Francis John Miller (born 2 November 1949) is a Scottish rock singer-songwriter and actor. Miller wrote for and performed with many recording artists and is best known for his 1977 album ''

Full House ''Full House'' is an American television sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The show is about the recently widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best friend ...

'', the singles "Be Good To Yourself", " Darlin'" and his duet with

Phil Lynott Philip Parris Lynott (, ; 20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the co-founder, lead vocalist, bassist, and primary songwriter for the hard rock band Thin Lizzy. He was known for his distinctive ...

on the

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. The band initially consisted of bass guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey, guitarist Eric Bell and organist Eric Wrixon although Wr ...

song " Still in Love with You".

Early life

Miller was born in Bridgeton, Glasgow, Scotland in 1949.

Career

1966–1972: Early career

Miller began singing professionally as a teenager with a

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

band called The Stoics. In mid 1970, he moved to London to further his career.

1972–1974: First album and collaboration with Thin Lizzy

Later in 1972, Miller signed a solo

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...

with

Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British independent record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ell ...

, and recorded his first LP ''Once in a Blue Moon'', with record producer Dave Robinson. The album was an early example of

pub rock Pub rock is a subgenre of rock music that emerged in the early to mid-1970s in the United Kingdom. A back-to-basics movement, which incorporated roots rock, pub rock was a reaction against the expensively-recorded and produced progressive rock ...

, and featured backing by the pub rock band

Brinsley Schwarz Brinsley Schwarz were a 1970s English pub rock band, named after their guitarist Brinsley Schwarz. With Nick Lowe on bass and vocals, keyboardist Bob Andrews and drummer Billy Rankin, the band evolved from the 1960s pop band Kippington Lo ...

. Miller received consistently good reviews, although his

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

and albums were not

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

Chrysalis A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages the ...

continued to invest in his talent. In 1974 Miller sang " Still in Love with You", as a

duet A duet (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...

with

; the song appeared on the

album, ''

Nightlife Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...

''. Miller's second album '' High Life'', was produced and partly written by

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descr ...

and recorded in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

during 1974. Although two album tracks, "Shoorah Shoorah" and "Play Something Sweet", subsequently provided hits for

Betty Wright Bessie Regina Norris (December 21, 1953 – May 10, 2020), better known by her stage name Betty Wright, was an American soul music, soul and Rhythm and blues, R&B singer, songwriter and background vocalist. Beginning her professional career ...

and

Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, founded by vocalists Chuck Negron, Cory Wells, and Danny Hutton. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael Allsup (guitar), and Floyd Sn ...

respectively, the album was not a commercial success.

1975–1979: Subsequent albums and "Darlin'"

Miller's next album '' The Rock'' (1975) was recorded in San Francisco using the producer Elliot Mazer, who had co-produced ''

Harvest Harvesting is the process of collecting plants, animals, or fish (as well as fungi) as food, especially the process of gathering mature crops, and "the harvest" also refers to the collected crops. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulses fo ...

'' for

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

. The next album ''

'' (1977), was produced by Chris Thomas. The lead off track "Be Good to Yourself" became Miller's first UK

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

hit, peaking at No. 27 in the UK Singles Chart during June that year. In 1978 Miller hit the UK top 10 with the song " Darlin' ", which peaked at No. 6 on 14 October 1978. " Darlin' " also made 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 ...

'' "Bubbling Under" chart in the US, peaking at No. 103. The next single penned by Miller "When I'm Away From You" rose to No. 42 in UK, but failed to chart in US. During 1979, Miller wrote the opening and closing songs on the film ''

A Sense of Freedom ''A Sense of Freedom'' is a 1981 Scottish crime film directed by John Mackenzie for Scottish Television. The film stars David Hayman and featured Jake D'Arcy, Sean Scanlan, Hector Nicol, Alex Norton and Fulton Mackay. It is based on the au ...

'', as well as performing on them. He diversified into acting. During 1979 Miller starred in

Peter McDougall Peter McDougall (born 1947, Greenock, Scotland) is a Scottish television playwright whose major success was in the 1970s. McDougall claims to have had very little schooling and to rarely read books. He began his working life at the age of fourtee ...

's TV film, '' Just a Boys' Game'', directed by John Mackenzie.

1980–1993: Rock albums and "Caledonia"

In 1980, Miller released his seventh album, ''Easy Money''. The lead single, "Why Don't You Spend the Night", was a minor hit in Australia. Miller later re-recorded the album's closing track, "Tears", as a duet with

Bonnie Tyler Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer. Known for her distinctive husky voice, Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album '' The World Starts Tonight'' and its ...

on her album ''

Faster Than the Speed of Night ''Faster Than the Speed of Night'' is the fifth studio album by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. It was released in Europe on 8 April 1983 and later that year in the US through Columbia Records. After releasing four albums on RCA, Tyler signed with ...

'' (1983). Miller moved to

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 ...

for his next album, ''Standing on the Edge''. It was noted by ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'' as a departure from the R&B influences on his earlier releases, sounding more like the music of rock bands Foreigner and

Bad Company Bad Company were an English rock supergroup formed in London in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke (both ex- Free), guitarist Mick Ralphs (ex- Mott the Hoople) and bassist Boz Burrell (ex-King Crimson). Kirke was the only m ...

. In 1985, Miller released his final studio album, ''Dancing in the Rain''. It was produced by John Jansen, and like its predecessor, the album was noted for its rock influences. Mark Deming of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

compared it to

Robert Palmer Robert Allen Palmer (19 January 1949 – 26 September 2003) was an English singer and songwriter. He was known for his powerful and soulful voice, sartorial elegance and stylistic explorations, combining soul, funk, jazz, rock, pop, regga ...

