Roger Dean Miller Jr. (born October 15, 1965)
is an American
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
singer, songwriter and music producer known professionally as Dean Miller. He is the son of
Roger Miller
Roger Dean Miller Sr. (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping country hits " King of the Road", "Dang Me", and " England Swing ...
, a
country pop artist who had several hit singles from the 1960s through the 1980s. Dean Miller has recorded four studio albums (one of which was not released), in addition to charting four singles on the
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States.
This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...
charts and writing singles for
Trace Adkins
Tracy Darrell Adkins (born January 13, 1962) known professionally as Trace Adkins, is an American country music singer and actor. Adkins made his debut in 1996 with the album ''Dreamin' Out Loud'', released on Capitol Records Nashville. Since t ...
and
Terri Clark
Terri Lynn Sauson, known professionally as Terri Clark (born August 5, 1968) is a Canadian country music singer who has had success in both Canada and the United States. Signed to Mercury Records in 1995, she released her self-titled debut that ...
. His highest-peaking single as a performer was "Nowhere, USA", which reached No. 54 in 1997. He has had many songs recorded by artists including
George Jones
George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...
,
Trisha Yearwood
Patricia Lynn Yearwood (born September 19, 1964) is an American country singer. She rose to fame with her 1991 debut single "She's in Love with the Boy", which became a number one hit on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Hot Country Songs ...
, and
Jamey Johnson.
Dean has produced music with some of the biggest names in music, including
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...
,
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...
,
Merle Haggard,
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...
and many more.
Biography
Although born in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, Miller was also raised in
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...
and
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...
.
He got his musical start in local clubs around Santa Fe, before moving back to Los Angeles in the early 1980s and joining a band called the Sarcastic Hillbillies.
At the same time, he attended college, in addition to briefly pursuing a career in acting.
Miller later moved to
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
, where he worked as a staff songwriter for Sony/Tree Publishing, and later various other staff songwriter positions.
By 1995, he was signed to the Nashville division of
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
Nashville. Two years later, his eponymous debut album was released on the Capitol label. The lead-off single "Nowhere, USA" received significant airplay in Chicago even before its release date;
however, it and two additional singles failed to reach Top 40 on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States.
This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...
) charts. Another single, "Wake Up and Smell the Whiskey", was co-written and previously recorded by
Brett James, who would later become a popular Nashville songwriter in the 2000s. Miller parted ways with Capitol not long afterward.
In 2000, two country artists charted with singles that Miller co-wrote:
Terri Clark
Terri Lynn Sauson, known professionally as Terri Clark (born August 5, 1968) is a Canadian country music singer who has had success in both Canada and the United States. Signed to Mercury Records in 1995, she released her self-titled debut that ...
's "
A Little Gasoline" and
Trace Adkins
Tracy Darrell Adkins (born January 13, 1962) known professionally as Trace Adkins, is an American country music singer and actor. Adkins made his debut in 1996 with the album ''Dreamin' Out Loud'', released on Capitol Records Nashville. Since t ...
's "I'm Gonna Love You Anyway".
In 2002, Miller signed to the newly formed
Universal South Records, where he recorded his second album, ''Just Me''. The lead-off single "Love Is a Game" peaked at No. 58, but the album was never released. Universal also released a rendition of "
Old Toy Trains", which Roger had written for Dean when he was two years old; this version included Roger's vocals dubbed in on the chorus. Miller later left Universal South's roster as well.
Miller signed to the country music division of
Koch Entertainment in 2005. His third album, titled ''Platinum'', was released that same year.
This album included the track "Right Now", which the band
Rushlow had previously recorded as the title track of their 2003 debut album, as well as the non-charting single "Hard Love". Koch Entertainment closed its country division in 2005, however, and Miller was yet again without a record deal.
Dean has produced music with some of the biggest names in music, including
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...
,
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...
,
Merle Haggard,
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...
and many more.
Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
Singles
Music videos
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Dean
1965 births
American country singer-songwriters
Living people
Singers from Los Angeles
Capitol Records artists
MNRK Music Group artists
Singer-songwriters from California
Country musicians from California