Stanley Mills, the man behind ‘The Chicken Dance,’ dead at 91

The late music publisher’s cause of death is unknown

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Former music publisher Stanley Mills, best known for popularising “The Chicken Dance,” died on 29 December in New Hyde Park, New York at the age of 91, according to reports.

A cause of death is currently unknown, according Billboard.

Born in 1931, Mills was the son of music publisher Jack Mills, who founded Mills Music Publishing Company. He reportedly worked with the family business for a few years prior to its sale in 1964 before going on to work at music publisher EB Marks, according to Variety. He’d later go on to launch his own company, September Music and Galahad Music, which was responsible for popular songs like “Cara Mia,” “Hands Up,” “My Melody of Love,” and “The Chicken Dance.”

Mills helped bring famed ‘90s polka party song “The Chicken Dance” to the masses, promoting the tune and its accompanying flapping arms dance for movies, TV, and commercials, per Variety. The song became such a hit that 14 March is celebrated as National Dance Like a Chicken Day.

He sold both September Music and Galahad Music to Memory Lane Music in 2015.

Mills is survived by his sons Kenneth and Mitchell Mills, his nephews Joshua Mills and Peter Alpert, and five grandchildren.