Relatively little is known of Miller's private life. He may have been born in
Reading, Pennsylvania. In 1916, he worked as a singing waiter at the Casino Gardens in
Chicago, home of the
Original Dixieland Jazz Band (ODJB). Miller followed the ODJB to
New York City, where he formed a band, the Black and White Melody Boys, featuring himself on drums and
New Orleans native
Tom Brown on trombone. The band performed in
vaudeville and featured in several musical productions before disbanding. Miller formed a dance band around 1920. Its members, at different times, included Ward Archer (drums); Charlie Rocco (trumpet);
Miff Mole (trombone); Danny Yates (violin); Roy Johnston (trumpet);
Rube Bloom and Tommy Satterfield (piano); Louie Chasone (tuba);
Frank Trumbauer,
Andy Sannella, Billy Richards and Andy Sandolar (saxophones); and Frank O. Prima (banjo). The orchestra recorded for various labels, notably
Columbia and
OKeh, before signing an exclusive contract with
Brunswick Records in late 1923. They increasingly played jazz-influenced music — especially after Mole and Trumbauer joined in 1924 On October 17, 1924, the orchestra became the first jazz band to play at the White House, where they performed with Al Jolson at a campaign rally for
President Calvin Coolidge. They also recorded with Jolson, notably on
Irving Berlin's song "
All Alone" in late 1924. After Mole and Trumbauer left, Miller moved his base to the Hotel Gibson in
Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1927, and performed regularly for the powerful
radio station WLW. He left Cincinnati and formed a new band in Chicago in 1928, which for a few months included trumpeter
Muggsy Spanier Miller left the music business sometime after 1930. His later life is not publicly recorded, but it has been suggested that Miller invested heavily into the Stock Market before 1929, and lost a good deal of money after the markets crashed in October of that year. He is believed to have died in 1974. ==References==