1. Myrna Joy "Jody" Miller was an American singer, who had commercial success in the genres of country, folk and pop.
51 Facts About Jody Miller
1. 2.
Jody Miller was the second female artist to win a country music accolade from the Grammy Awards, which came off the success of her 1965 song "Queen of the House".
3.
Jody Miller was born in Arizona, but raised in Blanchard, Oklahoma.
4.
Jody Miller's singing attracted the attention of Capitol Records, which signed her to a recording contract in 1963.
5.
Jody Miller was then signed to the country music label, Epic Records.
6.
Jody Miller was nominated for another Grammy for Epic material and appeared on several popular country television programs during the decade.
7.
Jody Miller spent time with her domestic duties and to assist her husband's new business raising quarter horses in Oklahoma.
8.
Bush, who had Jody Miller perform at his campaign rallies and other presidential events.
9.
Jody Miller continued her career through the 2020s, before her death from Parkinson's disease in 2022.
10.
Myrna Joy Jody Miller was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1941 while her family was on their way to start a new life in Oakland, California.
11.
Jody Miller was the youngest of four sisters born to Johnny Bell Miller and Fay Miller.
12.
Jody Miller's father was a mechanic, who made fiddles and played them too.
13.
Jody Miller's mother was a homemaker who enjoyed singing around the house.
14.
Jody Miller's parents discovered their daughter's unique singing ability and entered her in talent contests during her early childhood.
15.
Jody Miller became locally known as "the little girl with the big voice".
16.
Mr and Mrs Jody Miller divorced when their daughter was eight.
17.
Jody Miller took a Greyhound bus and ended up in Blanchard, Oklahoma where she was raised by her paternal grandmother.
18.
Jody Miller joined choir in high school and sang in a trio that performed songs by The McGuire Sisters.
19.
Jody Miller then got a job as a secretary in Oklahoma City and learned to sing folk music.
20.
Jody Miller was singing in one particular coffeehouse in Norman, Oklahoma when she was heard by Lou Gottlieb.
21.
Jody Miller instead contacted actor Dale Robertson, who was connected to her husband's family.
22.
Robertson helped Jody Miller get an audition with Capitol Records and she signed with the label in 1963.
23.
At Capitol, Jody Miller was signed as a folk recording artist.
24.
Jody Miller then made appearances on Tom Paxton's folk television show.
25.
In 1965, Jody Miller participated in Italy's Sanremo Festival as a team companion of Pino Donaggio.
26.
Douglas was given a song recently written in response to Roger Jody Miller's cross-genre hit "King of the Road".
27.
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.
28.
At the 8th Annual Grammy Awards, Jody Miller took home the Best Female Country Vocal Performance accolade, only becoming the second female artist to win a country Grammy.
29.
Jody Miller briefly retired from her music career due to limited commercial success and a lack of well-run management.
30.
Jody Miller was determined to restart her career after hearing Tammy Wynette's "Stand by Your Man".
31.
Jody Miller located the song's producer, Billy Sherrill, called his office in Nashville and the two later met.
32.
Jody 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 and reached the number two position on the Billboard adult contemporary chart.
33.
Jody Miller had continued country chart success during the early 1970s.
34.
Jody Miller's next single was a cover of "Baby I'm Yours", which reached the Billboard country top five and Canada's RPM top ten.
35.
Jody Miller covered "To Know Him Is to Love Him" and "Be My Baby", which both reached the top 20 respectively.
36.
Jody Miller went into a period of semi-retirement after her Epic contract ended.
37.
Jody Miller supported her husband's quarter horse business and attended to domestic duties on her Oklahoma ranch.
38.
Jody Miller then performed at the Presidential inaugural ball after he was elected.
39.
In 1993, Jody Miller discovered Christianity and began recording music in the gospel format in the years that followed.
40.
On independent record labels, Jody Miller released I'll Praise the Lamb and The Baby from Bethlehem, both in 1996.
41.
The trio performed throughout the state of Oklahoma by opening their shows together, followed by Jody Miller performing her own songs and concluded by her family performing separately.
42.
Jody Miller's artistry was defined by the musical genres of folk, country, gospel, and pop.
43.
Greg Adams commented that Jody Miller's voice resembled that of Bobbie Gentry's but with more "technical ability".
44.
Writers Mary A Bufwack and Robert K Oermann described Miller as having a "variety pack approach" to her musical style, influencing crossover future country crossover artists like Linda Ronstadt, Jennifer Warnes and Nicolette Larson.
45.
Jody Miller has since been recognized for her contributions to the music industry.
46.
In 2018, Jody Miller was among several recording artists that were inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.
47.
In January 1962 Jody Miller married her high school sweetheart, Monty Brooks.
48.
In 1965 Jody Miller gave birth to her only child, Robin.
49.
For many years, Brooks and Jody Miller operated a quarter horse breeding and training business on their Blanchard ranch.
50.
Jody Miller was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in the final seven years of her life.
51.
Jody Miller died on October 6,2022, in Blanchard, Oklahoma, from complications caused by the disease, at age 80.