Ned Miller
Ned Miller | |
|---|---|
 Miller, 1964 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Henry Ned Miller |
| Born | April 12, 1925[1] Rains, Utah, U.S. |
| Origin | Rains, Utah, U.S. |
| Died | March 18, 2016 (aged 90)[2] Medford, Oregon, U.S. |
| Genres | Country |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 1956–1970 |
| Labels | Fabor Capitol Republic |
Henry Ned Miller (April 12, 1925 – March 18, 2016) was an American country music singer-songwriter. Active as a recording artist from 1956 to 1970, he is known primarily for his hit single "From a Jack to a King", a crossover hit in 1962 which reached Top 10 on the country music, adult contemporary, and Billboard Hot 100 charts, No. 1 for 5 weeks in Canada, as well as reaching No.2 in the UK charts.[3] He had several more chart singles in his career, although none matched the success of "From a Jack to a King". He also composed and recorded "Invisible Tears".
Biography
Miller's start as a songwriter came when he was sixteen years old.[4] He later joined the United States Marine Corps, from which he was later discharged.
In 1956, both Gale Storm and Bonnie Guitar had Top Five hits with different versions of the song "Dark Moon", which Miller co-wrote.[4] Another song he wrote, "A Fallen Star", was a country hit for Jimmy C. Newman. Very notable is also his uptempo song "Cave In", which in 1960 was the flip side of Warren Smith's No. 5 country hit "I Don't Believe I'll Fall In Love Today" recorded for the Liberty Records label. He also wrote and recorded the song "From a Jack to a King", which was released on Fabor Records but saw little success on the charts.[5] After being briefly signed to Capitol Records, Miller returned to Fabor and persuaded them to re-release "From a Jack to a King". The song proved successful the second time around, and became a crossover hit for Miller.[4] It sold over two million copies by July 1963, and was awarded a gold disc.[6] It was a big hit also in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at No.2 on the singles chart (spending four consecutive weeks there) and became the ninth best-selling single of 1963 in the U.K. in the process[7] (making Miller the only American artist to reach the Top Ten best-sellers of the year in the U.K. that year).
Miller was not particularly interested in his singing career, and rarely toured owing to stage fright.[5] He gave up recording in the 1970s and soon moved to Prescott, Arizona, and later to Las Vegas, Nevada.[5]
Country music artist Ricky Van Shelton covered "From a Jack to a King" in the 1980s; his version reached Number One on the country music chart.[4]
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Country | U.S. | |||
| 1963 | From a Jack to a King | 50 | Fabor | |
| 1965 | Ned Miller Sings the Songs of Ned Miller | Capitol | ||
| The Best of Ned Miller | 28 | |||
| 1967 | Teardrop Lane | 22 | ||
| 1968 | In the Name of Love | |||
| 1970 | Ned Miller's Back | Republic | ||
| 1981 | From a Jack to a King | Plantation | ||
Singles
| Year | Single | U.S. Country | U.S. | U.S. AC | CAN | UK[8] | IRE | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | "Roll O' Rollin' Stone" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Singles only |
| "From a Jack to a King" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Lights in the Street" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1958 | "Gypsy" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1959 | "Ring the Bell for Johnny" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1961 | "Cold Grey Bars" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Dark Moon" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1962 | "From a Jack to a King" (re-release) | 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | From a Jack to a King |
| 1963 | "One Among the Many" | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Another Fool Like Me" | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | Singles only | |
| "Big Love" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1964 | "Invisible Tears" | 13 | 131 | — | — | — | — | The Best |
| 1965 | "Do What You Do Do Well" | 7 | 52 | — | 29[9] | 48 | — | |
| "Two Voices, Two Shadows, Two Faces" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Songs of Ned Miller | |
| "Whistle Walkin'" | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Down the Street" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1966 | "Lovin' Pains" | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Best |
| "Summer Roses" | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | Teardrop Lane | |
| "Teardrop Lane" | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1967 | "Echo of the Pines" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Singles only |
| "Hobo" | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968 | "Only a Fool" | 61 | — | — | — | — | — | In the Name of Love |
| 1969 | "Autumn Winds" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Singles only |
| 1970 | "Breakin'" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Lover's Song" | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | Ned Miller's Back | |
| "Back to Oklahoma" | — | — | — | — | — | — |
References
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 277. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
- ^ Slotnik, Daniel E. (3 May 2016). "Ned Miller, a Country Songwriter Who Gave Up Singing, is Dead at 90". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
- ^ "CHUM Hit Parade - December 17, 1962".
- ^ a b c d allmusic ((( Ned Miller > Biography )))
- ^ a b c "Ned Miller Biography". Oldies.com.
- ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 148. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ "Sixties City - Pop Music Charts - Every Week Of The Sixties". Sixtiescity.net.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 367. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "CHUM Hit Parade - January 25, 1965".
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