Notes
One of America's most iconic and beloved vocal groups, Piqua, Ohio's The Mills Brothers recorded over 2000 songs during a seven-decade career, virtually every tune in the Great American Songbook, but only a tiny sliver of their voluminous discography was devoted to gospel music. Now, Real Gone Music has put together the first-ever full length compilation of The Mills Brothers' inspirational sides, recordings that were, in their own way, influential on the entire genre. For The Mills Brothers brought the same creamy harmonies and savvy blend of jazz, blues, and pop to this material that they brought to their secular repertoire, eschewing the impassioned call-and-response style of the black church to create some of the first pop-gospel recordings. Half of this collection hails from a boxed set of four 45 rpm 7" singles that Decca issued in the early '50s as part of it's Faith Series, so these are peak period performances as well. With liner notes by Davin Seay and remastering by Mike Milchner at SonicVision, Wonderful Words of Life-The Inspirational Recordings is a long-overdue look at a little-known side of one of the first African-American vocal groups to cross over into widespread popular success.
