Actress Hayley Mills has a rock n’ roll story which could be one of my favorites ever told.
It’s March 1964 and Hayley, at age 17, is one of the biggest teen stars in the world. Under contract with Walt Disney Pictures, she had just appeared in her latest film, “Summer Magic,” which got favourable reviews and decent box office returns, and a month earlier she had the rare honor of putting her hands and feet in cement in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre where she’d be enshrined forever amongst Hollywood’s elite. With her silky blonde hair, big blue eyes and cute button nose, the precocious teenager was the first crush for an entire generation of boys growing up in the early 1960’s, while being a role model and best friend to girls worldwide. Only acting for a few short years, she had already won a Golden Globe, a BAFTA Award and an Academy Award, making her one of the most successful teen actors of all time.
Well, one afternoon Hayley gets an invitation to a high-profile charity event to be held at actor Richard Todd’s house. An event to raise money for the Red Cross, the star-studded gathering was in conjunction with the UK premier of “Charade,” starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grantt. A great honor for any actress, Hayley was quickly dismayed to find that she had a “plus one” attached to her invitation. Although there would be hundreds of young men who would line up to take out Hayley Mills, despite all of her success, fame and adoration, like many young girls her age Hayley Mills had crippling esteem problems and had never had a boyfriend.
Having barely graduated from being a child star to a teen sensation, to not show up without a date would be an embarrassment, and Hayley began to fret over who might take her to the event.
Well Hayley’s mother didn’t understand what all the anxiety was about. She felt the solution was fairly simple. “How about you go with that nice young man we met a few days ago,” Mary Bell said to her daughter over afternoon tea, recalling another celebrity event they had recently attended, and how Hayley had gotten all flustered around a certain entertainment newcomer. “You obviously really liked him.”
“Oh no Mum. You can’t just call him and ask him out on a date,” Hayley insisted, nearly choking on her tea. However, Hayley’s reasoning didn’t phase her mother, who walked over to the phone on her desk and began to dial. As Hayley listened in horror, her mother effortlessly got on the phone with someone’s assistant and after a few minutes the arrangements were made. To Hayley’s shock and mild embarrassment, she was about to have a dream date of a lifetime. The date that her mother had just arranged for her was with George Harrison!
In March 1964 The Beatles were entering the zenith of their initial popularity and George Harrison, who had just turned 21, was already one of the most renowned musicians in the industry. Having just returned from America, where The Beatles had made their premier on The Ed Sullivan Show a month earlier, the Fab Four’s latest record “She Loves You” had just knocked their previous record, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” from the #1 spot on the Billboard Charts. But two years before The Beatles sang “She loves you, yeah yeah yeah,” it was Hayley Mills who had been on the Billboard Top Ten singing “Let’s get together, yeah, yeah, yeah.” Two very different kinds of songs by two very different kinds of performers, George Harrison was part of a rock n’ roll revolution, but Hayley Mills was a trend setter all her own by bringing rock n’ roll to Disney movies for the first time.
Now I’ll be honest. I didn’t even know Hayley Mills rhad eleased an album of her own until she mentioned it in her fantastic 2021 memoir “Forever Young,” which is also where I first learnt of this wonderful story about her date with George Harrison. However, in the book Hayley bluntly dismissed the album, admitting that she was incredibly uncomfortable in the recording studio and felt she had no business recording an album. Well, that didn’t deter me from trying to get a copy, and it got added to my next Discogs order. Well, Hayley was not lying. She was many things, but a singer was not one of them.
Like the boys from a generation before me, I fell in love with Hayley Mills as soon as I first saw her. But growing up in the 1980’s I didn’t see her in the theatres but on television when her films, such as “The Parent Trap,” “That Darn Cat” and, my favorite, “Pollyanna” were rerun on Sunday night broadcasts of “The Wonderful World of Disney.” What never occurred to me at the age of ten was that Hayley Mills was actually older than my mother, but during a time where movie studios continued to reissue the tried-and-true original films instead of making flashy but inferior remakes, Hayley had that timeless quality that crossed generations.
A native of London, England, Hayley Mills was born into a very prominent family of celebrated entertainers. Her father was the highly renowned thespian Sir John Mills, and her mother was playwright and novelist Mary Hayley Bell. Her older sister, Juliett Mills, had a successful career on the London stage, and would eventually find her own pop culture success in the role of Pheobe Figalilly on the fantasy/comedy sitcom “Nanny and the Professor.” Hayley also had a younger brother, Johnathan, who would eventually become a director and producer. Starting her acting career at age 12 in the film “Tiger Bay,” Hayley Mills caught the eye of Walt Disney, who put her under contract, making her an overnight star. But while she was a phenomenal young actress, Hayley Mills could barely sing on key. But that didn’t stop the Disney Company and, in 1961 Hayley brought rock n’ roll to the Disney big screen for the very first time when she sang “Let’s Get Together” in her hit film, “The Parent Trap.”
But Hayley’s rock n’ roll success was more happenstance than a calculated career move, and Disney’s road to adopting rock n’ roll into their projects was a long one that started a number of years earlier when rock was still young.
