Mills Music, Inc. was an American music publishing company located in Manhattan. Originally known as Jack Mills Music, it was founded by Jack Mills in 1919. It was re-named Mills Music, Inc. in 1928. During the 1920s it was the most prolific music publisher in the United States, but was later surpassed by other music publishers. It remained in operation until 1965 when it was sold to Utilities & Industries. The company is best remembered for its relationship with the African-American community. The publishing house is credited for being one of the first music publishers to promote jazz and it forwarded the careers of many then unknown black composers during the 1920s and 1930s, including Duke Elington. After World War II, the company switched its focus to classical music and publishing music education materials.
History
editJack Mills was a song-plugger who worked for a variety of Tin Pan Alley publishing houses.[1] He had risen within the industry to the role of manager of the McCarthy & Fisher music publishing house.[2] Also an aspiring songwriter, he had failed to convince any of the publishing companies in New York to publish his music. He founded Jack Mills Music in 1919 partially as a means to publish his own materials. Not long after establishing the company he was joined in the business by his brother Irving Mills.[3] The company was re-named Mills Music, Inc. in 1928.[4] The company was originally located at 152 W. 45th St. but from 1923 resided at the Mills Building at 148–150 W. 46th St.[1]
Mills Music, Inc. (MMI) was the most prolific music publishing company of the 1920s.[4] In the 1920s and 1930s the company had a reputation for supporting and promoting black composers.[5][4] This began with the publication of more than 100 rags during the 1920s; an important early one being Zez Confrey's "Kitten of the Keys" (1921).[4] It was also one of the earliest music publishers to publish jazz music,[5] and also published other types of music associated with the black community, including blues. One well known blues tune the company published was Lovie Austin and Alberta Hunter's "Down Hearted Blues". [4] MMI is credited for discovering Duke Elington, and Elington was managed by Irving Mills during his early career with MMI publishing his music.[5]
After World War II, MMI's emphasis switched to publishing classical music and music education materials.[4] Jack Mills sold the company in 1965 for $5,000,000.00 to Utilities & Industries.[6]
Partial list of songs copyrighted by Mills Music
edit- "Stardust" (1927) by Hoagy Carmichael[6]
References
editCitations
edit- ^ a b Jasen 2004.
- ^ Sanjek 2003, p. 589.
- ^ Pressley 2021, p. 31.
- ^ a b c d e f Jasen 2020, p. 146.
- ^ a b c Karp 2018, p. 135-136.
- ^ a b Zhito, Lee, ed. (April 7, 1979). "Jack Mills Dies At 87". Billboard: 94.
Bibliography
edit- Harwood, Robert W. (2008). I Went Down to St. James Infirmary: Investigations in the Shadowy World of Early Jazz-blues in the Company of Blind Willie McTell, Louis Armstrong, Don Redman, Irving Mills, Carl Moore, and a Host of Others, and where Did this Dang Song Come from Anyway?. Harland Press. ISBN 978-0-9809743-0-0.
- Jasen, David A. (2004). "Mills Music Inc.". Tin Pan Alley: An Encyclopedia of the Golden Age of American Song. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781135949006.
- Jasen, Dave (2020). "Mills Music Inc.". Ragtime: An Encyclopedia, Discography, and Sheetography. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781000143843.
- Jasen, David A.; Jones, Gene (31 October 2013). Spreadin' Rhythm Around: Black Popular Songwriters, 1880-1930. Routledge. ISBN 9781135509798.
- Karp, Jonathan (2018). "The Roots of Jewish Concentration in the American Popular Music Business, 1890–1945". In Diner, Hasia R. (ed.). Doing Business in America: A Jewish History. Purdue University Press. ISBN 978-1-61249-560-6.
- Pressley, Kristin Stultz (2021). I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby: Dorothy Fields and Her Life in the American Musical Theater. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4930-5095-6.
- Sanjek, David (2003). "Mills Music". In Shepherd, John (ed.). Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World Part 1 Media, Industry, Society, Volume I. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-0826463227.
- Simons, John, ed. (1933). "Mills, Jack". Who's who in American Jewry, Volume 3. Jewish Biographical Bureau.