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STANLEY MILLS Successful Music Publisher At weddings and bar mitzvahs the bands look for music that will get the guests up from the tables and on their feet. The Macarena has long left the dance floor. Where did you get your start in the music business? I grew up in the five towns, attended the Woodmere Academy and Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania where I was a sports announcer and disc jockey. After graduation I was drafted and shipped off to Japan where I served as a radio announcer and DJ. My father founded Mills Music which was the biggest independent music publisher. I worked there until my father sold me the company in 1966. Just what does a music publisher do? They promote or plug songs and compositions to recording artists, films, and advertisers. They also publish songbooks and sheet music. I enjoy finding new writing talent and pitch their songs to to people who use the music commercially. Who are some famous singers that you worked with? I had a long association with Connie Francis and we both did very well with “Who’s Sorry Now?” Chet Atkins, the country music icon was my mentor and I represented his catalog. Bobby Vinton was singing a love song in Polish. “My Melody of Love” reached #1 in Billboard magazine. “Cara Mia” by Jay and the Americans reached the Top Five in both 1955 and 1965. Any favorite artists? One night at the Persian Room at the Plaza Hotel I heard Kay Starr and I was smitten by her. I actually went back stage and asked her out to dinner. I was single at the time and dated her in Los Angeles and we played golf together. She liked calling me, ‘Mills’. Now, she’s 92 and we still keep in touch. My wife and I used to see her whenever she was in New York. What’s the story with the Chicken Dance? I came across this goofy polka which was a big success in Europe. My company, called September Music (same initials as my name) hawked the song. It’s simplicity gets even the klutziest wallflower out on the dance floor because it makes everyone look equally silly. DJs say it charts higher than classics like “We Are Family” at catered affairs. People make beak motions with their hands, then frantically flap their arms, and wiggle their behinds. I’ve licensed it for use in dance competitions, CDs, karaoke collections and TV commercials like Burger King. It’s been aired on TV shows like Will and Grace, Big Bang Theory, and the film “Grumpier Old Men”. Tell us about your family. In 1967 I married the “girl next door” who actually lived around the corner. Judy and I have two sons, Kenneth in Plantation, Florida and Mitchell in Woodmere, NY. Judy is a great fan of popular music and was a social worker for many years at Meals on Wheels. We are very happy living here at NST. The amenities are fabulous and our neighbors are very friendly. What’s your take on the Chicken Dance’s longevity? I saw how unusual it’s appeal was in the dance-party circuit. It really took off and is still sold in Target and other mass market venues. It’s so simple: just a few notes that are repeated at an ever-increasing speed. As one band leader told his audience: “Don’t tense up. Just pretend you are the chicken.” 4 North Shore Towers Courier n June 2015 By FRED CHERNOW Now, after 40 years the “Chicken Dance” has managed to still find a perch atop the party-music pecking order. It’s world-wide popularity is due to Stanley Mills of Building One.


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