Album: The Best of The Mills Brothers
Release Date: 1973
Record Label: Paramount Records
Audio Source: Vinyl Record
Sound Type: Stereo
Speed: 33 1/3 RPM
Record Number: PAS-1010

Tracks:
Record 1
Side 1
1. Glow Worm - (BMI) - (P. Lincke/L. C. Robinson/J. Mercer)
2. Yellow Bird - (ASCAP) - (M. Kieth/A. Bergman/N. Luboff)
3. Strollin' - (ASCAP) - (V. Horton/H. Haynes)
4. You're Nobody Till Sombody Loves You - (ASCAP) - (R. Morgan/L. Stock/J. Cavanaugh)
5. Canadian Sunset - (BMI) - (E. Heywood/N. Gimbel)

Side 2
1. Chanson d'Amour - (ASCAP) - (W. Shanklin)
2. Hey There - (ASCAP) - (R. Adler/J. Ross)
3. Lazy River - (BMI) - (H. Carmichael/S. Arodin)
4. I'll Be Around - (BMI) - (A. Wilder)
5. Standing On The Corner - (ASCAP) - (F. Loesser)
6. I'm Sorry I Answered The Phone - (ASCAP) - (J. Farrow/G. Goehring)

Record 2
Side 1
1. Cab Driver - (BMI) - (C. Carson Parks)
2. I Love You So Much It Hurts - (BMI) - (F. Tillman)
3. Paper Doll - (BMI) - (J. Black)
4. A Million Marys - (ASCAP) - (R. Ahlert/L. Carr)
5. Opus One - (BMI) - (S. Oliver)

Side 2
1. The Jones Boy - (ASCAP) - (V. Mizzy/M. Curtis)
2. Moon River - (ASCAP) - (J. Mercer/H. Mancini)
3. A Donut And A Dream - (BMI) - (C. Carson Parks)
4. Till Then - (ASCAP) - (G. Wood/E. Seiler/S. Marcus)
5. My Shy Violet - (ASCAP) - (E. Shuman/L. Carr)
6. Sally Sunshine - (BMI) - (G. Stephans/L. Reed)

Description: Almost a half-century ago, four brothers, three of them not yet teenagers, started doing local gigs around Piqua, Ohio. They called themselves Four Boys and a Kazoo, and on a good night they could expect to go home with ten dollars in their pockets. One evening, in their hurry to get to an engagement, they left the kazoo at home. They did pretty well without it, and afterwards they shortened the name of their act to The Mills Brothers.

The rest is history, and twenty-one highlights of that history have been collected here to form THE BEST OF THE MILLS BROTHERS.

A sampler of The Mills Brothers' all-time favorites is bound to be an expression of much of the best of our musical heritage from the last few decades. From the Forties, they present here many of the classics that have become synonymous with their name, including, of course, "PAPER DOLL," and "LAZY RIVER." Their musical offerings from the Fifties include "HEY THERE," from the musical "Pajama Game," "GLOW WORM," and "CANADIAN SUNSET," and the Sixties are represented by such mellifluous favorites as "MOON RIVER."

Listening to THE BEST OF THE MILLS BROTHERS, one of the most striking things is how easily their style has accommodated the evolution of musical material during their long careers. After rollicking through one of the standards of Swing Jazz, "OPUS ONE," they demonstrate their exuberant rapport with the Fifties musical in their classic rendition of "STANDING ON THE CORNER." Their reprise of an old favorite, "I LOVE YOU SO MUCH IT HURTS," sounds surprisingly modern in its stylistic anticipation of Soul music, and in "CAB DRIVER," they effortlessly slide into the Country & Western mode that has recently infused so much of popular music.

The Mills Brothers' instrumental accompaniment - in their early recordings, a single acoustic guitar that had replaced the kazoo - expanded as musical styles evolved, and in their later recordings it included piano, percussion, brass, and electric guitar.

At the same time, in keeping with the general trend towards more "serious" lyrics, their songs came increasingly to deal with topics of social interest: listen to the touching, and ultimately up-beat, portrait they sketch of a young black girl living in the ghetto in "SALLY SUNSHINE," or to "STROLLIN'," in which they slyly suggest some hidden advantages to be derived from our current concern about ecology.

The Mills Brothers' continuous assimilation of new musical styles and techniques has been an integral part of their remaining so long at the forefront of the musical stage. But the more they have changed, the more they have stayed the same in what they do best - their subtly blended harmonies interlaced with vocal solos of impeccable tonal purity, and it is indeed BEST OF THE MILLS BROTHERS that is joyously celebrated here.

Final Note: Paramount Records/ Distributed by Famous Music Corp./ A Gulf + Western Company

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