The future looks brighter now.
I'm like a flower that's fading here
The singer feels like they are withering away in this place.
Where every hour is one long tear
Every moment is a sad one.
Bluebird bluebird this is my lucky day
The bluebird is the symbol of good luck that will guide them to a better future.
Now my dreams will come true
The singer's hopes and aspirations will finally be realized.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG Rights Management
Written by: Mort Dixon, Ray Henderson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Arbiter 2707
I have a higher quality version uploaded. Its from the boxset "Nice And Easy Memories" this one is from when I used to use OBS Studio (I do not recommend for music uploads) my later version came from me instead of my friend Cam.
Brandon Truszkowski
Love this song! It's so catchy!
Karen
My Dad had this entire concert on a reel to reel that sadly is lost. Do you have it to upload?? All the songs were perfection !!
Arbiter 2707
Sadly I don't own any video recordings of their tour in the Tivoli Gardens but I'm sure you can find some I recommend searching up the channel High Harry he has uploaded a few from what I can remember. And sorry for the late reply.
White Rook
He had it on reel-to-reel? Man, that would be priceless.
Francis Alan Wormald
FAIRLY ORDINARY NOVELTY SONG MADE SPECIAL BY? YOU GOT IT!! THE BROS MILLS!! AT 84 I STILL REVERE THEM....
Cynthia Pickett
One of a handful of songs where Herbert has a solo.
CrazyAceking
@Muhammad Raza from what I understand, Herbert was very shy, so he probably didn’t want to be in the spotlight alone.
JadeZee
@Bill Grimes he didnt want to sing lead...thats all to it
JadeZee
@Muhammad Raza because he didnt want to sing lead..simple as that