Disney’s earliest foray into rock music was actually in 1957 on a difficult to find album called “Darlene of the Teens” recorded by “Mickey Mouse Club” star Darlene Gillespie. One of the most talented Mouseketeers on the popular daily kids show, Darlene’s “solo album” on the Disney label included a cover of Elvis Presely’s “Love Me Tender,” as well as a novelty tune called “Rock-a-Billy” which sounded like it came right out of Sun Records, and a nice rock-blues original called “Ninety Nine Ways.” Although she would be remembered more for emulating popular singers such as Rosemary Clooney and Doris Day on “The Mickey Mouse Club,” Darlene had some serious rock n’ roll chops and could have easily transitioned to being a successful early rock princess. However, Disney seemed to still be reluctant on producing rock n’ roll records that early on, and soon Darlene’s spotlight was muted by the shadow of a co-star who would become Disney’s first true bonafide pop sensation – Annette Funicello.
Although she never had the same vocal power of Darlene Gillespie, Annette Funicello had the kind of natural star power that very few performers are gifted with. Via her “exotic” good looks (people of Italian heritage were still minorities on 1950’s television) and a genuine kind and gentle nature that transmitted through the airwaves to a public who adored her, by the end of the 1950’s Annette Funicello became America’s favorite girl next door, and all outstanding projects at the Disney studios were put on hold to cultivate her career. This led to the release of her first self titled solo album, “Annette,” released in 1959 on Disney’s “pop” label, Buena Vista Records. Featuring primarily original songs with some leftovers from Annette’s MMC serials, Annette became the first solo female artist to land a “rock” song on the Billboard top ten with the release of the album’s second single, “Tall Paul,” which went all the way to #7. Written by the team of Robert and Richard Sherman, who had recently been hired as songwriters by Walt Disney, “Tall Paul” became the first rock n’ roll hit produced by Disney, but the song was not featured in any of their movies!
Annette and the Sherman Brothers would team up again to produce the first rock song to be used in a Disney production. In 1961 Annette sang a rock n’ roll flavored number titled “Strummin’ Song” in the Disney feature “The Horsemasters.” Although the song was released as a single, it didn’t land on the Billboard Charts. However, while “Strummin’ Song” is technically the first rock song to be used in a Disney production, once again, it wasn’t featured in a theatrically released movie! “The Horsemasters” was aired as a two-part TV broadcast on “Disneyland,” thus preventing Annette from being the one to bring rock n’ roll to the Disney big screen. Instead, what Annette did do was clear the way for Hayley Mills’ rock in roll success later that year.
After the success of her first Disney feature “Pollyanna,” which was a period piece, for her next film, “The Parent Trap,” Disney wanted to bring Hayley into the current century not as just one, but two modern teenagers who liked the things that contemporary girls liked – boys, romance and rock n’ roll! In the film Hayley Mills played duo roles as twin sisters, Susan and Sharon, who were separated at birth without knowing about one another when their parents got a divorce. Remeeting accidently when they attend the same summer camp, the pair scheme to use classic twin “switcheroo” hijinks to reunite their parents, played by Brian Keith and Maureen O’Hara, before their father marries a conniving gold-digger played by Joanna Barnes.
One of Disney Studio’s finest live action comedies, in the film’s most memorable sequence Hayley does a duet with herself by performing the Sherman Brother’s latest composition, “Let’s Get Together.” With Sharon on piano, and Susan on guitar, Hayley was able to fake her way through the song by bleating out modern colloquialisms to a rock n’ roll beat instead of getting bogged down by having to be pitch perfect. The performance was a winner due primarily to Hayley’s natural charisma and not her vocal ability.
Like most Disney films, a soundtrack album of “The Parent Trap” quickly landed in record stores in conjunction with the film, and “Let’s Get Together” was released as a single with the less memorable “Cobbler Cobbler” on the B side. Yet despite Hayley’s noticeable lack of musical talent, there was something raw yet playful about the track, and propelled by the audience’s memory of her performance in the film, along with her immense popularity at that moment in time, “Let’s Get Together” unexpectedly crossed over from the movie screen to the airwaves and spent eleven weeks on the Billboard charts, peaking at the #8 position in November 1961.
But while it was an unexpected success, there is some evidence that somewhere in the mechanics Disney’s marketing division was pushing Hayley Mills recording of “Let’s Get Together” forward because, honestly, they had better options. What is less remembered is that a far more superior alternate version of “Let’s Get Together” was also featured in “The Parent Trap,” recorded by Annette and Tommy Sands, who were at the same studio filming “Babes in Toyland” at the time that “The Parent Trap” was being made. In an early scene, where Susan and Sharon are still at camp, Annette and Sand’s version can be heard for a few seconds being played on a small record player. Surprisingly, the Annette and Sands version of “Let’s Get Together” was basically buried by not being released on the “Parent Trap” soundtrack album and, instead, was released as the B-side to the 45 rpm release of “The Parent Trap Theme,” which was also performed by the duo. When comparing the two recordings it’s very clear which is the better version. Disney obviously were putting high stakes on Hayley Mills at the time, thus pushing her version of “Let’s Get Together” out in front despite the superiority of the Annette and Sands recording.
