Buddy Miller | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Steven Paul Miller |
Born | Fairborn, Ohio, U.S. | September 6, 1952
Genres | Country, Americana |
Occupation(s) | Musician, singer-songwriter, producer |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
Years active | 1983–present |
Labels | HighTone, New West |
Website | buddyandjulie |
Steven Paul "Buddy" Miller (born September 6, 1952) [1] is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist and producer, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee. Miller is married to and has recorded with singer-songwriter Julie Miller.
Buddy was born in Fairborn, Ohio, near Dayton, and his family ended up settling in Princeton, New Jersey. [2] [1] His grandfather gave him the nickname "Buddy." [3]
During the late 1970s he was in a country-rock band called the Desperate Men, which played in the NNJ and New York area, including clubs like Stanhope House, Cuss From Hoe and others.[ citation needed ] In 1975, he moved to Austin, Texas and played rockabilly music in Ray Campi's band. He auditioned for and played in the band Partners In Crime with Julie Griffin (soon to be his second wife). [2] [4]
In 1980, they moved to New York City, and Miller formed the Buddy Miller Band, [5] which included singer-songwriter Shawn Colvin on vocals and guitar. He also performed with Jim Lauderdale and Larry Campbell. [4] Each Sunday, Miller performed in Kinky Friedman's band at the Lone Star Cafe. [6]
Miller moved to Nashville in the 1990s, after a stint in Los Angeles. He worked on recording sessions as a guitar player and vocalist, and began producing his own records in his living room studio named Dogtown. [7] [8]
In 1995, Buddy along with the Sacred Cows recorded a gospel album, Man on the Moon. [9]
His first solo recording, Your Love and Other Lies, was released in 1995. [10] It was followed by Poison Love in 1997 [11] and Cruel Moon in 1999. [12]
He and his wife, Julie Miller, released Buddy & Julie Miller in 2001, which won the Album of the Year Award from the Americana Music Association. [13]
In 2002, he released Midnight and Lonesome [14] and in 2004 he released Universal United House of Prayer . [15]
2009 brought another Buddy and Julie duet album Written in Chalk [16] and in 2011 Buddy collaborated with Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot, and Greg Leisz to release The Majestic Silver Strings. [17]
In 2012, Buddy and Jim Lauderdale released the duet album Buddy & Jim [18] and in 2016, Buddy recorded sessions by Kacey Musgraves, Nikki Lane, Lee Ann Womack, Brandi Carlile, and Kris Kristofferson on the album Cayamo: Sessions at Sea. [19]
Miller has toured as lead guitarist and backing vocalist for Emmylou Harris's Spyboy band, [20] Steve Earle on his El Corazon tour, [21] and Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt on their Western Wall tour. [22]
In 2002, Miller toured as part of the Down from the Mountain Tour along with Alison Krauss and Union Station. [23]
In 2004, Miller toured with Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings as the Sweet Harmony Traveling Revue. [24]
In 2008, Miller toured as part of the band on Robert Plant and Alison Krauss's Raising Sand tour of the U.S. and Europe. [25]
In 2009, Miller joined Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin and Shawn Colvin on tour as Three Girls and Their Buddy. [26] While on that tour, following a performance in Baltimore on February 19, 2009, Miller suffered a heart attack. He underwent successful triple bypass surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital on February 20. [27]
In 2010, Miller again joined Robert Plant and Patty Griffin with Plant's Band of Joy, touring the U.S. and Europe. [28]
In 2012, Miller toured with Jim Lauderdale on the Buddy and Jim Tour. [29]
In 2015, Miller was one of the leaders of the house band for Dear Jerry, a tribute concert for Jerry Garcia, which included over 20 acts and took place at Merriweather Post Pavilion. [30]
In 2016, Miller was part of the Lampedusa: Concerts for Refugees tour featuring Patty Griffin, Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, and the Milk Carton Kids. [31]
For the past decade, Buddy has often been a part of the Cayamo Cruise, which sails from Miami to St. Maarten and Tortola. Each year, prominent Americana musicians are on board, and Buddy often collaborates and records with them. [32]
He is a regular performer at the annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass music festival in San Francisco where, billed as Buddy Miller's Cavalcade of Stars, he features a changing roster of guest performers.[ citation needed ]
Miller has produced albums for artists including Richard Thompson, [33] Shawn Colvin, [34] The Devil Makes Three, [35] Allison Moorer, [36] the Wood Brothers, [37] the Carolina Chocolate Drops, [38] the McCrarys, [39] and Ralph Stanley. [40] He has co-produced records with Robert Plant, Jim Lauderdale and Jimmie Dale Gilmore.
In 2006 Solomon Burke recorded his country album Nashville with Miller. Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Gillian Welch and Dolly Parton appear as duet partners. [41]
Miller produced Patty Griffin's Downtown Church [42] that was released in 2010 and won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Gospel Album on February 13, 2011. [43]
Miller has produced his own solo albums as well as recordings for and with his wife, singer-songwriter Julie Miller.
