Leaned this on the piano as a little boy. I was told it was a jazz song but didn't really know music or jazz enough to understand what I was playing. But that friendly little tune has stayed in my head all these years, and somehow I remembered enough of the title to trace my way to this performance - what a joy it is to hear it in full by such amazing talent. Absolutely delightful song. 😊
fantastic! I knew this from an album my dad had when I was a kid -- I must have heard it a thousand times, but I've never seen them do it. they are just so fantastically cool - thanks for posting!
I love hearing music from this era when the artists could sing live and not just to mime to their recordings. The Mills Bros sound just as good as their records. Just as good here performing their 1952 hit and sounding fantastic live 5 years on. Pure professionalism, pure talent.
I SOOOO agree!......I'm addicted to youtube......and I can't get enough of the Mills Brothers.....please keep 'em coming because I don't have any of my own to post.......I watch them over and over.......I wonder how many others there are just like me......lost in a time warp?
This is my favorite song to play when I go through radioactive stuff - a fun joke with friends. They call me 'glow worm' whenever I go through treatment.
This was cleared up earlier, but MAZDA is the incandescent bulb brand, like KLEENEX facial tissue. or Band-Aid. Mazda in the early 20th century basically meant 'light bulb'. Or so wanted the General Electric Co. for everyone to believe. If you listen carefully, the Mills Bros are pronouncing that word precisely correctly. The fun part of this song is they start out in 4 part harmony, at least it sounds like it. hard to do LIVE.
Exquisite harmony, outstanding melody, pitch perfect vocals, poetic lyrics, no profanity, and yes, they sold 120 million albums. The rappers and others need to listen and learn form the real musicians.
@@Pancakes__nl you have a point but most rap has a negative vibe but not all. my other point would be that the mills brothers never grabbed their crotch while they were performing. It would be great if people that write rap could kind of refer to older music for ideas. take care
Yes Bob! You said what I am always saying! It comes from a good heart, people really need to lively up themselves however they can. It's not like times weren't hard then, they just sang their spirit. So grateful for these videos. Peace and love brother and sister and everyone
what a great group always makes me smile i wish time was a loop so i could be alive and lisen to music like this being 16 sucks :P rap and hiphop are all kids lisen to now but not me :D
It's really true that they do not write them like this anymore, and this has probably caused a large number of negative views. I think that if the words were used in an understanding of english test today most people would fail. What a pity because this has a lot to do with enchantment of the song. I hate to be thought selfish but in the words of a more recent pop song Ïdon't care" because I still like it even more today than ever before. Shine on you little glow worms and give all of us a glimmer of hope for a brighter future.
"Glow little glow worm, fly of fire Glow like an incandescent wire Glow for the female of the species Turn on the AC and the DC This night could use a little brightening Light up you little ol' bug of lightning When you gotta glow, you gotta glow Glow little glow worm, glow..." ~Great Tune! (Thank-you)
Hi Joe, I think MILLS BROS got their start during a Musicians strike, and they just sang 4-part harmony, thereby not violating the strike. This is the only version I've seen on You Tube, but I think there were even more musical ones than this.... It will be interesting to see if anyone has them and puts them up.
In the December 6th, 1952 issue of Billboard Magazine, "Glow Worm" by the Mills Brothers reached #1 on the magazine's Most Played on Juke Boxes chart, for the previous thirty-five consecutive weeks the #1 spot was held by a female artist: "Wheel of Fortune" by Kay Starr {for 10 weeks*} "I Went To Your Wedding" by Patti Page {for 10 weeks} "Kiss of Fire" by Georgia Gibbs {for 6 weeks} "Half As Much" by Rosemary Clooney {for 4 weeks*} "Auf Wiedershe'n" by Vera Lynn {for 4 weeks} "Guy Is A Guy" by Doris Day {for 1 week} "You Belong To Me" by Jo Stafford {for 1 week} * Denotes non-consecutive weeks at #1...
