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Stanley Mills, Who Made ‘The Chicken Dance’ a Craze, Dies at 91

Stanley Mills promoted the heck out of the polka tune until it was a party staple.

Chicken Dance Elmo doll is seen in the FAO Schwarz store December 12, 2002 in New York City.

Mario Tama/Getty

If you’ve ever done “The Chicken Dance” at a party, you have Stanley Mills to thank. The music publisher promoted the polka ditty until it became a ubiquitous number at weddings and other gatherings and was featured in movies and on television. Mills died this weekend at a New York hospital at the age of 91, according to Variety. His obituary noted that while Mills built an extensive catalog, “perhaps his most famous contribution to popular music in America and the world was his introduction years ago of what is arguably the most popular party song of all-time.”

Read it at Variety

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