Alan Mills
Born Albert Miller in Montreal in 1913, Alan Mills was, at one time, the most popular folksinger in Canada. He trained as a journalist and worked for the Montreal Gazette, when the opportunity to sing came along in the early '30s -- he walked away from the writing to go on tour singing in a classical idiom, with the London Singers under John Goss, who toured both Canada and the United States in the mid-'30s. After the war, he resumed singing in the classical field, appearing in productions of The Magic Flute and Madame Butterfly through the Opera Guild of Montreal, but in 1947 he accepted an engagement with the CBC as a folksinger on radio, and this proved his popular breakthrough -- he subsequently recorded for RCA Victor of Canada, doing a collection of songs for children called Let's Sing a Little, and in the early '50s recorded a string of folk albums for Folkways Records, specifically devoted to Canadian songs -- his frequent accompanist was Gilbert "Buck" LaCombe. His other work included Songs de Chez Nous in collaboration with Hélène Baillargeon and the Art Morrow Singers. Mills later toured Europe and was well known in the United States as well, and he was extremely well received at the 1960 Newport Folk Festival, where he appeared with Jean Carignan, a performance that was later released by Vanguard Records. He also scored a hit as a songwriter during the folk revival of the 1950s when his song "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly," written in collaboration with Rose Bonne, was taken up by legions of folkies young and old, including Burl Ives, then one of the most popular folksingers in the world. In addition to his music, Mills did some acting and also wrote plays, including Ti-Jean and the Devil, based on a French-Canadian folk tale originally told to him by Carignan. In addition to popularizing Canadian folklore throughout his career, he was also a major contributor to the nine-volume Canadian Folk Songs: A Centennial Collection, released by RCA. He was also responsible for publishing several very popular collections of folk songs from the end of the 1940s through the 1960s, especially aimed at young listeners.
© Bruce Eder /TiVo
Discography
19 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Songs of the Sea: Sung by Alan Mills and the Four Shipmates
Folk - Released by Folkways Records on 1 jan. 1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Christmas Songs from Many Lands
Kinderen - Released by Folkways Records on 1 jan. 1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lets Groove
Rockabilly - Released by Foottapping Records on 21 jul. 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
We'll Rant and We'll Roar: Songs of Newfoundland
Folk - Released by Folkways Records on 1 jan. 1958
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
French Folk Songs for Children
Kinderen - Released by Folkways Records on 1 jan. 1953
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
O' Canada: A History in Song
Folk - Released by Folkways Records on 1 jan. 1956
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Folk Songs of Newfoundland
Folk - Released by Folkways Records on 1 jan. 1953
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Canada's Story in Song
Folk - Released by Folkways Records on 1 jan. 1960
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Songs of the Maritimes: Lumberman Songs and Songs of the Sea
Folk - Released by Folkways Records on 1 jan. 1959
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Animals, Vol.1
Kinderen - Released by Folkways Records on 1 jan. 1956
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Folk Songs of French Canada
Folk - Released by Folkways Records on 1 jan. 1952
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
More Songs to Grow On
Kinderen - Released by Folkways Records on 1 jan. 1954
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
French Folk Songs for Children in English
Kinderen - Released by Folkways Records on 1 jan. 1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
14 Numbers, Letters, and Animal Songs
Kinderen - Released by Folkways Records on 1 jan. 1972
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Alan Mills and Jean Carignan: Songs, Fiddle Tunes and a Folk-Tale from Canada
Wereldmuziek - Released by Folkways Records on 1 jan. 1961
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chantons en Français, Vol. 2 (Includes Parts 3 and 4): French Songs for Learning French
Hélène Baillargeon, Alan Mills
Kinderen - Released by Folkways Records on 1 jan. 1961
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chantons en Français; Vol. 2, Part 4: French Songs for Learning French
Hélène Baillargeon, Alan Mills
Kinderen - Released by Folkways Records on 1 jan. 1961
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chantons en Français; Vol. 2, Part 3: French Songs for Learning French
Hélène Baillargeon, Alan Mills
Kinderen - Released by Folkways Records on 1 jan. 1961
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
More Animals, Vol. 2
Kinderen - Released by Folkways Records on 1 jan. 1956
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo