No More Sing Along With Mitch

Mitch Miller, a successful record producer who became best remembered for his series of hit Sing Along albums which inspired his 1961-64 NBC television series and for his neatly groomed mustache and goatee, passed away on Saturday at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan at age 99.

An accomplished oboist, Mr. Miller was an influential record producer.  He was, during the early post-World War II years, pop music producer at Mercury Records.  Frankie Laine scored several big hits as Mercury, including "Mule Train" and "That Lucky Old Sun."

In 1950, Mitch left Mercury to become the key pop music producer at Columbia, where his magic continued.  Mr. Laine continued to have successes, such at "Jezabel."  Guy Mitchell had hit recordings like "My Heart Cries For You" and "The Roving Kind;" Rosemary Clooney, after refusing at first, recorded "Come On-A-My House" and became a recording star as a result; Johnnie Ray recorded the double-sided hit "The Little White Cloud That Cried" and "Cry;"  Tony Bennett's career, still going strong, really took off with "Rags to Riches."

Mitch himself had a big hit in 1955 with "The Yellow Rose of Texas."

But it was his series of Sing-A-Long albums, in which the words to the songs were printed on the album cover, that many people remember Mitch best for.  This inspired an NBC television special that aired in 1960.  By 1961, Sing Along With Mitch became a weekly series on NBC, which ran for three years.  You saw a male chorus of some two dozen singers singing an old time song, which the lyrics shown on the bottom of the screen.  A young Leslie Uggams was a regular on that show.

The music that Mitch presented on his TV shows is certainly miles and miles ahead of the bovine excrement that passes for music and entertainment nowadays. 

You can bet that Mitch will now have plenty of chances to lead Sing Alongs up there.


Rest In Peace, Mitch.