In the show called Lego Ninjago, a charter ColeBrokstone sang this to Baby Wu and now I know what year the song was from. Wow, cole like the 1957 song :0
Lyrics Shine little glow-worm, glimmer, glimmer Shine little glow-worm, glimmer, glimmer Lead us lest too far we wander Love's sweet voice is calling yonder Shine little glow-worm, glimmer, glimmer Hey, there don't get dimmer, dimmer Light the path below, above And lead us on to love! Glow little glow-worm, fly of fire Glow like an incandescent wire Glow for the female of the species Turn on the AC and the DC This night could use a little brightnin' Light up you little ol' bug of lightnin' When you gotta glow, you gotta glow Glow little glow-worm, glow Glow little glow-worm, glow and glimmer Swim through the sea of night, little swimmer Thou aeronautical boll weevil Illuminate yon woods primeval See how the shadows deep and darken You and your chick should get to sparkin' I got a gal that I love so Glow little glow-worm, glow Glow little glow-worm, turn the key on You are equipped with taillight neon You got a cute vest-pocket Mazda Which you can make go slow and faster I don't know who you took a shine to Or who you're out to make a sign to I got a gal that I love so Glow little glow-worm, glow Glow little glow-worm, glow Glow little glow-worm, glow Glow little glow-worm, glow!
It's hard to get a good look in this video, but it appears that it may be a Gibson Super 400. Production began in 1934, and it was, and still is, considered among the best jazz archtop guitars made.
For anyone who's interested, I worked with my friend Brian Reingold and found that they start out in 'D Flat' and switch at "turn the key on" to "D Natural". (for those of us trying to learn the song)
the greatest singing group in music history, and imagine what they would have sounded like had their brother not died at the age of 26.....wh o was a bass
I love this song cause ...they really make it swing baby! Another one I really like is Opus I (one). I can't say I have a favorite of theirs cause I love many of them for different reasons. Cab Driver, Paper doll, Up a Lazy River, Dinah!
Part of this song was played on an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine called "Far Beyond The Stars" (Season 6 - Ep. 13). It's how I got hooked on the song too. Really very good! =)
Always have loved this song, since 1952. My favorite of theirs without question, this song makes me smile, even when I'm upset. I was quite young, but old enough to appreciate their music along with all the other great harmonizing groups of the 50s. I wish this music would come back but.....I don't think so, at least not in my lifetime. But with videos like this, we have the memories that will never die.
My father's favorite performers. Greatest group ever. Listening to their songs on You Tube brings me back 60+ years. It is so nostalgic and a bit sad to know that they are no longer among us. Their music will never die. I must confess that Glow Worm was never one of my favorites of the Mills Brothers, but seeing them perform it has brought it to the top of the list. It is such a happy song and they seem so happy performing it. My next project is to purchase a CD of the Mills Brothers (I have none) so I can enjoy them over and over again.
@monk22yrs Sounds great to me. I wonder if they speeded it up to to give it more energy as a reaction to rock and roll which was kicking in at that time. It really shows off their vocal skill and dexterity, especially Harry who sounds great on his solo in the second chorus. It's not hard to see why Dean Martin admired him so much.
Absolutely brilliant - finding gems like this makes trawling through RU-vid worthwhile. I love finding clips of live performances that are just about perfect in every way, by performers who are way ahead of the pack, and this, along with their 'Yellow Bird', is right up there. So far I've also found Jacques Brel 'Amsterdam', Dusty Springfield 'I Don't Want To Go On Without You', Pussycat 'My Broken Souvenirs', and Bobby Darin singing just about anything. Anyone got any other suggestions?
Thank you so very much for giving this explanation. Unless you lived in that time period or knew someone who did and mentored you. You hadn't a clue what they were talking about. This was a time period where it was also so chick, hip, and cool to smoke. Break out your Chesterfield, Fatimas.... Thank you Joe Friday....Thank you for the explanation! I'm 44 y/o and those lyrics have been puzzling me for ever.
