Frankie Miller

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, the singles "Be Good To Yourself", "Darlin'" and his duet with Phil Lynott on the Thin Lizzy 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 band called 'The Stoics'. In mid 1970, he moved to London to further his career. He performed with the band 'Howl' at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival. He soon joined up with guitarist Robin Trower, ex-Stone the Crows bassist/singer James Dewar, and former Jethro Tull drummer Clive Bunker to form the short-lived group 'Jude'. This outfit did not record and soon split.

1972–1974: First albums and collaboration with Thin Lizzy Later in 1972, Miller signed a solo recording contract with Chrysalis Records, and recorded his first LP Once in a Blue Moon, with record producer Dave Robinson. The album was an early example of pub rock, and featured backing by the pub rock band Brinsley Schwarz. as a duet with Phil Lynott; the song appeared on the Thin Lizzy album, Nightlife. Miller's second album High Life, was produced and partly written by Allen Toussaint and recorded in Atlanta, Georgia during 1974. Although two album tracks, "Shoo Rah, Shoo Rah" and "Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues)", subsequently provided hits for Betty Wright and Three Dog Night respectively, the album was not a commercial success. was produced by Chris Thomas. The lead off track "Be Good to Yourself" became Miller's first UK top 40 hit, peaking at No. 27 in the UK Singles Chart during June that year.

In 1986, 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 compared it to Robert Palmer'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" for a Tennent's 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.

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 of The Quireboys.

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, Will Jennings and David Naughton. Another album, Frankie Miller's Double Take, followed in 2016, featuring 19 demos remastered into duets with other artists. The album peaked at No. 11 on the Scottish Albums Chart.

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

Discography Albums Studio albums Year Title Chart positions 1973 Once in a Blue Moon — — — — — — 1974 Frankie Miller's High Life — — — — — — 1975 The Rock [as the Frankie Miller Band] — — — — — — 1977 Full House — 124 89 18 — 46 1978 Double Trouble — 177 — — — — 1979 Falling in Love [released as A Perfect Fit in US] 54 — 89 — 8 — 1980 Easy Money — — 100 — — 41 1982 Standing on the Edge — — — — — — 1986 Dancing in the Rain — — — — — 39 2006 Long Way Home — — — — — — 2016 Frankie Miller's Double Take 100 — — — — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Live albums BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert (1977/1978/1979 ) Live at Rockpalast (1976/1979/1982 ) 3-CD set

Compilations Year Title Chart positions 1977 "Be Good to Yourself" 27 — — — — — — — "The Doodle Song" — 71 — — — — — — 1978 "Love Letters" — — 79 — 16 11 — — "Darlin'" 6 — 8 3 28 — 7 1 1979 "When I'm Away from You" 42 — — — — — — — 1980 "Why Don't You Spend the Night" — — 94 — — — — — 1982 "To Dream the Dream" — 62 — — — — — — 1992 "Caledonia" 45 — — — — — — — 1993 "Why Don't You Try Me" — — — — 6 — — — "Where Do the Guilty Go" — — — — 46 — — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.