Jerald Wayne Mills (August 17, 1969 – November 23, 2013) was an American
country musician, known for touring with the Wayne Mills Band for over fifteen years and playing alongside
Blake Shelton,
Jamey Johnson and 2006 American Idol winner
Taylor Hicks.[2][3] During his career, Mills released five studio albums (with a sixth unreleased) and two live albums. He had seven Top 20 singles in Europe from 2008 to 2010, including a chart-topper in Belgium in 2009.[4]
Mills played baseball for Wallace State Junior College and football for
The University of Alabama, earning a bachelor of science degree in education.[4]
In the early hours of November 23, 2013, in
Nashville, Tennessee, Mills was shot in the head by a bar owner, allegedly over an argument involving Mills lighting up a cigarette in a nonsmoking area. He was rushed to a hospital but later died.[5][6] On March 6, 2015, Chris Ferrell was found guilty of
second-degree murder in Mills' death and received a twenty-year sentence with no possibility of parole.[7] The verdict and sentence were appealed[8] but were upheld by the appeals court in 2019.[9] Mills left behind wife Carol, whom he had married in 2000,[10] seven-year-old son Jack, and six-year-old niece Cali.
In popular culture
Mills is the subject of the song "King of Alabama" by
Brent Cobb.[11]