Jack Mills was a song-plugger who worked for a variety of Tin Pan Alley publishing houses.
[1] He had risen within the industry to the role of manager of the McCarthy & Fisher music publishing house.
He founded Jack Mills Music in 1919 partially as a means to publish his own materials.
Not long after establishing the company he was joined in the business by his brother Irving Mills.
[5][4] This began with the publication of more than 100 rags during the 1920s; an important early one being Zez Confrey's "Kitten of the Keys" (1921).
[8] Gulf & Western acquired Esquire Inc. in 1983 and sold the Belwin-Mills print business to Columbia Pictures Publications (CPP) in 1985.