Mitch Miller

Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American oboist, conductor, record producer and record industry executive. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor and artist and repertoire (A&R) man. Miller was one of the most influential people in American popular music during the 1950s and early 1960s, both as the head of A&R at Columbia Records and as a best-selling recording artist with an NBC television series, Sing Along with Mitch. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester in the early 1930s, Miller began his musical career as a player of the oboe and English horn, making numerous highly regarded classical and popular recordings. He was a choral conductor on television and a recordings executive.