All Photos: Alan Mercer
Although she became famous for "Queen of the House," Jody Miller pioneered a fusion of folk, country, and pop that set the stage for the folky country-pop of the '70s. Raised in Oklahoma, she was born Myrna Joy Miller and, inspired by the music of Joan Baez and Buffy Saint Marie, learned to play guitar at the age of 14. Soon after, she joined a folk trio and began performing at a local coffeehouse. Lou Gottlieb, a member of folk group the Limelighters, heard her sing and was impressed enough to offer to help her, provided she move to Los Angeles. She initially declined, as she had recently married, but eventually she and her husband went to California to test the waters. A chance encounter with Western film star Dale Robertson brought her to the attention of Capitol Records executives, who promptly offered Jody a recording contract while suggesting that she change her name from Myrna to the folkier "Jody."
In 1965, she participated in the Sanremo Festival as a team companion of Pino Donaggio. Since the Festival was created as a composers' competition, Miller and Donaggio presented differently arranged versions of the entry ‘Io Che Non Vivo (Senza Te).’ The song came in on # 7 and was only a moderate hit until Dusty Springfield recorded an English version in 1966 which was eventually released as ‘You Don't Have to Say You Love Me.’ Also in 1965, Jody Miller released an answer record to Roger Miller's blockbuster hit ‘King of the Road,’ titled ‘Queen of the House’ which became her signature hit, peaking at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number 5 on the country singles chart. Jody won the Grammy award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for the song in 1966.
Jody scored a second top 40 pop hit that year with ‘Home of the Brave,’ a top hit that was historically significant for tackling the issue of nonconformity and tolerance. The theme prevented it from making headway in the more socially conservative country charts of 1965. During this time, Jody cut seven albums for Capitol and made numerous appearances on national TV, performing alongside The Righteous Brothers, Sonny and Cher and The Rolling Stones on such wildly popular dance shows as Shindig, Hullabaloo, American Bandstand and Hollywood A Go Go.
For several frenetic years in the 60s, Jody toured Hawaii with The Beach Boys, entertained the U.S. Air Force in Alaska with Bob Hope, and performed shows with everyone from Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass to Don Rickles. In the middle part of the decade, along with several other recording artists of the day, she also pioneered the music video format in some groundbreaking and eye-popping films for the Scopitone movie jukebox. By the mid-1960s, Jody Miller became a pioneer crossover female vocalist, opening the doors for Linda Ronstadt, Anne Murray, and Olivia Newton-John, and others as a pop singer recording a strong country influence and finding success in both genres.
Jody Miller's pop success faded out by the late 1960’s. Tammy Wynette's record producer, Billy Sherrill, was a fan. He signed her to Epic Records in 1970 to record specifically for the country market. She had two country hits right off the bat in 1970 with ‘Look At Mine’ and a Top 20 hit with ‘If You Think I Love You Now (I Just Started)’ in early 1971. She recorded a remake of the Chiffons 1963 hit ‘He's So Fine,’ which hit the top 5 on the country chart and No. 55 on the pop chart that summer, garnering another Grammy award nomination.
Several major country hits followed, many of them remakes of pop/rock classics such as ‘Baby I'm Yours,’ ‘Be My Baby,’ and ‘To Know Him is to Love Him.’ Among the new country songs she had hits with were the top tens ‘There's a Party Goin' On,’ ‘Good News,’ and ‘Darling, You Can Always Come Back Home.’ She also continued to have hits with cover versions of pop hits like ‘House of the Rising Sun,’ a hit for The Animals, ‘Reflections’ (different from the Diana Ross and the Supremes hit), and ‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,’ an Aretha Franklin hit. Jody Miller's last top 30 country hit was 1977's ‘When the New Wears Off Our Love’ and two years later she made her final chart appearance.
For 15 years, Jody was a major attraction in both Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe, where she drew huge crowds at The Sahara, The Riviera, Harrah's and The Desert Inn Hotels with her energetic and musically diverse shows. Switching over from folk and pop to more country-oriented music in the 1970's, she gained an even wider audience with eight successful albums for Columbia Records in Nashville, before retiring to her Oklahoma farm to breed and raise quarter horses with her husband Monty Brooks.
In 1999, the Country Gospel Music Association inducted Jody Miller into its Hall of Fame, along with Loretta Lynn, Barbara Mandrell, Andy Griffith, David L. Cook and Lulu Roman. Jody and her daughter Robin have toured together. Jody Miller continues to perform live and sings her secular hits as well as her gospel material.
AM: Didn’t you start your career in the early Sixties?
JM: Yes, 1962.
AM: I find it interesting that you like Buffy Saint Marie. She is amazing.
JM: When I was in Billy Sherrill’s office at Epic in Nashville and I had to go to the bathroom. I went out in the hall and Buddy Saint Marie was there leaving the office. I was excited and told Billy. He said she left off some songs for consideration but he didn’t like any of them. I was shocked! I could have recorded some of her tunes and made a great record. I was so mad!
AM: Now that you brought up Billy Sherrill, what was it like working with him?
JM: It was wonderful. He never said anything to me. I asked him once why he didn’t tell me anything or offer any suggestions and he told me he didn’t need to. You do everything just like you should.
AM: Well that had to feel good.
JM: Yes it was wonderful. He was an odd kind of a person. He didn’t shun people but he also didn’t welcome them either. My husband was that way so I understood how he was. He was a genius with sound. He knew what it took to get a hit record sound.
AM: I like how sophisticated your work with Billy Sherrill is.
JM: Yes, he always used what he termed an acre of violins. (Laughter)
AM: Your work with him is stellar. You started on Capitol and used to appear on all those Music TV shows of the time. What was that like?
JM: I was overwhelmed but I loved that experience and getting to work with people like Darlene Love and the Righteous Brothers who I became friends with. I met Mick Jagger on one of those shows.
AM: Did you always have fun recording those shows?
JM: Oh yes, it was a beautiful experience. The Music Directors really knew music and would write all the charts for the bands. Everyone was so professional. That’s what makes the experience easy and pleasurable, if the people you work with are professional. So, it was nice to do those shows and we always had fun. I think it shows in the clips.
AM: Was there a family feeling back then?
JM: Yes, definitely a family feeling.
AM: My favorite song from that period is ‘Home Of The Brave.’ What did you think when you first heard it?
JM: I loved it! I was in New York with my producer, Steve Douglas for some reason. I had dinner with the writers, Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, at a restaurant that served wonderful Peking Duck. I’ll never forget that part. We talked about that song and Cynthia explained how Phil Spector had cut it with a group of girls. Steve said he wanted to cut it with me. I didn’t know what they were talking about because I hadn’t heard it yet, but when we got back to LA he played it for me and I fell in love with it.
AM: It’s timeless.
JM: I agree with you, it is timeless. I’m incorporating that song into my act now.
AM: Did you stop singing it live years ago?
JM: I never did sing it live.
AM: What!?!
JM: It was classified as an ‘Eve of Destruction’ record. It outsold all my other records on Capitol because it appealed to all the young people.
AM: There was a period of time when there were several bleak records out.
JM: The radio bowed down to the mothers and the PTA and didn’t play it. The song just flat, tells it how it is. You have to accept people.
AM: Exactly.
JM: To me this isn’t an eve of destruction song, but just the opposite.
AM: This song has an important message.
JM: My friend Jennifer has been pounding me to sing this song. She loves it so much. She has told me time and time again that I had to sing it in my act.
AM: I agree with Jennifer. I’m glad you are finally singing it in your shows!
JM: I like the music arrangement.
AM: Is that one of your favorite songs from your days at Capitol?
JM: Yes, it really, truly is. Although I do love the album ‘The Nashville Sound of Jody Miller’ that Capitol released. All those songs and collaborations are my very favorite. It’s just got a good Country/R&B feel, kind of like Muscle Shoals. This is the kind of music Jennifer wants me to do now.
AM: She is right and I agree with her. You won a Best Female Country Singer Grammy at the very beginning of the category, didn’t you?
JM: I won the second time. Dottie West was the first a year before in 1964. I won in 1965 and then Jeannie Seeley in 1966.
AM: Did you think you were going to win?
JM: Yes, I really wanted it. We lived in LA and the awards were at the Beverly Hills Hotel. It’s not like it is now. Grammy events were going on in New York, LA, Chicago and Nashville. My husband had the bright idea to call New York since they were ahead to see who won. He was gone for a while and then came back to the table and told me there were steps down to the stage so be careful when I go down. I thought, “How do you know I’m going down there?”
AM: You didn’t know he had called New York?
JM: No and about ten minutes later they announced the category and I won! The band played ‘A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody.’ When I accepted the Grammy from Jerry Lewis I said, “I’d like to thank everybody who knows who they are.” Jerry started laughing and so did everyone else. Of course, it was just a mistake and I didn’t mean that. The next issue of Billboard magazine had a full-page ad that said,” Jody Miller would like to thank everybody who knows who they are.” (Laughter)
AM: Did your career take off after the win?
JM: Yes, it changed things up for me immediately.
AM: Did you book more gigs?
JM: Yes, I was doing pretty good, but not working all the time. After the win, I flew! I had the best agent in the world who represented Bob Hope, Bob Newhart and Red Skelton.
AM: Well that always helps.
JM: He booked me as the opening act for these giants. It worked that way for years and it was just wonderful. Then Capitol started leaning more toward Country music. Because I won the Grammy for Country I had to record more Country music which I didn’t like.
AM: Oh really!
JM: My idea of Country music was Jimmie Rodgers and songs that were about drinking and cheating. I didn’t want to get into that kind of thing.
AM: Your music isn’t like that.
JM: We tried to record Country with a Pop music edge. When I recorded a tribute to Buck Owens, the producer used horns and no Country DJ’s would play it because of the horns. ‘Silver Threads and Golden Needles’ wasn’t Country but somehow it did get played.
AM: What are your plans for this year?
JM: I’m getting ready to record an album with Fred Foster. We just met recently. He told me he wanted to know what I sound like now. We’re easing into it. He needs to hear my voice in order to put me with the right kind of songs that go with my voice. I’m also working on my autobiography.
To learn more about Jody Miller visit her web site http://www.jodymillermusic.com/
and her facebook page https://www.facebook.com/JodyMillerOfficial/