Frank Mills drove through North Battleford last year but he didn't even have time to stop for a cup of coffee. This year, he's stopping and staying long enough for fans to spend an evening with Mr. Music Box Dancer.
The legendary Canadian composer and pianist, is on a cross-Canada tour titled "An Evening With Frank Mills" and is due to perform at the Dekker Centre for the Performing Arts Tuesday, Nov. 17. Tickets sales have been brisk and the show is almost sold out.
The tour is in aid of his new album called After the Dancer.
Mills describes After the Dancer as "a collection of what I think are the very best of my piano pieces, pieces that after Music Box Dancer remain the most requested songs in concert by my most discerning fans. If I had to pick one of the more than 20 albums that represent the best of my life's work this would be it".
The 73-year-old Mills told the Regional Optimistlast week his career has been good to him and he says he is honoured that people still show up to his shows after all these years.
He laughed that this is probably his sixth "retirement" tour, and likely not his last. Though the tours get harder every year, he said, he seems to keep taking them on as long as his agent keeps setting them up. He just makes sure he gets into town early enough to take a nap before show time!
On stage, where he says he has "the best seat in the house," it will be just Mills and the piano. The tour is about sharing his story with the audience so it makes sense to maintain an intimate atmosphere.
"I like to get to know my audience," he says.
He likes to chat with his audience and enjoys signing autographs as part of his appearances.
Music Box Dancer is a tune famous around the world. It was released in the 1970s, and Mills said it wasn't actually the single being promoted to the radio stations at the time. It was actually the flip side (back in the days of 45s). When a program director decided to play the B side because he didn't like the A side, the journey to a gold album began.
It is one of the most recognized melodies around the world, and Mills says he is always tickled when he hears it being played by an ice cream truck.
But he is passionate about the rest of his compositions as well, the music that came "after the dancer."
