Jody Miller

At Capitol, Miller was signed as a folk recording artist.[6] In 1963, the label released her debut LP titled Wednesday's Child Is Full of Woe. Its background session performers included Cher and Glen Campbell, both of whom were not yet artists.[1] Miller then made appearances on Tom Paxton's folk television show.[7] The album failed to become a commercial success due to the decline of folk music's popularity.[5] Miller's career was then taken into other genres. In 1964, her debut single "He Walks Like a Man" made America's Billboard pop chart.[1] In Australia, it climbed into the top ten.[8] In 1965, Miller participated in Italy's 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 placed at number seven and was moderately successful in Italy. It was then recorded in English by Dusty Springfield and released as "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me".[9]

Miller was the second female artist to a win a Grammy award in the country category. Here she is pictured after winning the accolade in 1966.

Upon returning to the United States, Miller was given a new record producer named Steve Douglas. Douglas was given a song recently written in response to Roger Miller's (no relation) cross-genre hit "King of the Road".[10] Titled "Queen of the House", the song described the domestic duties of a housewife.[1] Douglas believed the song to be a hit and had [Jody] Miller cut the track while "King of the Road" was still on the charts.[10] "Queen of the House" was then rush-released as a single in 1965 and was played simultaneously with "King of the Road".[5] It reached number 12 on the Billboard pop chart,[11] number four on the Billboard adult contemporary chart[12] and number five on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.[13] Miller's second LP of the same name then appeared on Capitol in June 1965.[14] At the 8th Annual Grammy Awards, Miller took home the Best Female Country Vocal Performance accolade, only becoming the second female artist to win a country Grammy.[15][16]

Miller toured amidst her commercial breakthrough. Among her gigs was a tour of Hawaii alongside The Beach Boys. Capitol Records paired Miller alongside The Rolling Stones for television appearances including Shindig! and Hollywood a Go-Go. A new agent booked her for shows with entertainers Bob Hope and Bob Newhart.[5] Miller's follow-up singles made the pop charts in North America and Australia. This included "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" (1965) along with "Home of the Brave" (1965). The latter recording reached number 25 on the Billboard pop chart, number 29 in Australia and number five on Canada's RPM Top Singles chart.[17][11][8] The song was considered "anti-establishment" because it described how a boy was banned from public school for dressing different than the other children. It was banned from many radio stations yet was Miller's best-selling single in the United States.[1] "I loved that song. Unfortunately it got a bad rep," she said in 2020.[18]

Miller's country radio success from "Queen of the House" also influenced her label to have her record more country music, despite her original opposition to the genre.[10] Ultimately, she ended up enjoying recording the genre. "They gave me a Grammy Award for 'Queen of the House', and it thrust me into country and western music," she told Texas Hot Country magazine.[19] Producer Steve Douglas attempted to embed country into Miller's Capitol recordings, but his formula was not successful. "They saw right through us! We weren't country people," she explained in 2018.[10] Despite this, Capitol issued a country album of Buck Owens songs in 1966[20] and another country album in 1968 titled The Nashville Sound of Jody Miller.[21] The latter featured a cover of "Long Black Limousine", a song about a funeral procession. Although Elvis Presley recorded its most notable version, Miller's cover made the Billboard country chart in 1968.[22]

Miller briefly retired from her music career due to limited commercial success and a lack of well-run management.[23] Instead her family moved back to Oklahoma and spent time on their newly-acquired ranch.[24] Miller was determined to restart her career after hearing Tammy Wynette's "Stand by Your Man". She located the song's producer, Billy Sherrill, called his office in Nashville and the two later met.[23] This led to her signing a country music recording contract with Epic Records in 1970.[16] The first Sherrill-produced album was Look at Mine in 1970. The album included both country and pop tunes[7] and reached the top 20 of the Billboard country albums chart.[25] Both of the LP's singles (the title track and "If You Think I Love You Now") reached the top 40 of the American and Canadian country charts.[13][26]

A publicity shot of Miller in Cashbox magazine, 1971.

