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.
Holy
The Mills Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O holy night, O night divine!
Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friends.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
The Mills Brothers’ version of “O Holy Night” is a stunning depiction of the night that Christ was born. The stars are brightly shining as the world waited in sin and error, and the persona describes the thrill of hope that came when Christ was born. They paint a vivid picture of the weary world rejoicing with the appearance of the dear savior who brings hope and glowing light to a once-dark world. We are urged to fall on our knees and hear the angelic voices that praise and sing for the divine night that Christ was born. The lyrics proclaim that this night is holy, divine, and extraordinary, emphasizing the magnitude of the birth of Christ.
The second verse speaks of the wise men guided by the light of faith. The persona describes the world where a star is sweetly gleaming, and the wise men follow it from the Orient land to see the King of kings, who had been born lowly in a manger. The lyrics go on to say that the King of kings, though born lowly, is here to be their friend even in their trials, and their weakness is no stranger to him. We are urged to behold our King and to bend low before him. The last verse of the song is a declaration of the gospel of Christ, which emphasizes love, peace, and freedom from oppression. It is a call to raise our voices in grateful hymns of joy for Christ's power and glory ever so proclaiming.
Line by Line Meaning
O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
A night that is sacred because the stars shine brightly above, signifying the birth of Jesus Christ.
It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.
This is the night when Jesus Christ was born, and it is a night of special importance.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
The world was lost in sin and wrongdoings for a long time, and people hoped for a savior to show them the right path.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
When Jesus Christ appeared, everyone realized the value and power of God's Spirit and were redeemed.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
The world, tired of despair and hopelessness, is overjoyed with the notion that the savior has arrived.
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
A bright new day is dawning, filled with glory and the promise of salvation.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
Kneel in reverence and listen to the joyful message of the angels proclaiming the birth of the savior.
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
This is the holy night when Jesus Christ, the divine savior, was born.
O night, O holy night, O night divine!
An overwhelming and incredible experience, this holy night has become the symbol of Christ's birth.
Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With faith as our guide, we approach this holy night with peace and tranquility.
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
Filled with love and admiration, we stand before the newborn savior's manger.
O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
A brilliant star shines over the world, indicating the birth of the savior.
Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.
The wise men from the East have arrived, guided by the star, to pay tribute to the savior.
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;
The newborn savior, who is the king of all kings, humbly lies in a manger.
In all our trials born to be our friends.
Jesus Christ, born during difficult times, has come to be our friend and guide through tough circumstances.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
The savior understands our needs and our weaknesses, having experienced these same struggles himself.
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
See your king and show him respect by humbly bowing down before him.
Truly He taught us to love one another,
Jesus Christ's teachings are filled with love and compassion for one another, which he demonstrated himself.
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Through his teachings, Jesus Christ has shown that love is the fundamental law, and the gospel he proclaims is about bringing peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
The savior has come to break the chains of slavery and to remind us that all people are brothers and sisters.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
The savior's name is powerful enough to bring an end to oppression and free those who are oppressed.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
We lift our voices in joy and gratitude, singing sweet hymns to celebrate the birth of the savior.
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
With all our hearts filled with love and gratitude, we praise the savior's holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
Jesus Christ is the Lord and King, and we will ever praise him and show our gratitude.
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
We will continue to proclaim the savior's power and glory, remembering the special night he was born into the world.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Adolphe Adam
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind