Interview with Mitch Miller, January 21, 1999

Partial Transcript: --first, 1999.

Segment Synopsis: Miller talks about the early years of music recording as a business. He discusses payoffs to musicians and other questionable business practices. He suggests some of these practices were based on race.

Keywords: Columbia Broadcast System (CBS); Columbia Records; Fox, Ted; King Records; Nathan, Syd

Subjects: Columbia Broadcasting System, inc.; Columbia Records, Inc.; History of science and technology; Music; Record labels.; Sound recording industry; Sound recording industry--History; Sound recordings; Sound--Recording and reproducing; Sound--Recording and reproducing--History

Partial Transcript: I'm interested in when you started recording. I mean, I read Fox's interview so I have some background, and I'm not going to ask you to repeat all that.

Segment Synopsis: Miller talks about the changing and development of recording technology and how it affected the music recording business.

Keywords: Fine, Bob; Fine, C. Robert "Bob"; Hammond, John; Keynote Records; Mercury Records; Schumann, Elizabeth; Weiss, Ronald

Subjects: Fine, Robert; History of science and technology; Music; Record labels.; Sound recording industry; Sound recording industry--History; Sound recordings; Sound--Recording and reproducing; Sound--Recording and reproducing--History

Partial Transcript: Um, so, you did that session in 1936 and you obviously did other recording sessions after that.

Segment Synopsis: Miller says that the original Broadway cast of "Porgy and Bess" was not used for the music record because they were not white. He talks about the limitations of early recording technology.

Keywords: "Oklahoma!" (Musical); "Porgy and Bess"; Jepson, Helen; Keynote Records; Mercury Records; Rolling Stones, the (Artist); Tibbett, Lawrence

Subjects: History of science and technology; Music; Racism; Record labels.; Sound recording industry; Sound recording industry--History; Sound recordings; Sound--Recording and reproducing; Sound--Recording and reproducing--History

Partial Transcript: So, let's get back to the studios. Um, as--when you were doing a session before you did a--as a session player as an oboist...

Segment Synopsis: Miller talks about how subtle flaws could ruin a recording, especially before magnetic tape and multi-track technology.

Keywords: Columbia Records; Fox, Ted; Mathis, Johnny; Mercury Records; Multi-track recording; Overdubbing; Rachmaninoff, Sergei

Subjects: Columbia Records, Inc.; History of science and technology; Mathis, Johnny; Music; Record labels.; Sound recording industry; Sound recording industry--History; Sound recordings; Sound--Recording and reproducing; Sound--Recording and reproducing--History

Partial Transcript: Um, but back to your first session that you're producing.

Segment Synopsis: Miller talks about his first recording studio production. He says Bob Fine worked as engineer and the recording was made directly to a disc.

Keywords: Bachman,William; Chapman,Harold "Chappie"; Fine, Bob; Laico, Frank; Liederkranz Hall; Majestic Records; Mercury Records; Plaut,Fred; Sear, Walter

Subjects: Columbia Records, Inc.; Fine, Robert; History of science and technology; Music; Record labels.; Sound recording industry; Sound recording industry--History; Sound recordings; Sound--Recording and reproducing; Sound--Recording and reproducing--History

Partial Transcript: --s--you know. You and he are probably the two--two of the most important people in, in recording, you know.

Segment Synopsis: Miller talks about his collaboration as producer with Bob Fine as engineer to produce recordings with "a halo" or a sense of ambiance. He says that magnetic tape was not available in the United States until 1951.

Keywords: Columbia Records; Fine, Bob; Magnetic tape; Mercury Records; Reverberation

Subjects: Columbia Records, Inc.; History of science and technology; Music; Record labels.; Sound recording industry; Sound recording industry--History; Sound recordings; Sound--Recording and reproducing; Sound--Recording and reproducing--History

Partial Transcript: So what was this, uh--I think maybe it's in that article, but that session you did with Bob Fine where you asked him about "Halo around the voice"--

Segment Synopsis: Miller says the first time he used reverberation was for Vic Damone's album 'Again.' He talks about sound compression in early recording. He talks about how our ears deceive us, and about conductor Sergiu Celibidache. He talks about electronic recording and how it affected the music business.

Keywords: Acoustics; Again (Album); Aural phenomenon; Celibidache, Sergiu; Clooney, Rosemary (Artist); Columbia Records; Damone,Vic; Echo (reverberation) chambers; Fine, Bob; Page, Patti

Subjects: Celibidache, Sergiu, 1912-1996; Clooney, Rosemary.; Columbia Records, Inc.; Damone, Vic; Fine, Robert; History of science and technology; Music; Page, Patti; Record labels.; Sound recording industry; Sound recording industry--History; Sound recordings; Sound--Recording and reproducing; Sound--Recording and reproducing--History; WLW (Radio Station : Cincinnati, Ohio)

Partial Transcript: Did you ever--other than Wilma Cozart Fine, were there any other women working in recording studios?

