The Life and Career Of Songwriter and Producer Ron Miller.
Ronald Norman Gould was born in Chicago, Illinois, on October, 5th, 1932, the only son of Sue and Harry. He lived with mother and two sisters. His parents had divorced when he was young, and life was tough for the Goulds who lived in poverty, surviving on relief.
Gould’s father was never around. He rarely visited, but when he did, he would take his son into a bar and played him Al Jolson records. He even told his son that we went to school with Jolson. This impressed his son, and soon, Jolson became the future songwriter’s favourite singer.
After his father’s death, his mother married Joe Miller, and Ron took his stepfather’s surname. Miller was the name he would he would use during a long and illustrious career as a songwriter and producer.
Miller spent much of his free time listening to the radio. When he was nine, World War 2 started, and began writing songs. However, because he couldn’t play piano, or read or write music, the lyrics and melodies remained in his head. That wouldn’t always be the case. Eventually, the world would hear the songs Miller wrote.
Aged eighteen, Miller joined the Marines and spent three years serving his country. Back in civvy street, he drifted from job to job. He sold washing machines and even tried to forge a career as a professional baseball player. That wasn’t to be, and baseball’s loss was music’s gain.
When Miller was twenty-four, he began his musical education. He bought arts magazines and the soundtracks to the shows that he saw. Miller bought other albums and librettos so he could study the compositions. The great American songwriters inspired him, especially Richard Rodgers who influenced him as a songwriter. This was all part of Miller’s musical apprenticeship.
So was teaching himself to play piano. Initially, he only played by ear. This proved problematic. Miller could write a song quickly, but it took several hours before he could play it on the piano. Ironically, it was as a piano player Miller got a break.
After the piano player at the Patio Lounge, in the Maryland Hotel in Chicago finished for the evening, Miller would entertain the patrons by composing humorous songs, and they would buy him a beer or give him money. One night in 1963, there was only one patron in the Lounge, Motown-founder Berry Gordy.
He asked Miller to: “play something pretty.” Miller played a ballad called “Close Your Eyes.” Gordy put five dollars in Miller’s bottle and asked him to play another song. After playing four songs, Gordy asked Miller how many songs like that he had written. Gordy was surprised when Miller said: “about a thousand.” His next question was were they all that good? Miller said “yes,” and when Gordy asked Miller if he had any modesty, he replied: “yeah, but not when it comes to writing songs!”
When Berry asked if he had heard of him, Miller replied “no.” Berry then asked if he had heard of Marvin Gave or Stevie Wonder. Again, he replied no. He soon would.
The next morning, Gordy arrived at the flat above the theatre where Miller was living and asked how much it would take for him to bring his songs to Detroit? Miller said $ 5,000. The next day, Gordy returned with $ 1,000 in cash and two $ 2,000 money orders. Despite being broke and being offered a life-changing sum Miller wasn’t sure what to do. So he phoned his mother, and she told him to grasp the opportunity.
After his arrival in Detroit, Miller and Wonder became friends. Initially, Wonder recorded ballads penned by Miller for his albums. Soon, Miller had written his first hit single. This was “A Place In The Sun” which he cowrote with Bryan Wells. This was the first of several hits the pair wrote for Wonder. They also penned “Someday At Christmas” and the oft-covered “Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday,” which was a top ten single in the UK and US in 1967. By then, Miller had penned a Motown classic for Wonder.
“For Once in My Life” was written by Ron Miller and Orlando Murden, and was first recorded as a slow ballad by Connie Haines. The single failed commercially, and was also covered by a number of artists including Nancy Wilson, The Four Tops, The Temptations and Diana Ross and The Supremes. However, it was transformed by Stevie Wonder into an upbeat, joyous and melodic soul classic that gave him a top five hit in the UK and US in 1968.
Very different was the gospel-tinged “Heaven Help Us All” which Miller wrote for Wonder and gave him a hit in 1970. It was the last hit he penned for Wonder. By then, Miller’s tracks had featured on six of Wonder’s albums which were certified gold in the US. However, other artists had enjoyed success with Miller’s songs.
By 1971, everyone from Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Glen Campbell to Nancy Sinatra and Brenda Lee to Jackie Wilson and Bill Medley had covered “For Once In My Life.” It was Miller’s most-covered composition. Other songs would prove successful and become classics.