He co-produced and performed on Jimmie Dale Gilmore's 2000 album One Endless Night. [44] He also played on Lucinda Williams's Car Wheels on a Gravel Road album. [45]
Miller has worked as an instrumentalist or vocalist on records by Miranda Lambert, Johnny Cash, Levon Helm, Lee Ann Womack, Patty Griffin, Emmylou Harris, Victoria Williams, Shawn Colvin, Bobby Bare, Chris Knight, John Fogerty, the Chieftains, Frank Black, Rodney Crowell, Dixie Chicks, Elvis Costello, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. [46] He has also worked as a recording engineer, mixer or mastering engineer on records by Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Shawn Colvin, Jim Lauderdale, and Patty Griffin.[ citation needed ]
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources .(April 2015) |
Levon Helm, Patty Griffin, Emmylou Harris, Lee Ann Womack, Dixie Chicks, [47] Hank Williams III, Dierks Bentley, Patty Loveless, Tab Benoit and Brooks & Dunn have recorded songs written by Miller.
Miller signed on as a producer for the ABC TV series Nashville in 2012. He was the executive music producer for the show in seasons two and three. [48] He also was music producer and musical director for Nashville: On The Record Live Specials. [49]
Along with Don Was, Miller was the musical director for The Life and Songs of Emmylou Harris tribute concert. [50]
Miller was musical director and bandleader for the Americana Music Association's Honors & Awards shows broadcast on AXS TV and PBS. [51]
Buddy has covered Tom T. Hall's song, "That's How I Got to Memphis", which Jeff Daniels sang in the final episode of HBO's The Newsroom in 2014. [52]
Starz political drama Boss used the Plant-Miller produced "Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down" as its theme song. [53]
Miller produced the track "Beyond the Blue" featuring Emmylou Harris and Patty Griffin for the 2000 film Where the Heart Is . [54]
In 2015 he appeared on Christina Aguilera's song, "Shotgun", which was written for her appearance on Nashville . [55]
In 2017, Miller contributed his cover of Mark Heard's song "Treasure of the Broken Land" to the tribute album Treasure of the Broken Land: the Songs of Mark Heard. [56]
Between 2002 and 2013, Miller won twelve Americana Music Honors & Awards and was nominated for seven others. [57] Since 2005, he has led the Americana All Star Band, which performs with nominated artists during the Americana Music Honors & Awards ceremonies, held annually at the Ryman Auditorium. [58]
No Depression magazine named him Artist of the Decade in 2008. [2]
Year | Category | Work | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2002 | Artist of the Year | Buddy and Julie Miller | Nominated |
Album of the Year | Buddy & Julie Miller | Won | |
2003 | Instrumentalist of the Year | Buddy Miller | Nominated |
Album of the Year | Midnight & Lonesome | Nominated | |
2005 | Artist of the Year | Buddy Miller | Nominated |
Song of the Year | Worry Too Much | Won | |
Album of the Year | Universal United House of Prayer | Won | |
2007 | Instrumentalist of the Year | Buddy Miller | Won |
2008 | Won | ||
2009 | Nominated | ||
Album of the Year | "Written In Chalk" | Won | |
Song of the Year | "Chalk" | Won | |
Duo/Group of the Year | Buddy and Julie Miller | Won | |
Artist of the Year | Buddy Miller | Won | |
2010 | Instrumentalist of the Year | Won | |
2011 | Won | ||
Artist of the Year | Won | ||
2012 | Instrumentalist of the Year | Won | |
2013 | Duo/Group of the Year | Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale | Nominated |
Artist of the Year | Buddy Miller | Nominated | |
Album of the Year | Buddy & Jim | Nominated | |
2022 | Lifetime Achievement Award | Buddy Miller | Won |
Miller is a four-time Grammy nominee, winning once in 2010 for producing Downtown Church by Patty Griffin. [59]
Year | Category | Work | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | Best Contemporary Folk Album | Buddy & Julie Miller | Nominated |
2004 | Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album | Universal United House of Prayer | Nominated |
2010 | Best Traditional Gospel Album | Downtown Church | Won |
2013 | Best Americana Album | Buddy & Jim | Nominated |
Miller and his longtime friend and collaborator Jim Lauderdale teamed up in 2012 to produce The Buddy & Jim Radio Show, broadcast on Sirius XM Outlaw Country. [60]
Fender produces a Buddy Miller signature acoustic guitar. [61]
Buddy frequently uses vintage Wandré electric guitars [62] and TEO mando-guitars. [63]
In his studio, Buddy uses a pair of Swart amplifiers: Atomic Space Tones and Atomic Space Tone Pros, and two tremolos panned in stereo at conflicting settings. [64] Onstage, he often uses a Swart Atomic Space Tones amplifier and a Fulltone Supa-Trem2 pedal. [65]
He mostly records using Pro Tools, but in his recording studio Buddy treasures a 1970s Trident B Range 28×24 analog recording console that previously belonged to Mark Heard. [64] [56]
Julie Anne Miller is an American songwriter, singer, and recording artist living in Nashville, Tennessee. She married Buddy Miller in 1981. They sing and play on each other's solo projects and have recorded several duet albums.
