Frank Mills
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Frank Mills (born June 27, 1942), is a musician/pianist, best known for his solo instrumental hit "Music Box Dancer".
Born in Canada, Mills began his career as a member of The Bells, a group from the late 1960s and early 1970s. He performed piano for the band, whose best-known hit was "Stay Awhile" (1971). After leaving The Bells in 1972, Mills struck out on his own.
His first solo efforts hardly made a dent in the music charts, although his 1972 single "Love Me, Love Me, Love" reached as high as #46 on the Billboard charts and a cover of Ricky Nelson's "Poor Little Fool" was also successful in Canada (both songs featured Mills singing as well as playing piano). When Polydor Records heard one of his songs, "Music Box Dancer" and saw the potential of the song, Mills released it as a single and it became a smash, reaching #3 in the USA in the spring of 1979. It was Mills' only U.S. Top 40 hit; the follow-up, another similarly catchy piano instrumental titled "Peter Piper," peaked at #56.
[edit] Sheet Music
The sheet music version of Music Box Dancer has sold in excess of 3 million copies. It is published by Music Box Dancer Publications which is a subsidiary of Mayfair Montgomery Publishing.
[edit] Licensing
Music Box Dancer has been heard on an episode of The Simpsons and in the Kill Bill movies.
He continued to release albums until the early 1990s. Frank Mills has retired from the music business.
