Jody Miller
b. 29 November 1941, Phoenix, Arizona, USA, but raised in Blanchard, Oklahoma. Miller's father loved country music and played fiddle, and all her four sisters were singers. She led a folk trio while still at school and, after graduation, moved to California to pursue a singing career, but a severe car accident forced her to return home. She established herself locally, after appearing on Tom Paxton's television show, and she gained a reputation as a folk singer. Actor Dale Robertson introduced her to Capitol Records, and her first album, WEDNESDAY'S CHILD, was a blend of folk and pop music. Her first US chart success was with He Walks Like A Man and then she went to number 12 with the answer to Roger Miller's King Of The Road, Queen Of The House. As a result, she won a Grammy for the best female country performance. She recorded a dramatic teen anthem about being misunderstood, Home Of The Brave, which was more significant than its chart placings imply (US 25/UK49). This, however, was a one-off as she then recorded more conventional country hits, having some success with Long Black Limousine. In 1968, she left the business to raise a daughter, but returned to work with producer Billy Sherrill in Nashville in 1970. Her first success was with a Tony Hatch song, Look At Mine. She then scored with country versions of pop hits, He's So Fine, Baby I'm Yours and Be My Baby. A duet with Johnny Paycheck, Let's All Go Down The River, also fared well. She made little attempt to change with the times and in the early '80s, she retired to breed quarter horses on a 1,000 acre ranch in Blanchard, Oklahoma.