Mitch Miller - The Yellow Rose Of Texas: Selected A & B Sides 1950-62 (2024)

Mitch Miller was a hugely influential personality in the US record business in the 1950s in his position as A&R Director of Columbia Records, guiding the careers of major stars during that era, but he was also a hit-making artist in his own right, an oboist, conductor and producer who championed a style of novelty singalong pop which struck a chord with a market still recovering from the dark days of WWII. Many artists hated the material he insisted they record, but there’s no denying his success, although he never adapted to the changes that rock ‘n’ roll brought about. However, right through into the 1960s his series of hugely-popular “Singalong” albums defied the march of musical time. This 56-track 2-CD collection comprises selected A & B sides of his releases on the Columbia label during this era, and features all his 16 career hits including the No. 1 “Yellow Rose Of Texas”, and the top 20 entries “Tzena, Tzena, Tzena”, “Lisbon Antigua”, “Song For A Summer Night”, “March From River Kwai/Colonel Bogey” and “Children’s Marching Song”. With plenty of rousing marches, novelty songs, happy-go-lucky movie choruses and the like, it captures the essence of Mitch’s approach, and it’s one that will lift the spirits for many listeners who enjoyed his singalong style back in the day.