Mitch Miller

Mitch Miller (born July 4, 1911) is remembered as one of the best-selling recording artists of the 1950s and early '60s. He was an executive at Columbia Records for many years and headed his own male choir,

Mitch Miller (born July 4, 1911) is remembered as one of the best-selling recording artists of the 1950s and early '60s. He was an executive at Columbia Records for many years and headed his own male choir, "Mitch Miller and the Gang", before striking out on his own.

Born Mitchell William Miller in Rochester, New York, he and his choir were famed for their campy Sing Along With Mitch television show of the 1960s, where the choir sang a popular or well-known tune while the lyrics scrolled across the television screen, the current position of the choir's singing marked by an animated ball that bounced from word to word. During the second season of "Sing Along with Mitch," Mitch Miller himself coined the catch phrase "All Smiles." These were preceded by the instructions to "sing along; just follow the bouncing ball." Miller's biggest hits with the choir were "The Yellow Rose of Texas," a drum-propelled version of the old march, and "Colonel Bogey March", then enjoying new popularity from its use in the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). In addition to the television show, Miller and his choir recorded a series of best-selling albums.