The music inspired them, and once the Mills Brothers started singing, they couldn’t stop. Their legacy lives on even a century later. Now the town they called home in their youth, Bellefontaine, will commemorate that legacy with a mural designed by a renowned Columbus artist and painted by Logan County high school students.
Though the seven Mills children were born in Piqua, the family moved to Bellefontaine in the late 1920s. The four brothers—John Jr., Herbert, Harry and Donald—began singing in 1922 when they were between the ages of 7 and 12. What followed was six decades of performances and over 2,000 recordings.
Originally, they sang with kazoos. But when Harry forgot his kazoo during one unforgettable performance, he cupped his hands around his mouth to mimic the sound. Instead, he created a tone closer to a trumpet. From then on, the brothers discovered they only needed a guitar as they could vocalize other instruments, making them the first musical group to use this technique.
They were trailblazers in other ways, like becoming the first Black group to give a command performance for British royalty, when they performed for King George V and Queen Mary in 1934. And they sang with musical legends like Ella Fitzgerald and Dean Martin.
Sadly, the oldest brother, John Jr., died from pneumonia in 1936, while they were in England. Their father, John Sr., sang with the group for over 20 years before retiring. After that, the three brothers continued to perform until Harry died in 1982. Herbert passed away in 1989 and, a decade later, the last brother, Donald, also succumbed to pneumonia.
But Donald’s youngest son, John Mills II, still performs today and recently honored his family legacy with a centennial celebration on May 8, 2022, in Studio City, Calif. He and vocalist Randy Taylor sang for two sold-out shows that day.
LoCo Art Mural
The impetus for the mural began in the Bellefontaine High School art classroom of teacher Melanie Antram-Ingraham, who tasked her students with researching people from the area who deserved recognition. They soon realized the story of the Mills Brothers needed to be told, and the mural grew out of that.
LoCo Art took on the project, pulling seventh- to12-graders from area schools to work on it. According to LoCo Art co-director Jennifer Davis, things really started moving in August 2021 when they visited the Mills Brothers exhibit at the Logan County Historical Center.
“It featured oodles and oodles of their vinyl record covers,” said Davis, who teaches visual art at Benjamin Logan. “They had so much color and vibrancy and fun. We developed the imagery based on that.”
And Davis knew exactly the artist to send their idea to — Richard “Duarte” Brown, who has worked with LoCo Art on several student-focused projects.
Brown applies a narrative style in the mural. This method tells a story while also using imagery from the songs that made the Mills Brothers famous, like “Yellow Bird,” “Glow Worm” and numerous “Tiny Bubbles” that float across the mural along with musical notes.
“This partnership that began years ago is culminating here,” Brown said. “We’re ‘passing the brush’ to the next generation. Preserving the culture helps us learn and not repeat mistakes.”
Davis speaks highly of Brown’s contributions to LoCo Art.
“Duarte has such a gift for sharing art with students,” she said, “but more importantly he has a gift for sharing his heart.”
Once it’s finished, the mural will be installed in the PNC Bank parking lot off east Chillicothe Avenue. Davis said they’re hoping to put together a musical event to go along with the installation.