Rhett Miller: Biography

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• Discography
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• Roger Clyne
• AM
• Jason Isbell
• Ryan Adams
• Drive Til Morning
• The Ranchero Brothers

• Old 97's
• Scott McPherson

• Old 97's
• Sleepy Heroes
• The Ranchero Brothers

Born:

Sep 6, 1970 in Austin, TX

Genres:

Folk & Roots Music, Alternative Rock Music, Singer/Songwriter Rock Music, Adult Alternative

Decades Active:

1990's|2000's

Texan Rhett Miller is best known as lead singer/guitarist for Dallas' alt-country band the Old 97's. The Old 97's, formed in 1993, issued their debut LP Wreck Your Life in 1995. Their follow-up, Fight Songs, was issued in 1999; the same year, the early-1994 recording Hitchhike to Rhome was reissued on CD, and the mini-album Early Tracks delivered more of the same in 2000. Their 2001 release, Satellite Rides, gained critical acclaim as well as substantial airplay on college radio stations around the United States.

Rhett Miller has also had a successful music career away from the Old 97's. He recorded his first solo album, Mythologies, in 1989. Future Old 97's bassist and songwriter Murray Hammond produced the album, which was a series of acoustic folk songs. Miller and Hammond also perform as the Ranchero Brothers; a group that started as Miller and Hammond's way to test new music for the Old 97's in front of a live audience as a two-man acoustic duo. The Ranchero Brothers developed their own following, however, and hit the studios to record an album of their own in May of 2000. In February of 2002, Miller began recording his second solo album, this time with the help of producer/multi-instrumentalist Jon Brion. The Instigator appeared nearly seven months later. Critics loved Miller's lush, passionate songs, allowing The Instigator to become a favorite among the press. A tour with ex-Crowded House frontman Neil Finn followed in early 2003.

- Laurel Greenidge, All Music Guide