Archive for August 3rd, 2010
Honoring Mitch Miller
Posted on: August 3, 2010
Mitch Miller, the Granddaddy of Sing-Alongs (karaoke before karaoke was cool!) passed away yesterday.
Emily Leatha Everson and Mitch Miller at Starlight Musicals (Indy) 1992
If it weren’t for Mitch Miller, it would never have occurred to me that I could hold a book and sing to kids while they follow-along (or sing-along) with the words and pictures. It frequently occurs to me that we are enjoying a live version of Mitch Miller’s show, but with Singable Picture Books!
My husband Charlie told me last night that he and his family used to sit in their living room in their Bronx apartment and sing-along with the Mitch Miller TV show. I remember singing-along with Mitch Miller records and booklets at Christmas-time in my Grandmother’s living room in Indiana.
I got to meet Mitch Miller in 1991 or 1992 when he came to host a benefit dinner for Indianapolis Starlight Musicals. I got to sing “Over the Rainbow” at that event which was held on the Starlight Musical’s stage (now gone), right next to the Hinkle Field House on the Butler University Campus. I got a Polaroid with him and an autograph.
A tribute to Mitch Miller on Examiner.com:
http://www.examiner.com/x-16590-Manhattan-Local-Music-Examiner~y2010m8d3-Rock-n-roll-aside-Mitch-Miller-was-a-friend-of-music
Mitch Miller’s Obituary in the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/arts/music/03miller.html
Rest In Peace Mitch! Thanks for the getting us to Sing-Along! Now you can keep those angels singing, too!