Segment Synopsis: Miller says women working in recording studios was uncommon because men held an advantage in employment.

Keywords: Hammond, John; Rad, Norman

Subjects: History of science and technology; Music; Record labels.; Sound recording industry; Sound recording industry--History; Sound recordings; Sound--Recording and reproducing; Sound--Recording and reproducing--History

Partial Transcript: Um, so, how did you see things changing over time? I know how you feel about it now.

Segment Synopsis: Miller talks about how the recording technology should be "a tool, not a crutch." He says many of the musicians he worked with were talented but not trained.

Keywords: Atlantic Records; Clooney, Rosemary (Artist); Dowd, Tom; Gillett, Charlie; Horne, Lena (Artist); Laine, Frankie (Artist); Madonna (Artist); Mathis, Johnny (Artist); Page, Patti (Artist); Wexler, Jerry

Subjects: Clooney, Rosemary.; History of science and technology; Laine, Frankie, 1913-2007; Madonna, 1958-; Mathis, Johnny; Music; Page, Patti; Record labels.; Sound recording industry; Sound recording industry--History; Sound recordings; Sound--Recording and reproducing; Sound--Recording and reproducing--History; Wexler, Jerry

Partial Transcript: Um, you talked earlier about race, and about uh, the Black people you know in, in--back in the thirties and forties, that they were not the ones...

Segment Synopsis: Miller says that white audiences were not exposed to Black performers and this hurt Black performers in the recording industry. He speaks favorably of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.

Keywords: Armstrong, Louis (Artist); Charles, Ray (Artist); Ellington, Duke (Artist); Faith, Percy (Artist)

Subjects: African Americans; Armstrong, Louis, 1901-1971.; Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974.; History of science and technology; Music; Racism.; Record labels.; Sound recording industry; Sound recording industry--History; Sound recordings; Sound--Recording and reproducing; Sound--Recording and reproducing--History

Partial Transcript: So did you--I mean you were phenomenally eclectic in your tastes I think for the time.

Segment Synopsis: Miller talks about his interest in various styles of music, such as rhythm and blues and jazz. He laments that white artists "ripped off" Black artists by mimicking their music.

Keywords: Beatles, the (Artist); Berry, Chuck (Artist); Boone, Pat (Artist); Charles, Ray (Artist); Rolling Stones, the (Artist); Smith, Bessie (Artist)

Subjects: Beatles.; Berry, Chuck.; Boone, Pat.; Charles, Ray, 1930-2004.; History of science and technology; Music; Record labels.; Rolling Stones.; Smith, Bessie, 1894-1937.; Sound recording industry; Sound recording industry--History; Sound recordings; Sound--Recording and reproducing; Sound--Recording and reproducing--History

Partial Transcript: W, we're, um--I guess I should make sure that's still going--we're getting away a little bit from the studio stuff which I'd want--like to get back to.

Segment Synopsis: Miller says he cannot recall any bad recording engineers because he refused to work with them.

Keywords: Armstrong, Louis (Artist); Chapman, Harold "Chappie"; Columbia Records; Fine, Bob; Janek, Anthony; Laico, Frank; Macero, Teo (Artist); Plaut, Fred; Radio Corporation of America (RCA)

Subjects: Armstrong, Louis, 1901-1971.; Columbia Records, Inc.; Fine, Robert; History of science and technology; Music; Plaut, Fred; RCA Corporation; Record labels.; Sound recording industry; Sound recording industry--History; Sound recordings; Sound--Recording and reproducing; Sound--Recording and reproducing--History

Partial Transcript: Um, this--when musicians are starting to rely on the controls to kind of cover up mistakes, when did you see that start to happen?

Segment Synopsis: Miller talks about supporting the development of technology, although he expresses skepticism in multi-tracking and compact disc technology.

Keywords: Abbey Road Studio; EMI Studio; Faith, Percy (Artist); Gershwin, George (Artist); Magnetic tape; Multi-tracking

Subjects: EMI Studios (London, England); History of science and technology; Music; Record labels.; Sound recording industry; Sound recording industry--History; Sound recordings; Sound--Recording and reproducing; Sound--Recording and reproducing--History

Partial Transcript: We probably have about maybe ten minutes on there.

Segment Synopsis: Miller talks about various techniques he observed engineers use in recording music.

Keywords: Attack time; Aural phenomenon; Dynamic range compression; Faders; Fine, Bob

Subjects: Fine, Robert; History of science and technology; Music; Record labels.; Sound recording industry; Sound recording industry--History; Sound recordings; Sound--Recording and reproducing; Sound--Recording and reproducing--History