Irving Mills

about

Irving Mills (January 16, 1894 – April 21, 1985) was a jazz music publisher, also known by the name of "Joe Primrose." Mills was born to Jewish parents in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. He founded Mills Music with his brother Jack in 1919. Between 1919 and 1965, when they sold Mills Music, Inc., they built and became the largest independent music publisher in the world. He died in 1985 in Palm Springs, California. His interment was at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery. Irving and Jack discovered a number of great songwriters, among them Sammy Fain, Harry Barris, Gene Austin, Hoagy Carmichael, Jimmy McHugh, and Dorothy Fields. He either discovered or greatly advanced the careers of Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Ben Pollack, Jack Teagarden, Benny Goodman, Will Hudson, Raymond Scott and many others. Although not a musician himself (he did sing, however), Irving decided to put together his own studio recording group. In Irving Mills and his Hotsy Totsy Gang he had for sidemen: Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, Joe Venuti, Eddie Lang, Arnold Brillhardt, Arthur Schutt, and Manny Klein. Other variations of his bands featured Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, and Red Nichols (Irving gave Red Nichols the tag "and his Five Pennies.") One night Mills went down to a little club on West 49th Street between 7th Avenue and Broadway called the Kentucky Club. The owner had brought in a little band from Washington, D.C. and wanted to know what Irving thought of them. Instead of g

top songs

albums

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The Shawshank Redemption

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The Very Best Of The Boston Pops

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That Devilin' Tune: A Jazz History (1895-1950)

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The King's Men: After Hours

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It don't mean a thing

Doin' The New Low Down

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Redbird

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Irving Mills & His Hotsy Totsy Gang Vol. 2: 1929-'31

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Vinyl Vault Presents Ziggy Elman and Irving Mills

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Jazz Piano - Verve 50

Some Fun

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Best of Swing

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