David Leon "Biscuit" Miller (born December 30, 1961) is an American

electric blues Electric blues is blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the late 1930s and John Lee Ho ...

bassist, singer and songwriter. He writes most of his own material, and has released four albums to date. In 2012 and 2017, Miller won a

Blues Music Award The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Handy, " ...

in the 'Instrumentalist - Bass' category. His best known songs include "Lay It On Down", " Bottle of Whiskey Bottle of Wine", "Going Home", "One More Mile", "Monday Morning Blues", and "Wishbone". Miller performed at the Bradenton Blues Festival in December 2017. ''

Down Beat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'' described him as "a real crowd-pleaser."

Life and career

Miller was born in

South Side, Chicago The South Side is one of the three major sections of the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Geographically, it is the largest of the sections of the city, with the other two being the North and West Sides. It radiates and lies south o ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, United States, and was raised by his grandmother. His childhood nickname of 'Biscuit' was acquired when just before supper, Miller ate a pan of his grandmother's biscuits. He found a four string electric bass guitar belonging to his friend's elder brother and immediately was inspired to try to play the instrument. Miller discovered the blues via his connection to

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

. "I went to school with Willie's kids," Miller said, "and Willie did one of the first blues programs in Chicago. Once, he brought in this little kid named

Lucky Peterson Judge Kenneth "Lucky" Peterson (December 13, 1964 – May 17, 2020) was an American musician who played contemporary Blues music, blues, fusing soul music, soul, Rhythm and blues, R&B, gospel music, gospel and rock and roll. He was a vocalist, g ...

" and Miller noted "hearing the band play excited... and made me want to play music." Miller formed his first band named Clever with his cousin, Ivan Wallace, and they jointly relocated to

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

in 1982. Miller went on to work with Sonny Rodgers, from whom he learned a great deal about playing the blues and they recorded an album, ''They Call Me the Cat Daddy''. It won Rodgers a Handy Award for Best New Artist, although he died before he could accept his award. Miller moved on to backing George "Mojo" Buford and Lady Blue (a

backing vocalist A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

for

Ike & Tina Turner Ike & Tina Turner was an American musical duo consisting of husband-and-wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by the Kings of Rhythm and backing vocalists, the Ikettes. ...

). During this time, he was asked if he could step in for one night to play the bass behind another Chicago born blues musician,

Lonnie Brooks Lonnie Brooks (born Lee Baker Jr., December 18, 1933 – April 1, 2017) was an American blues singer and guitarist. The musicologist Robert Palmer, writing in ''Rolling Stone'', stated, "His music is witty, soulful and ferociously energetic, br ...

. His tenure lasted for over ten years in Brooks backing band, including playing at the

second inauguration of Bill Clinton The second inauguration of Bill Clinton as president of the United States was held on Monday, January 20, 1997, at the West Front of the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. This was the 53rd inauguration and marked the commencement ...

. In 2000, he formed Biscuit and The Mix to fill in time between commitments to Brooks and they recorded Miller's debut album, ''Come Together'' (2002). Miller also played informally with

Anthony Gomes Anthony Gomes (born May 14, 1970, Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian blues and blues rock guitarist and singer. He was born to a Portuguese father and a French-Canadian mother. After his 1998 debut album release ''Blues in Technicolor'', he ...

, before joining his band as a full-time member in time to record ''Sweet Stringin' Soul''. During his five-year stint with Gomes, Miller contributed to the studio albums ''Sweet Stringin' Soul'' (2000), ''Unity'' (2002), and ''Music is the Medicine'' (2006). By 2009, Miller had formed his own band. Miller noted that "I was getting on up in my 50s... I'd done all this playing with everybody else, and it just seemed like time. I can play this bass fairly well and I can sing a little bit and I know how to smile." ''Blues with a Smile'' was released in 2010. Guest performers included

Billy Branch William Earl Branch (born October 3, 1951) is an American blues harmonica player of Chicago blues. He is a three-time Grammy nominee, a retired two-term governor of the Chicago Grammy Chapter, an Emmy Award winner , and a winner of the Addy Awar ...

on harmonica,

Ronnie Baker Brooks Ronnie Baker Brooks (born January 23, 1967) is an American Chicago blues and soul blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a respected club performer in Chicago, even before recording three solo albums for Watchdog Records. The son of fell ...

and Shawn Kellerman on guitar and Andrew "Blaze" Thomas on drums. They played alongside Miller's regular backing outfit, the Mix. In 2012 Miller gained his first Blues Music Award, whilst ''Blues with a Smile'', received airplay on

Sirius XM Radio Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merger ...

. In 2013, Miller performed at the Daytona Blues Festival. His recording ''Wishbone'' (2016), was where the title track was inspired by Miller's two grandsons being excited about making a wish on the turkey wishbone during their

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

dinner. In May 2017, Miller won his second Blues Music Award in the 'Instrumentalist - Bass' category. He currently resides in

Highland, Lake County, Indiana Highland is a town in Lake County, Indiana, Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 23,984 at the 2020 census. The town was incorporated on April 4, 1910. It is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and North Township, Lake ...

, but is based in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Discography

Albums

References

External links

Official websiteVideo footage on YouTube''Living Blues'' article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Biscuit 1961 births Living people Electric blues musicians Blues bass guitarists American blues guitarists American male bass guitarists American funk bass guitarists 21st-century American bass guitarists American blues singers American funk singers 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers Singers from Chicago Guitarists from Chicago Songwriters from Illinois 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers African-American songwriters African-American guitarists 21st-century African-American male singers American male songwriters

Life and career

Discography

Albums

See also

References

External links