In 1973, Miller teamed up with songwriter and producer Michael Masser to write “Touch Me In The Morning” for Diana Ross. It became the title track to her fourth studio album, and gave Ross her second number one in America. The combination of Miller’s lyrics, the arrangement and a vocal from Ross that was a mixture of emotion, sadness, sensuality and regret and resulted in a musical masterpiece. 1973 was a big year for Miller.
1977 should’ve been a big year for Miller. That year, Charlene released “I’ve Never Been to Me,” which Miller cowrote with Ken Hirsch. Randy Crawford had recorded the song the previous year. However, Charlene’s heart-wrenching and soul-baring reading of what’s akin to a musical soap opera is the definitive version of the song. Despite this, the single stalled at ninety-seven in the US Billboard 100. This, however, wasn’t the end of the story.
In 1977, Nancy Wilson covered “I’ve Never Been to Me,” which was the title-track to her album. When she released the song as a single it reached forty-seven in the US R&B charts.
Later that year, Walter Jackson recorded “I Want to Come Back As a Song, ” a the beautiful ballad penned by Miller. It was the title-track to his 1977 album. Jackson also covered “I’ve Never Been to Me” from a male perspective for the album. Still the song remained one of Miller’s hidden gems.
Then in 1978 Mary MacGregor covered “I’ve Never Been to Me” for her “In Your Eyes” album. When it was released as a single it gave her a minor hit in Billboard’s Easy Listening and Canada’s Adult Contemporary charts. However, four years later the single became a huge hit.
In 1982, Scott Shannon a DJ in Tampa, Florida, started playing Charlene’s version of “I’ve Never Been to Me.” So popular was the song that he contacted Motown president Jay Lasker to tell him about the response to song. A decision was made to rerelease the single. However, by then, a disillusioned Charlene had left the music industry, married and moved to England. Motown tracked her down and re-signed her. When the single was released it topped the charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland, the UK and reached number three in the US Billboard 100. The track Miller cowrote and coproduced was one of the most successful of his two decade career.
Still, the songs Miller was writing for other artists were proving successful. He cowrote “Can’t We Try” with Ken Hirsch for Teddy Pendergrass. It featured on his 1978 album “TP,” and features a needy, heartfelt and pleading vocal. This beautiful ballad was one of the highlights of the album, and reached number three in the US R&B charts.
Miller entered his third decade as a songwriter by co-writing “You Moved A Mountain” for Jermaine Jackson. It featured on his 1982 album “Let Me Tickle Your Fancy,” which reached forty-six in the US Billboard 100 and nine in the US R&B touch. Despite the change in musical tastes, Miller still had the Midas touch.
By 1990, Miller and Hirsch premiered their musical “Clothespins and Dreams” at the California Music Theatre in Pasadena. He had written a number of musicals during the seventies including “Cherry” and “Daddy Goodness.” This was fitting given how big an influence musicals had on Miller as a budding songwriter. Two decades later, he was still a successful songwriter combining writing songs for musicals plus songs for a variety of artists.
This included co-writing “Put Me On” for Mario’s 2002 eponymous debut album. It was eventually certified gold and reached number nine in the US Billboard 100. Two years later, thing got even better for Miller.
He and Hirsch cowrote “If I Could” for Celine Dion’s 2004 album “Miracle.” It was certified platinum in the US and gold in Belgium, France Switzerland and the UK, forty-one years after Miller made his songwriting debut. The song was then covered by a number of artists, including Barbra Streisand, Michael Bolton, Nancy Wilson, Ray Charles and Miller’s daughter Lisa Dawn Miller on her album “Fly Away.”
Sadly, three years after writing “If I Could,” which was a tribute to Miller’s children, and the favourite song he had written, he passed away on July 23, 2007, In Los Angeles, aged seventy-four. That day, music lost one of the great songwriters of his generation. Miller had forged a number of successful songwriting partnerships and wrote a number of successful songs himself. Miller was also a truly talented producer who worked with many artists.
Miller enjoyed a long and illustrious career that spanned five decades, and during that time, wrote a string of classics. They’re part of Ron Miller’s rich musical legacy that future generations of music lovers can continue to enjoy.
The Life and Career Of Songwriter and Producer Ron Miller.
