Irving Mills
b. 16 January 1884, New York City, New York, USA, d. 21 April 1985. After singing with dancebands in the early years of this century, Mills became very successful in the music publishing business in the '20s. Later in the decade, he entered the field of personal management, gathering under his wing some of the finest black musicians of the day, notably Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway and Jimmie Lunceford, all of whom were featured at the Cotton Club, an establishment with which Mills had strong links. Most of the artists Mills represented were tied to him by contracts with clauses so binding as to suggest a degree of unscrupulousness. His eye for business matters led to Mills forming record companies and organizing numerous record dates, many of which brought together some of the best jazz players of the day. This business sense also led Mills into the dubious practice of appending his name to various ventures, certain instances of which appear to be rather less than deserved. In some cases, his motive might have been little more than a desire to see his name in lights—for example, when he attached his name to another band he managed, the Mills Blue Rhythm Band, or to a pick-up group, Irving Mills And His Hotsy Totsy Gang (which was actually led by Benny Goodman. Much more questionable is the fact that his name appears as co-composer on most of Duke Ellington's compositions of the late '20s and '30s, accreditations which can hardly be taken seriously. When Ellington finally split with Mills, the cause, not surprisingly, was a disagreement over financial matters. Although Mills continued his business activities into the '60s, his connections with the leading names of jazz were much reduced. For all the criticism which must be levelled at the manner in which Mills exploited the artists under contract to him, it should perhaps be acknowledged that he worked hard to ensure they achieved success—even if his motives in these endeavours were somewhat less than selfless.