Fifty nine years ago today — January
27, 1961 —
Sing Along with Mitch (Miller) premiered on television. The show ran
from 1961 to 1964. Mitch Miller was, by anecdotal accounts, a friendly, gregarious,
and compassionate man who, in his role as a music executive, had a hand in the
early careers of Tony Bennett, Patti Page, Frankie Laine, and Rosemary Clooney¹.
I was six years old in 1961, and
I loved this show as well as two other television shows of the same era: the Lawrence
Welk Show and the Ed Sullivan Show. My parents and grandparents watched these
programs, which meant I did, too. Sing Along with Mitch is a warm fuzzy memory
from my childhood.
 |
| Miller on Sing Along with Mitch, 1961² |
According to Wikipedia³, Mitch
Miller was born on July 4, 1911 and he died on July 31, 2010. He was played the
oboe and English horn. He was also a conductor, record producer, and record
industry executive.
The Sing Along with Mitch
television show started at a one-episode program on NBC’s show, Startime. It
soon evolved into a weekly program that is described as a community sing-along
program that Miller hosted.
All I can say is, they don’t
make music or family television programs like that anymore, and it makes me
sad.
Here are two YouTube videos of songs from the show. The recordings are scratchy, tinny-sounding, and dated, and I adore them. I hope you enjoy them, too. The first video is eight minutes long. The second is nine minutes long.
Until next time,
Kaye Spencer
Stay in contact with Kaye—
Further Reading and Resources:
1. NPR. Obituaries. Remembering Singing Along with Mitch
Miller. 2010.08-03. Accessed: 2020.01-21. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128957153
2. NBC Television (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mitch_Miller_Sing_Along.JPG),
„Mitch Miller Sing Along“, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia
Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:PD-US
3. “Mitch Miller.” Wikipedia,
Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Jan. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Mitch_Miller.
