Mills, Donald Friedlich

▪ 2000

      American singer who enjoyed a six-decade career performing with the Mills Brothers, an innovative group that used their vocals to imitate instruments (Don was a trombone) and harmonize; the group had more than 2,000 recordings, scored 36 gold records, among them “Paper Doll” (1943), “You Always Hurt the One You Love” (1944), and “Lazy River” (1948), and sold more than 50 million records. Mills, the last surviving member of the group, accepted a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement on behalf of the Mills Brothers in 1998 (b. April 29, 1915, Piqua, Ohio—d. Nov. 13, 1999, Los Angeles, Calif.).

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