Posted on 08/02/2010 10:17:06 AM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
Mitch Miller, an influential record producer who became a hugely popular recording artist and an unlikely television star a half century ago by leading a choral group in familiar old songs and inviting people to sing along, died Saturday in Manhattan. He was 99.
His daughter Margaret Miller Reuther confirmed the death Monday morning, saying her father had died after a short illness at Lenox Hill Hospital. Mr. Miller lived in Manhattan.
Mr. Miller, a Rochester native who was born on the Fourth of July, had been an accomplished oboist and was still a force in the recording industry when he came up with the idea of recording old standards with a chorus of some two dozen male voices and printing the lyrics on album covers.
The “Sing Along With Mitch” album series, which began in 1958, was an immense success, finding an eager audience among older listeners looking for an alternative to rock ’n’ roll. Mitch Miller and the Gang serenaded them with chestnuts like “Home on the Range,” “That Old Gang of Mine,” “I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen” and “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Fess Parker, Edward Woodward, now good old Mitch Miller.
In case you were wondering whom else from that era/genre is still alive...
Louis Armstrong died in 1971.
Ed Sullivan died in 1974.
Jackie Gleason died in 1987.
Lawrence Welk died in 1992.
Henry Mancini died in 1994.
Al Hirt died in 1999.
Ray Conniff died in 2002.
Perry Como died in 2001.
Dick Clark, Jerry Lewis, Carol Burnett and Herb Alpert are still alive.
The book I ma reading on Sinatra is strictly about his singing and recording. It is called SINATRA: THE SONG IS YOU.
Miller established the primacy of the producer, proving that even more than the artist, the accompaniment, or the material, it was the responsibility of the man in the recording booth whether a record flew or flopped. Miller also conceived of the idea of the pop record “sound” per se: not so much an arrangement or a tune, but an aural texture (usually replete with extramusical gimmicks) that could be created in the studio and then replicated in live performance, instead of the other way around. Miller was hardly a rock ‘n’ roller, yet without these ideas there could never have been rock ‘n’ roll. “Mule Train”, Miller’s first major hit (for Frankie Laine) and the foundation of his career, set the pattern for virtually the entire first decade of rock. The similarities between it and, say, “Leader of the Pack”, need hardly be outlined.
Wow! That’s great!
I miss that guy!
Good eye, TH!
Wow! That’s great!
I miss that guy!
Good eye, TH!
Sounds like an interesting book. I was not crazy about his as a person. The recording and singing technique would be interesting to read about.
Yes, by all accounts, Sinatra was a jerk. That makes his singing artistry all the more impressive. In a song he could embody love and longing and loss and sadness like no other. As a human rights guy, he was way ahead of the curve in breaking the color barrier in his hiring practices and his friendships. Yet, he could apparently be cruel and ruthless at the drop of a hat. One minute, he’s singing about his love for a woman. In the next instant he’s telling her “pack your bags, toots; we’re finished!”
Sometimes I think Dino had the better voice but Sinatra worked at it. Very professional, had the best writers, arrangers and bands.
Dino had pretty crappy material. I think Dean was marginally a better actor. I was not impressed with Sinatra in the Manchurian Canididate.
Dean was supposedly a cold fish but to the audience he always came off as a very likeable guy. He was devastated when Dino died in the F-4 crash. He never recovered.
I would love to know what really happened. It looked like Frankie was trying to save Marilyn but she was too dumb or drugged to take a hint.
Frank Sinatra: "You are black, and I am white
Life's an Eskimo Pie, let's.. take a bite!
That was groovy thinkin'
Lincoln, when you set them freeeeeee...
We all know
Cats are the same
Maine to Mexico.
Good. Bad.
Guys and chicks!"
Stevie Wonder: "I am dark, and you are light."
Frank Sinatra: "You are blind as a bat, and I have sight!
Side by side, you are my amigo,
Negro, let's not fiiiiiiiight!"
Stevie Wonder: "Ebony, ivory Living in perfect harmony."
Frank Sinatra: "Salt and pepper,
Sammy and Dean
Stevie and me are peachy keen!"
Stevie Wonder: "You are white."
Frank Sinatra: "You are black - and who cares!"
Who cares, baby!
They liked him so much that he remained a regular for another 3 years.
How interesting... thanks for the info, FRiend! :-)
Dino had pretty crappy material. I think Dean was marginally a better actor. I was not impressed with Sinatra in the Manchurian Canididate.
I am learning from this book on Sinatra's recordings that he had much to do with those arrangements, from choosing the arranger to approving what they'd done, or even tweaking them (at least from Capitol onward). He did not have that authority @ Columbia, which is why he butted heads with Mitch Miller.
I think Dean was a good singer, but he has an overly lazy and laid back sound, and does not really engage himself with the songs very much. Sinatra was a little distanced from his material as a young singer, but later became much more involved. I think both were good actors, but again, I think Dean was sort of lazy and did not apply himself. Dean was great in Rio Bravo, but he seldom took on challenging work as Sinatra did (Man With the Golden Arm, Manchurian Candidate, From Here to Eternity, et al).
I don't have a problem with Sinatra in The Manchurian Candidate. I think he's good in it; but he is overshadowed by Lansbury and Harvey, which is as it should be. Sinatra actually was responsible for The Manchurian Candidate being filmed, again showing his involvement in all his work.
I suppose it could be argued that Dean was born with more talent. But I think he was laid back and did not apply himself as much as he could have. He still managed to have a remarkably successful career while running on auto pilot.
I think things came easy for Dean. Frankie was a shorter guy and nothing special to look at. Dean was tall, look good in suits, had a charm and came off as a nice guy. I think Dean opportunities came Dean’s way after he and Jerry Lewis were so big. Sinatra had to work harder and he was pretty intelligent.
I think Sinatra liked all the glitz and attention while Dean was more of a loner.
Did you ever hear Steve Lippia? He is a Sinatra clone and he sounds like Sinatra in the 1940s to 1950s. He has a great voice.
Recently, I saw actor Robert Davi on Fox News RedEye. He apparently has put together a musical tribute to Sinatra, whom he idolizes. I don't know if he simply does Sinatra songs "his way", or if he actually sounds like Sinatra. I'd like to hear him to find out.
IMO, Sinatra at his best sounds almost operatic. The breath control, and the diaphragm support, the daring high notes he reaches, all add up to a powerful delivery. I am mainly speaking of The Capitol Years, which shows Sinatra at his best.
I have not heard about Davi’s plan. Lippia does Sinatra tunes and some other songs to try to avoid being listed as a clone. I like his versions of Night & Day, the song about I Know How The Lady In the Harbor Feels, and a few others. I think he sounds like Sinatra in his late 30s and early 40s.
The story was Lippia’s dad sent a cassette to one of Sinatra’s old arrangers. The guy found the tape in his Caddy and put it on. He wondered why Frank was singing with such a bad band - probably a kareoke tape.
This guy an two Sinatra old timers flew to Hollywood FL to see Lippia in a club with a decent band, not a full band. They said they closed their eyes and thought it was Frank.
The story may have had some PR embellishment but he is good.
Frank worked hard to achieve that skill.
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