Who remembers Mrs. Miller - remember "Downtown"

[Lance]

A "singer" popular in the 1960s and '70s, made recordings for Capitol Records. Her "voice" was introduced to me by a classical music singer. I could not believe my ears! It IS fun to klisten to, nonetheless. Too bad some of her LPs have not been transferred to CD by the original company. Some of her LPs are now going for very high prices. Her song, "Downtown" is a hoot-and-a-half.

[diegobueno]

In the pantheon of badness, Mrs. Miller gets lost because she was not as bizarre as Tiny Tim and not as ambitious as Florence Foster Jenkins. Mrs. Miller sings the way most of us do at karaoke, and if karaoke had been around back then she might have had an "everyperson" vibe which would have kept her in the spotlight for longer

...OK, probably not. The notoriety of bad singers doesn't last beyond one song. Tiny Tim had Tiptoe Though the Tulips, Florence Foster Jenkins had Der Hölle Rache, Mrs. Miller had Downtown.

[Lance]

Mark, you never cease to amaze me. I didn't think you would even know her name. I didn't until someone introduced me to her "art." And Florence Foster Jenkins ... another hoot! I did a radio broadcast one time featuring (with apologies) this kind of "repertoire" with these "kinds" of singers or instrumentalists. Believe-it-or-not, the program got a lot of interest asking for "more!"

In the pantheon of badness, Mrs. Miller gets lost because she was not as bizarre as Tiny Tim and not as ambitious as Florence Foster Jenkins. Mrs. Miller sings the way most of us do at karaoke, and if karaoke had been around back then she might have had an "everyperson" vibe which would have kept her in the spotlight for longer

...OK, probably not. The notoriety of bad singers doesn't last beyond one song. Tiny Tim had Tiptoe Though the Tulips, Florence Foster Jenkins had Der Hölle Rache, Mrs. Miller had Downtown.

[diegobueno]

If I recall, Mrs. Miller's rendition of Downtown came out in 1966, when I was 12. Petulia Clark made a hit of the song the previous year. This was in that narrow window of time in my life when I was keenly aware of trends in popular music, before I discovered Haydn and Stravinsky and was converted to classical music exclusively. If Mrs. Miller had come along a few years later I might not have heard of her.

[Lance]

Just think of what you would have missed! Well, one really does have to laugh when we hear her "singing."

If I recall, Mrs. Miller's rendition of Downtown came out in 1966, when I was 12. Petulia Clark made a hit of the song the previous year. This was in that narrow window of time in my life when I was keenly aware of trends in popular music, before I discovered Haydn and Stravinsky and was converted to classical music exclusively. If Mrs. Miller had come along a few years later I might not have heard of her.