's single " Addicted to Love" and said that the album sounds more "dated" than his earlier work. It peaked at No. 39 on the Swedish Albums chart. In 1991, Miller recorded an excerpt of "

Caledonia Caledonia (; ) was the Latin name used by the Roman Empire to refer to the forested region in the central and western Scottish Highlands, particularly stretching through parts of what are now Lochaber, Badenoch, Strathspey, and possibly as ...

" for a

Tennent's Tennent Caledonian is a brewing company based in Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded in 1740 on the bank of the Molendinar Burn by Hugh and Robert Tennent. It is owned by C&C Group plc, which purchased the Tennent Caledonian Breweries subsidiar ...

lager television advert. After a surge of requests from viewers, Miller recorded and released a full-length version as a single in 1992. It peaked at No. 45 on the UK Singles Chart. Later that same year, Miller recorded a second duet with Bonnie Tyler, titled "Save Your Love", for her album ''

Angel Heart ''Angel Heart'' is a 1987 neo-noir psychological horror film, an adaptation of William Hjortsberg's 1978 novel '' Falling Angel''. The film is written and directed by Alan Parker, and stars Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet and Char ...

''. In 1993, Miller recorded "Why Don't You Try Me" with

Sarah Bettens Sam Bettens (formerly Sarah Bettens, born September 23, 1972) is a Belgian singer and musician, best known as the lead singer of the Belgian band, K's Choice. In May 2019, he came out as a transgender man. Career K's Choice In the mid-1990s ...

for the Belgian film '' Ad Fundum''. The track was produced by

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, and h ...

and peaked at No. 6 on the Belgian Flanders chart. "Where Do the Guilty Go?", which also featured in the film, later peaked at No. 46.

1994–present: Illness, recovery and tribute albums

In 1994, Miller formed a new band with

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born Joseph Woodward Fidler; November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Best known as a member of the rock band Eagles (band), Eagles, his five-decade career includes solo work and stints in other ...

Nicky Hopkins Nicholas Christian Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. He performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, including on songs recorde ...

and Ian Wallace. He was writing music in New York City when he suffered a

brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a cerebral aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder characterized by a localized dilation or ballooning of a blood vessel in the brain due to a weakness in the vessel wall. These aneurysms can occur in an ...

on 25 August 1994. Miller was unconscious for five months, and when he woke up he found himself unable to speak or sing. He spent the subsequent years in physical rehabilitation. In September 1998, a benefit concert was held at the

Queen's Hall, Edinburgh The Queen's Hall is a performance venue in the Southside, Edinburgh, Scotland. The building opened in 1824 as Hope Park Chapel and reopened as the Queen's Hall in 1979. Hope Park Chapel opened as a chapel of ease within the St Cuthbert's Church, ...

featuring

Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Marc Almond, Jayne County, To ...

Paul Carrack Paul Melvyn Carrack (born 22 April 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter and composer who has recorded as both a solo artist and as a member of several popular bands. The BBC dubbed Carrack "The Man with the Golden Voice", while '' ...

and a band of musicians with disabilities. The concert was filmed as part of the

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

documentary series ''Ex-S'' and broadcast in 1999. The episode was titled ''Frankie Miller: Stubborn Kinda Fella'', and it documented Miller's road to recovery. The episode was nominated for Best Regional Documentary at the

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

awards. A number of tribute albums have since been released, including ''A Tribute to Frankie Miller'' (2003), which features covers and duets with various artists, and '' 100% Pure Frankie Miller'' (2014) by

Spike Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (Broderick book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter ...

The Quireboys The Quireboys are an English rock band formed in 1984 in London, with strong ties to Newcastle. Originally known as The Choirboys, then The Queerboys, billed as The London Quireboys in the United States and Canada, settling at last with their ...

. In 2006, Miller released a new studio album, ''Long Way Home'', featuring vocals extracted from demos he recorded before his brain aneurysm. The tracks were produced by

Bill Szymczyk William Frank Szymczyk (; born February 13, 1943) is an American music producer and recording engineer best known for working with rock and blues musicians, most notably the Eagles in the 1970s. He produced many top albums and singles of the ...

Will Jennings Wilbur Herschel Jennings (June 27, 1944 – September 6, 2024) was an American lyricist. He was known for writing the songs " Up Where We Belong", " Higher Love", " Tears in Heaven" and "My Heart Will Go On". He was inducted into the Songwriter ...

and

David Naughton David Walsh Naughton (born February 13, 1951) is an American actor and singer. He is known for his starring roles in the horror film ''An American Werewolf in London'' (1981) and the Disney comedy '' Midnight Madness'' (1980), as well as for a lo ...

. Another album, ''

Frankie Miller's Double Take ''Frankie Miller's Double Take'' is the eleventh studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Frankie Miller. It was released on 30 September 2016 by Universal Music. Background After almost thirty years in the music business, Frankie Miller suff ...

'', followed in 2016, featuring 19 demos remastered into duets with other artists. The album peaked at No. 11 on the

Scottish Albums Chart The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...

. In March 2022, Miller released the track "One More Step to the Rainbow" as a protest to the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Live album

*''BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert'' (1994)

Compilations

Charted singles

References

Bibliography

*''Encyclopedia of Rock''. Hardy, Phil and Laing, Dave. Schirmer Books (1988).

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Frankie 1949 births Living people Scottish rock musicians 20th-century Scottish male singers Scottish male singer-songwriters Scottish singer-songwriters Scottish rock guitarists Scottish male guitarists People from Bridgeton, Glasgow Scottish rock singers Scottish pop singers Singers from Glasgow