A professional from his mid-teens, Jackie played drums in the 1940s for leaders such as Charlie Barnet, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman and Boyd Raeburn. In the '50s, he performed with Tommy Dorsey and Harry James. As part of the National Association of Music Merchants' Oral History Program, Jackie sat down to tell his story on camera only three months before his death. Click the link to see Jackie discussing his experiences with TD and HJ:
www.namm.org/library/oral-history/jackie-mills
Settling in Hollywood, Jackie became rehearsal drummer for Fred Astaire. When Astaire started his own record label, Choreo, he asked Jackie to head up day-to-day operations. This launched Jackie into a second career as a record producer. Choreo, which for legal reasons later changed its name to Ava Records, specialized in sophisticated pop and jazz, with a roster ranging from Carol Lawrence to Elmer Bernstein to the Pete Jolly Trio. But marvelous albums didn't translate into success on the charts and Ava Records was quietly put to sleep in 1965.
Jackie, however, was just beginning as a producer. He proved his adaptability by helming sessions for top artists of the younger generation, including Janis Joplin, Bobby Sherman and Davy Jones. And in 1969, Jackie purchased a tiny, two-room recording studio at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Larrabee Street in West Hollywood. Larrabee Sound Studios quickly became one of L.A.'s busiest, capitalizing on the disco explosion of the '70s and eventually growing to seven rooms spread over 30,000 square feet in three locations.
My awareness of Jackie Mills came as a teenager when I saw his name in the closing credits of episodes of "The Brady Bunch" in which the Brady kids sang. Jackie produced those recordings and the LPs that followed. "It's a Sunshine Day," "We Can Make the World a Whole Lot Brighter," "Time to Change," you've probably heard them. When I first met Jackie a few years later, I couldn't wait to ask him about the Brady Bunch stuff, though I knew even then that those tracks were hardly what he would want to be remembered for:
But Jackie couldn't have been more gracious. He told me a couple of behind-the-scenes tidbits about the Brady records, such as the fact that only one of the six kids (Maureen McCormick) could actually carry a tune, necessitating the hiring of studio singers to "enhance" the sound.
Jackie, you made our world a whole lot brighter. I think I'll go for a walk outside now ...
