The Rise To Stardom

Then in 1928, after playing May's Opera House in Piqua between Rin Tin Tin features, they 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 DJ and a music legend of the '20s, 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 was so impressed he called Tommy Rockwell at Okeh Records, who signed them and brought 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. They were the 'Tasty Yeast Jesters' when they sang for Tasty Yeast. They 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 CBS radio. The next day, the Mills Brothers signed a three-year contract and became the first African-Americans to have a network show on radio.

Their very first record recorded for Brunswick, a cover of the Original Dixieland Jass Band standard Tiger Rag became a nationwide seller. Other hits quickly followed -- Goodbye Blues, their theme song, You're Nobody's Sweetheart Now, Ole Rockin' Chair, Lazy River, How'm I Doin', and others -- cementing them in the minds of the nation and making them national stars.

They were a sensation 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.

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 (Paramount Pictures, 1932) was an all-star radio revue that included Bing Crosby, Cab Calloway, and the Boswell Sisters. 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 (Warner Brothers, 1934) and Broadway Gondolier, (Warner Brothers, 1935).

By now the brothers were highly successful and recognized all over the world. In 1934, The Mills Brothers became the first African-Americans 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 in the beginning of 1936.

This was a difficult time for the remaining brothers. They considered breaking up, when their mother told them John Jr. would want them to continue. They followed her suggestion and their father, John Sr., as the baritone and tuba, replaced the deceased Brother, John Jr. At this time, Norman Brown joined the Brothers as their guitar player.