Irving Mills

Ukranian-born American jazz music publisher, agent, orchestra leader, and lyricist. Born January 15, 1894 in Odessa, Odeska, Ukraine. Died April 21, 1985 in Palm Springs, California, USA.

Father-in-law of composer [a=Josef Myrow], grandfather of composer [a=Fred Myrow] and brother of [a=Jack Mills (3)].

Mills was born in the Russian Empire, which today is in the Ukraine, moving to New York City in 1896. He founded [l282966] 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.

As a music scout, Mills signed Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway. Mills is highly important in the history of jazz music because of his willingness to work with black musicians and publish their music. While Mills is mostly remembered for his business abilities, he more than dabbled in songwriting -- included among his works is the hit [i]It Don't Mean a Thing if It Ain't Got That Swing[/i].