Frankie Miller (born Francis John Miller,
2 November 1949) is a
Scottish rock singer-songwriter and
vocalist who had success in the 1970s.
Miller was raised at
Colvend Street, Barrowfield
, Glasgow
with his
parents, Kathy and Frank, and elder sisters Letty and Anne.
He attended Sacred Heart Primary school . He was an
altar boy in Sacred Heart Chapel. He also
played
football for the school team and
Harmony Row Boys Club. He wrote for and performed with many
influential recording artists and is best known for his album
Full House, the
single Darlin' and his duet on
Still in Love with
You, with
Phil Lynott. In an article
published in
Rolling Stone magazine in
1978
Bob Seger remarked that Miller, "was
a huge influence" on him.
Early days
He first became aware of the power of
rock and
R&B
through his mother’s record collection. She had a fondness for
Ray Charles while his sisters introduced
him to
Little Richard and
Elvis Presley. He identified instinctively,
with Little Richard’s flamboyant aggression, once saying "The music
was alive, exciting, I loved it. I realised later that I could get
my own aggression out through music. R&B and Soul Music, I just
knew was what I really loved". He started writing songs at the age
of nine after being given a guitar by his parents and wrote
"I
Can't Change It" when he was just twelve years old, this song
was later recorded by
Ray Charles.
Career
1964-1972
Miller
began singing professionally as a teenager with a Glasgow band called The Stoics.
Towards
the end of the 1960s, he moved to London
to further
his career. In 1971, he was 'discovered' by the
guitarist Robin
Trower, who had just left
Procol
Harum and was looking to put together a new band. Miller
introduced fellow Glaswegian
bassist and
vocalist James Dewar to Trower and the
three of them, along with ex
Jethro
Tull drummer
Clive Bunker, formed
Jude in July 1971, but despite significant coverage in the
British
music press, they broke up
in April 1972 without recording an album. The Miller and Trower
composition
"I Can't Wait Much Longer" later appeared on
Trower's first solo album
Twice Removed from
Yesterday.
1972-1974
Later in 1972, Miller signed a solo
deal with
Chrysalis Records, and recorded his first
LP Once in a Blue Moon, with
record producer Dave Robinson. The album was
an early example of
pub rock, and featured
backing by the pioneer pub rock band
Brinsley Schwarz. Miller received
consistently good reviews, although his
singles and albums were not
chart hits and
Chrysalis continued to invest in
his talent. In 1974 Miller sang
Still in Love with
you, as a duet with
Phil Lynott, the
song appeared on the
Thin Lizzy album
Nightlife.
Miller's second album
High Life was written and produced by Allen Toussaint and recorded in New
Orleans
during 1974.
1975-1978
Miller's
next album The Rock
(1975) was recorded in San Francisco
using the producer Elliot Mazer, who had
co-produced Harvest for
Neil Young. The next album
Full House (1977),
was produced by
Chris
Thomas.
The title track, "Be Good To
Yourself" became Miller's first UK
Top 40 hit, peaking at #27 in the UK Singles Chart during June that
year. In 1978 Miller hit the UK
Top 10
with the song
"Darlin'", which peaked at number six on
October 14 1978.
"Darlin'" also made the "Bubbling
Under" charts in the US
, peaking at
#103. The next single
"When I'm Away From You" rose
to #42 in UK charts, but failed to chart in US a few years later
the song became No 1 for the Bellamy Brothers.
Song writing and further recognition
After the
release of Standing on the Edge album which was produced by
Barry Beckett and recorded at the
famous Muscle Shoals
Sound Studio
Miller concentrated on songwriting scoring a number
1 hit in USA with "When I'm Away From You" recorded by the Bellamy Brothers their follow up was
co-written with Miller titled "Forget About Me" which peaked at
No.5 in the US country charts. Millers songs have earnt him
many songwriting awards and have been
covered by artistes such as,
Johnny Cash,
Ray
Charles,
Rod Stewart,
The Bellamy Brothers,
Kim Carnes,
Waylon
Jennings,
Bob Seger,
Bonnie Tyler,
Roy
Orbison,
Etta James,
Joe Cocker,
Joe Walsh and
The Eagles.
1992 Chart success and Clint Black
After a
long absence from the charts, Miller scored a number one hit in his
native Scotland
with the
track "Caledonia" (1992).
The same year he also co-wrote the award winning song "Burn One
Down" with
Clint Black which soared into
the US charts at No.4.
Film music and acting
During 1979 Miller wrote the opening and closing songs on the film
Sense of Freedom, as well as performing on them. He
diversified into
acting. During 1979 Miller
starred in
Peter McDougall's
TV film Just a Boys' Game, directed by
John Mackenzie and received
critical acclaim. Further to this success he was offered further
acting roles but declined, in order to focus on songwriting. In
1983 Miller sang the closing track, "Blue Skies Forever", on the
Tom Cruise movie
All The Right Moves. In 1986 Miller
sang the opening and closing songs in
Act of Vengeance,
which starred
Charles Bronson and
his song
"It's All Coming Down Tonight" sung by
Joan Jett and
Michael
J. Fox appears on the 1987 film
Light of Day sound track.
"The Boys
& The Girls Are Doing It", sung by Vital Signs and written
by Frankie Miller and
Jeff Barry appears
on the 1989 film soundtrack of
Bill & Ted's Excellent
Adventure.Miller wrote & performed "Where Do The Guilty Go
for the film
Ad Fundum 1993. Millers
version of "Danger Danger" appears in
Jeff
Daniels movie
Super Sucker 2002.
Miller's song
"I Can't Change It" can be heard on the UK
TV drama series
Cracker and
Life on Mars plus
Life on Mars . "Guilty Of
The Crime", which Miller wrote with the late Jerry Lynn Williams,
featured on the television show "
RoboCop: The Series" and was later
recorded by
The Eagles on their album
Long Road Out Of Eden.
1994 Illness and recovery
Miller
suffered a brain haemorrhage in
New
York
on 25 August 1994, while writing material for a new band he and
Joe Walsh of The
Eagles had formed with Nicky
Hopkins and Ian
Wallace. Miller spent five months in a
coma, after which he went through
rehabilitation. The
BBC Television documentary
Stubborn Kinda
Fella (1999), featured Miller and his battle to recover. In
this documentary,
Rod Stewart stated
that Frankie Miller "was the only white singer to have brought a
tear to his eye."
In 1998 Miller's collaboration with Will Jennings, "The Sun Goes Up the Sun
Comes Down", was performed by Bonnie
Tyler, Paul Carrack and Jools Holland at a disabled charity concert
held in Edinburgh
.
Albums
- Once
in a Blue Moon (1972)
- High
Life (1974)
- The
Rock (1975)
- Full
House (1977)
- Double
Trouble (1978)
- Falling In Love (1979) (issued in the U.S. as A
Perfect Fit)
- Easy Money (1980)
- Standing on the Edge (1982)
- Dancing in the Rain (1986)
- The Very Best of Frankie Miller (1994)
- BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert (1994)
- Long Way Home (2006)
Notes
- Sacred Heart Secondary school
References
External links
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