Philip Kamm Madeira is an American songwriter, producer, musician, and singer. He was raised in Barrington, Rhode Island, and graduated from Taylor University in 1975. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
John Mark Heard III was an American record producer, folk rock singer and songwriter from Macon, Georgia.
Al Perkins is an American guitarist known primarily for his steel guitar work. The Gibson guitar company called Perkins "the world's most influential Dobro player" and began producing an "Al Perkins Signature" Dobro in 2001—designed and autographed by Perkins.
Shawn Colvin is an American singer-songwriter. While she has been a solo recording artist for decades, she is best known for her 1997 Grammy Award-winning song "Sunny Came Home".
Patricia Jean Griffin is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She is a vocalist and plays guitar and piano. She is known for her stripped-down songwriting style in the folk music genre. Her songs have been covered by numerous musicians, including Emmylou Harris, Ellis Paul, Kelly Clarkson, Rory Block, Dave Hause, Sugarland, Bette Midler and The Chicks.
Red Dirt Girl is the nineteenth studio album by American country artist Emmylou Harris, released on September 12, 2000 by Nonesuch Records. The album was a significant departure for Harris, as eleven of the twelve tracks were written or co-written by her. At the time, she was best known for covering other songwriters' work. Prior to this album, only two of Harris' LPs had more than two of her own compositions. Her next album, Stumble into Grace, was also written by Harris. The album contains "Bang the Drum Slowly", a song Guy Clark helped Harris write as an elegy for her father. The album peaked at number 3 on the Billboard country album charts and won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 2001.
Flaming Red is Patty Griffin's second album. It was released on June 23, 1998, and reached number 12 on the Top Heatseekers chart. According to Billboard, the album has sold 122,000 copies in the U.S. up to May 2004.
James Russell Lauderdale is an American country, bluegrass, and Americana singer-songwriter. Since 1986, he has released 31 studio albums, including collaborations with artists such as Dr. Ralph Stanley, Buddy Miller, and Donna the Buffalo. A "songwriter's songwriter," his songs have been recorded by dozens of artists, notably George Strait, Gary Allan, Elvis Costello, Blake Shelton, the Dixie Chicks, Vince Gill, and Patty Loveless.
John Leventhal is an American musician, producer, songwriter, and recording engineer who has produced albums for William Bell, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Michelle Branch, Rosanne Cash, Marc Cohn, Shawn Colvin, Sarah Jarosz, Rodney Crowell, Jim Lauderdale, Joan Osborne, Loudon Wainwright III and The Wreckers. He has won six Grammy Awards.
Children Running Through is Patty Griffin's sixth commercially released album, and fifth studio album.
Brady L Blade Jr is an American rock, pop and country drummer, record producer and composer.
Emory Lee Gordy Jr. is an American musician, songwriter and music producer. A former member of Emmylou Harris' backing band The Hot Band, he is best known for his association with country singer Patty Loveless, to whom he has been married since 1989. Gordy has produced and played bass guitar on nearly all of her albums, in addition to producing albums by Steve Earle, George Jones, and Alabama.
Justin Townes Earle was an American singer-songwriter and musician. After his debut EP, Yuma (2007), he released eight full-length albums. He was recognized with an Americana Music Award for Emerging Artist of the Year in 2009 and for Song of the Year in 2011 for "Harlem River Blues". His father is alternative country artist Steve Earle.
Downtown Church is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Patty Griffin, released on January 26, 2010, by Credential Recordings, a Christian label distributed by EMI. The album was recorded in Downtown Presbyterian Church in Nashville and features different styles. Griffin has stated that she recorded the album to explore her feelings about religion. The album debuted at number 38 on the Billboard 200 and topped the Billboard Christian Albums and Folk Albums charts. The critical response was "generally favorable". On December 1, 2010, the album received a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Gospel Album. On February 13, 2011, Downtown Church won the Grammy for Best Traditional Gospel Album. This was Patty Griffin's first Grammy award, after previously being nominated for Best Contemporary/Folk Americana Album for Children Running Through in 2007.
Written in Chalk is an album by Buddy and Julie Miller, released in 2009. It won numerous awards at the 2009 Americana Music Association awards: Album of the Year and the song "Chalk" won the Song of the Year. Buddy Miller won Artist of the Year and the duo won Duo/Group of the Year.
The Americana Music Honors & Awards is the marquee event for the Americana Music Association. Beginning in 2002, the Americana Music Association honors distinguished members of the music community. Six member-voted awards and several Lifetime Achievement Awards are handed out while over 2000 artists, music-loving fans and entertainment industry executives look on.
The American singer Buddy Miller has released 10 studio albums, 1 live album, and 2 compilation albums.
Doug Lancio is an American guitarist and record producer, based in Nashville, Tennessee. He has worked with a wide range of artists including John Hiatt, Nanci Griffith, Patty Griffin and Bob Dylan.
Red Beet Records is an independent record label based in Nashville, Tennessee.