Frank Mills facts for kids

Frank Mills (born June 27, 1942) is a Canadian pianist. He is famous for his instrumental song "Music Box Dancer". This song became a big hit around the world.

Early Life and Learning

Frank Mills was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He grew up in a place called Verdun, Quebec. Frank started playing the piano when he was only three years old. His family loved music. His mother played piano, and his father sang. Sadly, both his parents died from cancer by the time he was 17.

Frank went to McGill University for five years. He first studied engineering there. Later, he changed his studies to music. He would often play songs for his friends in the Delta Upsilon club. He played many types of music, from ragtime to songs by Bob Dylan. The piano in their club had thumbtacks on its hammers. This made the piano sound very special and unique.

Music Career

In the late 1960s, Frank Mills joined a band called The Bells. He left the band in 1971. Soon after he left, the band had a big international hit song.

Frank then worked as a pianist for CBC Television. He also recorded his first solo album. It was called Seven Of My Songs. This album had a popular song called "Love Me, Love Me Love". This song became number one in Canada in 1972. It also did well on the Billboard charts in the United States. In 1972, his cover of "Poor Little Fool" also made it into the top 25 in Canada.

The Story of "Music Box Dancer"

Frank Mills released an album in 1974 that included "Music Box Dancer". But at first, it was not a hit song. In 1978, he signed a new deal with Polydor Records Canada. The record company released a new song as a single. "Music Box Dancer" was placed on the B-side of that single.

The single was sent to radio stations that played easy listening music. But one copy was sent by mistake to CFRA-AM. This was a pop station in Ottawa. The program director at the station played the main song. He did not understand why it was sent to his pop station. So, he played the B-side to check the record. He really liked "Music Box Dancer"! He added it to his station's playlist. This made the song a big hit in Canada.

"Music Box Dancer" Goes Global

The album with "Music Box Dancer" became very popular in Canada. This made Polydor Records in the US release the album and single too. In Nashville, a TV producer named Bob Parker heard the song. He started playing "Music Box Dancer" at the end of the news on WNGE-TV.

Soon, local DJs in Nashville started playing the song. Both the song and the album became huge hits. The single sold over a million copies. It reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979. The album also reached number 21 on the Billboard Top Album chart.

"Music Box Dancer" was Frank Mills' only song to reach the Top 40 pop charts in the US. His next song, "Peter Piper", also did well. It became a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. He had one more song, "Happy Song", that reached the Adult Contemporary chart in 1981.

Awards and Later Years

Frank Mills won two Juno Awards in 1980. He won for Composer of the Year for "Peter Piper". He also won for Instrumental Artist of the Year. He won the Instrumental Artist of the Year award again in 1981.

He kept releasing albums until the early 1990s. In 2010, he went on a Christmas tour. He toured with Canadian singer Rita MacNeil. They toured together again in late 2012.

Film and Television Appearances

"Music Box Dancer" was used as a theme song for a TV show. It was for a Los Angeles CBS documentary show called 2 on the Town. This was from 1979 through the early 1980s.

The song has also been heard in other popular shows and movies. It was on an episode of The Simpsons. It was also in the Kill Bill movies. The BBC2 golf program, Around with Alliss, used it as its theme song. Other Frank Mills songs, like 'From a Sidewalk Cafe', were also used on BBC TV. These were played during testcard transmissions and breaks between programs.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Frank Mills appeared on Telemiracle telethons. These were charity events broadcast from Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan.

See also

In Spanish: Frank Mills para niños