At first, Sherrill found it challenging to find Miller's musical identity. This was because Miller did not have the phrasing of a country performer. His idea instead was to pair Miller's voice with older pop songs and rework them for the country market. "We were pioneers of sorts putting pop music into country and we sold a lot of records," she recalled in 1990.[23] Miller's 1971 remake of The Chiffons's "He's So Fine" reached number five on the Billboard country chart, crossed over to number 53 on the Billboard Hot 100[13][1] and reached the number two position on the Billboard adult contemporary chart.[12] Her next Epic LP (also titled He's So Fine) reached number 12 on the Top Country Albums chart in 1971.[25] The song brought Miller her second nomination from Grammy Awards.[27] Miller had continued country chart success during the early 1970s.[7]

Her next single was a cover of "Baby I'm Yours", which reached the Billboard country top five and Canada's RPM top ten. She also covered "To Know Him Is to Love Him" and "Be My Baby", which both reached the top 20 respectively.[13][26] According to Miller, Billy Sherrill made decisions about what she would record. It was often difficult for him to find quality material because Miller was not a songwriter. "I had to wait until someone brought me some songs," she told Wide Open Country.[10]

Some of the songs Miller recorded were new material. Her 1972 single "There's a Party Goin' On" was penned by Sherrill and Glenn Sutton. It became her highest peaking country single, climbing to number four on the Billboard country chart[28] and number one on the RPM country chart.[26] A subsequent LP of the same name reached the Billboard country top 30.[25] Miller's next pair of singles were also original recordings: "Good News" and "Darling, You Can Always Come Back Home". Both reached the Billboard and RPM top ten in 1973.[28][26] The singles appeared on her 1973 LP, Good News!, which reached number 18 on the country LP's chart.[25]

Despite several years of country commercial success, her popularity began to wane by 1974.[7] Among her final top 40 country singles was a cover of "The House of the Rising Sun".[28] The Epic label continued releasing Miller's material regularly despite reaching progressively lower chart positions. Fourteen more songs made the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. However, most of these singles made entry-level positions. Among her chart records were covers of "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", "I Wanna Love My Life Away" and "Lay a Little Lovin' on Me".[13] An original 1976 single, "When the New Wears Off Our Love", went to number 25 on the Billboard country chart.[28] Its subsequent album, Here's Jody Miller, was considered Miller's "best late-period LP" by writers Robert K. Oermann and Mary A. Bufwack, who noted its Linda Ronstadt influence.[29] Her final chart appearance occurred in 1979[30] and her Epic contract expired the same year.[7]

Miller went into a period of semi-retirement after her Epic contract ended.[7] She supported her husband's quarter horse business and attended to domestic duties on her Oklahoma ranch.[29] In the late eighties, Miller got the idea to record an album of American patriotic music. People around her did not believe it would be successful and told her she was "crazy".[10] In 1988, My Country was released by the independent Amethyst label on cassette.[31] It included covers of "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "The Ragged Old Flag".[23] It was discovered by future American Republican president George H. W. Bush, who was then campaigning. Bush was impressed by Miller's album and asked her to perform at some of his campaign stops. Despite being a registered Democrat, Miller agreed to the performances.[10] Miller then performed at the Presidential inaugural ball after he was elected. "It was one of the highlights of my life," she later said.[23]

In 1988, the Amethyst label also issued an album of country recordings titled A Home for My Heart.[32] Miller's daughter Robin coaxed her into recording as a mother-daughter duo and the pair attempted to sign a country music recording contract in Nashville. Their first gig was at the 1989 Oklahoma State Fair. "Robin and I really do split the vocals 50-50, so we're more like the Everly Brothers than the Judds. It's an honest sound," she told the press in 1990.[23] However, they were unsuccessful.[7] Despite not getting a major-label contract, the duo recorded an album. Under the names "Jody and Robin", the duo independently released Real Good Feelin in 1991.[33]

In 1993, Miller discovered Christianity and began recording music in the gospel format in the years that followed. "It's the gift that I've been given, to sing. I think my Lord deserves recognition for that ... so I love to use that gift," she later commented.[2] On independent record labels, Miller released I'll Praise the Lamb and The Baby from Bethlehem, both in 1996.[34][35] It was followed in 1999 by another gospel project titled Higher.[7]

In the final years of her career, Miller formed a trio with daughter Robin and grandson Montana. They played gigs and concerts under the name Jody Miller and Three Generations.[2] The trio performed throughout the state of Oklahoma[36] by opening their shows together, followed by Miller performing her own songs and concluded by her family performing separately.[37] Following Miller's death in 2022, the Heart of Texas label released an extended play of her final recordings titled Wayfaring Stranger. The project was described as being a collection of "old-time spirituals".[38]