Mike Mills

Mills was born in Orange County, California. He grew up in Macon, Georgia. He went to college at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. While living in Athens, he met the other musicians who later became R.E.M.[2]

Mills is the main composer of many of R.E.M.'s songs, including "Nightswimming",[3] "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville",[3] and "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?".

He has also played on recordings by the Indigo Girls, Warren Zevon, the Smashing Pumpkins, Jason Ringenberg and The Troggs.

Mills is a member, along with songwriters Steve Wynn, Scott McCaughey, Peter Buck, and Linda Pitmon, of The Baseball Project.[4]

In 2007, Mills was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with the other members of R.E.M.

Mills performing in 2004

• 1984 – Hindu Love Gods – "Gonna Have a Good Time Tonight"/"Narrator".
• 1985 – Full Time Men – Full Time Men (EP), organ on "One More Time"
• 1987 – Warren Zevon – Sentimental Hygiene on "Sentimental Hygiene", "Boom Boom Mancini", "The Factory", "Trouble Waiting to Happen", "Detox Mansion", "Bad Karma", "Even a Dog Can Shake Hands", and "The Heartache"
• 1987 – Waxing Poetics – Hermitage, production
• 1988 – Billy James – Sixes and Sevens, production
• 1988 – The Cynics – "What's It Gonna Be"/"Roadrunner" (live)
• 1989 – Kevn Kinney – MacDougal Blues
• 1989 – Indigo Girls – Indigo Girls, bass guitar on "Tried to Be True"
• 1989 – Vibrating Egg – Come On in Here If You Want To, writing and performance
• 1990 – Mike Mills wrote music for Howard Libov's short film Men Will Be Boys
• 1990 – Hindu Love Gods – Hindu Love Gods
• 1990 – Hindu Love Gods – "Raspberry Beret"
• 1991 – Nikki Sudden – The Jewel Thief
• 1991 – Nikki Sudden – "I Belong to You"
• 1991 – The Troggs – Athens, Andover
• 1991 – Robbie Robertson – Storyville, singing on "Shake This Town"
• 1992 – Jane Pratt Show, theme music
• 1993 – Automatic Baby – "One" (a U2 song)
• 1993 – The Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream, piano on "Soma"
• 1993 – Three Walls Down – Building Our House, production
• 1993 – Three Walls Down – "Steps"/"Wooden Nails"/"Faith in These Times" (live)
• 1994 – Backbeat, movie soundtrack
• 1994 – Victoria Williams – Loose, vocals on "You R Loved"
• 2000 – Christy McWilson – The Lucky One
• 2006 – Various artists – Big Star Small World, bass guitar on "The Ballad of El Goodo", with Matthew Sweet
• 2006 – Mike Mills and Sally Ellyson – "Jesus Christ", a Big Star song covered for a charity single for the Red Apple Foundation
• 2007 – Mudville – Iris Nova, piano on "Eternity"
• 2008 – Modern Skirts – All of Us in Our Night, production on "Motorcade"
• 2008 – The Baseball Project – Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails
• 2009 – Favorite Son, movie soundtrack – "Gift of the Fathers"
• 2009 – Jill Hennessy – Ghost in My Head, backing vocals on "Erin"
• 2009 – The Baseball Project – Homerun EP
• 2010 – Various artists – The Voice Project, cover of Billy Bragg's "Sing Their Souls Back Home"
• 2011 – The Baseball Project – Volume 2: High and Inside
• 2011 – The Baseball Project – The Broadside Ballads
• 2012 – Jason Ringenberg – Nature Jams – vocals on one track[5]
• 2012 – Patterson Hood & The Downtown 13 – "After It's Gone"/"Unspoken Pretties" – performance on A-side, single released for Record Store Day[6][7]
• 2014 – The Baseball Project – 3rd[4]