Kerry Mills(1869-1948)
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Writer of popular songs from 1893 to the end of World War I. His best
known songs were "At A Georgia Camp Meeting", which is often used
(uncredited) as a background for minstrel numbers and has numerous
recordings from the early years of jazz, "Meet Me In St. Louis, Louis",
and "Red Wing", which became a classic of the American country fiddle
repertoire. He is also thought to be the first to introduce the "cake
walk" into popular music, with his march "Whistling Rufus". A trained
violinist, he was unable to find a job when he moved to New York in
1895. He started his own publishing firm that year when other Tin Pan
Alley publishers turned down his songs.