Mark Steyn spins a good yarn about this tune here: www.steynonline.com/7640/the-christmas-glow-worm Note that the word "mazda" is used. It was a a trademarked name registered by General Electric in 1909 for incandescent light bulbs: "Glow, little Glow Worm, turn the key on You are equipped with tail-light neon You got a cute vest-pocket Mazda Which you can make both slow and fazda"
I had never heard of these incredible beacons of excellence. I heard the track in the background of an episode of Palm Royal on Apple TV + and looked for the song using Google and here I am listening to this maybe for the 100th time now. Man does history sometimes get it wrong when it comes to who gets remembered and who doesn’t. These Mills Brothers should be as revered as Bing Crosby or Sinatra. Harry Mills carries an inner light and joyful power that is just otherworldly. Him and his brothers are true masters. Such insanely great performing skills. The effortless brilliance, cohesion, soul, precision is just mind blowing. Great talent never fades.
Allbob, You are correct that the song is originally from Germany. I don't know the German lyrics so I can't say if the words are a direct translation, but I would doubt it for two reasons. 1) A direct translation wouldn't rhyme and fit the meter so perfectly. 2) Johnny Mercer was a first class lyricist. He may have liked the original premise and just took it from there. So, like "Mack the Knife" the original is German, the English version is uniquely the work of a American lyricist
The "main" singer is sooooooooooooooooooo cute! I watch this daily just to see his smile. :-) My parents loved to listen to the Mills Brothers, maybe that's why I feel so good when I watch this clip. Thank you so much for posting.
"was it something that I said a thousand years before my time"? what song is these lyrics from? Starts out - Well it's pouring down with rain,---- also she makes a wave to float my boat upon? anyone know?
I have my Dad to thank for introducing me to music like this. He was a WW2 vet. Because of his service, he was exposed to a lot of different styles of music. Thanks, Pops.
On this day in 1952 {December 6} "The Glow-Worm" by The Mills Brothers peaked at #1 {for 3 weeks} on Billboard's Most Played in Jukeboxes chart... And also on that very same day it reached #1 {for 1 week} on the Cash Box magazine's 'Best Selling Record' chart... Between 1931 and 1968 the brothers had seventy-one Top 100 hits; with twenty-seven making the Top 10 and five reaching #1 {"Tiger Rag" in 1931, "Dinah" in 1932, "Paper Doll" in 1943, "You Always Hurts The One You Love" in 1944, and "The Glow-Worm" in 1952}...
Oh my Gosh! I remember when I was 7years old my Mom and Dad used to love these Guys, Oh such great memories, they were such Dynamite Singers back then!
Great group, boy could they harmonize! Danced many mile to their songs. Also play many a tune on the accordion. Talk about memories! Giovanni Maria Tommaso
1957? The Civil Rights bill hadn't even been passed and some of the very WORST of civil right offenses were taking place in this era and yet these well loved and incredibly talented MEN never seemed to show or reflect the troubles of the times they grew up in? Their attitudes, demeanor and character was always positive and the music was the same. Class in the face of bigotry and indifference. I was born in 1962 and grew up in a household full of this very kind of music and i still love it today.
Dude I am like 15 and I hate how ppl my age think this is shit.. now some people may call me shit but most of todays music is pure and utter over hyped shit that under-worked and over paid assholes make... ohh and to caler something up RAP IS FUCKING CURSING AND RHYMING
I'm 17 right now and what you said all those years ago can't be more painfully expressed than today in 2019, I mean I like certain rap songs too but not a lot I have a much larger soft spot in my heart for music like this. My friends though think I'm uncultured cuz I don't like pop culture music lol.
I'm still glowing after listening to the wonderful Mills Brothers. Very grateful to my parents and our one TV. We watched what they watched and that's when my love for the Mills Brothers came to be. I love Jerry Lee Lewis music, but Glow Worm set my feet to stomping. Thanks for posting, SyberkaPL and thank you, Moxee33, for the words. It's so much fun to sing along.
