Kerry Mills ''(né'' Frederick Allen Mills; 1 February 1869 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

– 5 December 1948 in

Hawthorne, California Hawthorne is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California. It is part of a seventeen-city subregion of the Los Angeles metropolitan area commonly known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay. As of the 2020 United States cens ...

), publishing also as F.A. Mills, was an American ragtime composer and music publishing executive of popular music during the

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of History of music publishing, music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the American popular music, popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Originally ...

era. His stylistically diverse music ranged from ragtime through

cakewalk The cakewalk was a dance developed from the "prize walks" (dance contests with a cake awarded as the prize) held in the mid-19th century, generally at get-togethers on black slave plantations before and after emancipation in the Southern Unit ...

marches In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a state's "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diffe ...

. He was most prolific between

1895 Events January * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island (off French Guiana) on what is much later admitted to be a false charge of tr ...

and

1918 The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...

Career

Mills trained as a

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist and was head of the Violin Department of the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

School of Music when he began composing. He moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1895 and started a music publishing firm, F. A. Mills Music Publisher, publishing his own work and that of others. The company went bankrupt in 1915 and was acquired by Maurice Richmond, who sold on many of the songs.https://ragpiano.com/comps/famills.shtml

Selected works

* "Impecunious Davis" * "In The City Of Sighs And Tears" * "Just For The Sake Of Society" * "Let's All Go Up To Maud's" * "The Longest Way 'Round Is The Sweetest Way Home" * " Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis" (words by

Andrew B. Sterling Andrew Benjamin Sterling (August 26, 1874 – August 11, 1955) was an American lyricist. Biography Born in New York City, he began writing songs and vaudevilles after he graduated from high school. An important event was his meeting with the ...

) *1895 : Rastus on Parade - Characteristic Two Step March for Piano *1895 : Shandon Bells - Two Step March *1896 : Happy Days in Dixie - Characteristic March *1897 : At A Georgia Camp Meeting - A Characteristic March listen to:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLR2ZI0evgs *1899 : Whistling Rufus - Characteristic Two Step March, Polka & Cakewalk *1899 : Impecunious Davis - A Characteristic March *1900 or before: Cake-Walk *1900 : Kerry Mills Medley - Themes from Previous Cake Walk and Songs *1902 : Harmony Moze - Characteristic Two Step *1902 : A Brand Plucked from the Burning (words by Alfred Bryan) *1902 : I Know She Waits for Me (words by Alfred Bryan) *1903 : Valse Hèléne *1903 : Petite Causerie - A Quiet Chat *1903 : Valse Primrose - Les Primevères *1903 : 'Leven Forty-Five From The Hotel - Two Step March *1903 : Me and Me Banjo - Characteristic Piece *1903 : Petite Causerie (A Quiet Chat) *1903 : Valse Helene *1903 : L'amour Aux Bois (Cupid's Bower) *1903 : Valse Primrose (Les Primeveres) *1903 : Like A Star That Falls From Heaven (words by Alfred Bryan) *1904 : We'll Be Together When the Clouds Roll By (words by Alfred Bryan) *1906 : Old Heidelberg: - Characteristic Two Step March *1906 : While The Old Mill Wheel Is Turning (words by Will D. Cobb) *1907 : Red Wing" - An Indian Intermezzo (words by

Thurland Chattaway Thurland Chattaway (April 8, 1872 – November 12, 1947) was an American composer of popular music, active from approximately 1898 to 1912. He is best known for writing the words to the popular 1907 hit " Red Wing" with Kerry Mills. Other song ...

). Mills adapted the melody from

Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

's "The Happy Farmer" *1908 : Kerry Mills Barn Dance *1908 : Sun Bird - Intermezzo *1908 : Hallie (A Little Romance) *1908 : Sweet Sixteens - March *1908 : Any Old Port in a Storm (words by Arthur J. Lamb) *1908 : If You Were Mine (words by Arthur J. Lamb) *1909 : Comical Eyes (words by Bartley C. Costello) *1909 : Kerry Mills Rag Time Dance *1909 : A Georgia Barn Dance *1909 : The Scarf Dancer - A Novelty Two Step *1909 : Lily of the Prairie - Two Step Intermezzo *1909 : Sicilian Chimes - Reverie *1909 : Kerry Mills Potpourri *1909 : Don't Be an Old Maid, Molly *1909 : Where Were You Last Night? (words by Alfred Bryan) *1909 : "A Georgia Barn Dance" *1910 : That Fascinating Ragtime Glide *1910 : Valley Flower - Intermezzo *1910 : Kerry Mills Palmetto Slide *1910 : The Wyoming Prance - A Rag Time Two Step *1910 : I've Lost My Nannie *1911 : You've Got the Wrong Number, But You've Got the Right Girl (words by Arthur J. Lamb) *1914 : Kerry Mills Turkey Trot *1914 : Kerry Mills Fox Trot *1918 : Snooky Hollow - Intermezzo *1919 : Tokio - Fox Trot on Chorus from Geisha Girl

References

External links

Sheet music for his song "We'll Be Together When the Clouds Roll By"
from the collection at University of Oregon Libraries *
Kerry Mills recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mills, Kerry 1869 births 1948 deaths American male composers American composers Musicians from Hawthorne, California Ragtime composers University of Michigan faculty

Career

Selected works

See also

References

External links