Of course, with the success of “Let’s Get Together,” Disney wanted to see if lightening might strike twice, and despite her reluctance, they rushed her into a recording studio to produce an entire album of songs unrelated to any of her upcoming films. This would be the first in a continuing trend by the Disney studios to try to turn young actors into pop stars with varying results. Titled “Let’s Get Together with Hayley Mills,” the record hit shelves in early 1962 and was clearly a rush job containing an uninspired collection of forgettable original pop songs and a couple of novelty standards such as “Jeepers Creepers” and “A Tisket, a Tasket.” Although Haley made an earnest attempt to sing as best as she could, the charismatic charm of her on-screen presence barely translated in song, and in an era without autotune the reality of Hayeley’s tone deafness could not be ignored. To make matters worse, the art department even selected possibly one of the most gooniest and unattractive photos of Hayley Mills they could find for the album cover, which was difficult considering how beautiful she was! Yet, despite the questionable production value of the album, Hayley did manage to have a second successful single. In May 1962 “Johnny Jingo” made it as high as #21 on the Billboard charts, but the song was less of a rock n’ roll number and more of a music hall vaudevillian inspired throwback. Quickly slipping into obscurity, “Johnny Jingo” did not become part of the popular soundscape, and Hayley Mills, realizing that her strength was as an actress and not a singer, wisely never recorded another album again.
But despite leaving any music aspirations behind her in 1962, fast forward a few years and Hayley Mills was about to get the rock n’ roll experience of a lifetime! How did that dream date with George Harrison turn out anyways? According to Hayley, the date was pure pandemonium.
George picked Hayley up at her home in his black Jaguar and the two drove together to Richard Todd’s house where, despite the party being full of established entertainment stars, George couldn’t escape the fascination by the people in attendance and he was bombarded by curious guests wanting to meet a Beatle. But things would only intensify when George and Hayley arrived later at the Regal Cinemas where crowds of screaming fans went wild when they spotted George come out of one of the cars that transported the partygoers to the cinema. Stopping to sign a few autographs, Hayley felt they would finally be safe when they got to their seats, but even during the screening of the movie the pair got interrupted by autograph seekers crawling down the aisles searching for George. Hayley even said that a woman from the Red Cross virtually sat in her lap in an attempt to get closer to her date.
After the film was over it was time to get back in the cars and return to Richard Todd’s party, but when word got out that George Harrison was at the Regal Theatre the crowd outside the venue had gotten significantly larger. When George and Hayley emerged from the theatre it was like a bomb went off. The crowd went into a frenzy, grabbing and tearing at George and Hayley, who quickly became separated when someone shoved George into the back of a car which immediately sped away. Hayley watched in dismay as George helplessly looked at her from the back window as fans all around her were pushed back by police and security.
Thankfully, Hayley was able to get easily into another of the awaiting cars, and arriving safely back to Todd’s house she found George, a bit disheveled but no worse for wear, sitting by the fire waiting for her. Hayley said despite the pandemonium, George seemed calm and collected as if he was accustomed to the insanity of his fanbase. The two had a nice evening, but Hayley said that the only time they really had a chance to talk was when he drover her home later in the evening. By that point Hayley had experienced a bit of George’s unique situation, which somewhat bonded them at that moment. Arriving at the Mills’ residence at 3 am, like any father would, John Mills was waiting up to make sure that his daughter got home alright. Mills invited George to come in for a bite to eat, and with his staff already in bed, the trio went to the kitchen where Mills cooked the only thing he knew how to make – scrambled eggs. Hayley would go on to say this was the only time she ever saw her father cook during his lifetime. George visited with Hayley and her father until 4 am and then announced that he had to go because he actually had movers coming to his apartment later that morning. Ringo and he, who had been sharing a flat in London, were moving in the early hours of the morning and in an attempt to avoid any sort of fan interruption they had a police escort arranged. He said goodnight to Hayley and drove off.
Was it a love connection? History would prove that it was not. Although George and Hayley made an attractive pair, as seen in the photographs taken from that night, a few weeks earlier George had met a young model on the set of “A Hard Days Night” who he was immediately smitten with. This was Pattie Boyd, who would not only become George’s muse, but also his wife in 1966.
But Hayley would run into George Harrison many years later at a flower show where they reminisced about their one date together, and George confessed to Hayley that one of the most surreal moments of his life was watching Sir John Mills cook scrambled eggs for him in the early hours of the morning.
Hayley Mills’ dream date with Geroge Harrison is a sweet story so innocent and magical that it could have been ripped out of the plot of one of her Disney films. But it is also a testament to haw influential Hayley’s family was in England’s cultural scene, and just how big of a star she was at the beginning of the 1960’s. Millions of girls worldwide would dream of dating a Beatle, but Hayley Mills was one of the few who could actually say they did it. While her legacy as the girl who brought rock n’ roll to Disney movies has gone somewhat overlooked, if not maybe a bit convoluted, her memorable date with George Harrison would truly be Hayley Mills’ ultimate rock n’ roll story.
