David Leonard Miller (July 4, 1925May 24, 1985) was an American
record producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
and the founder of many
budget album Budget albums (also known as unofficially by some collectors as either drugstore records or junk records) were low-priced vinyl LPs of popular and classical music released during the 1950s to 1970s consisting either of previously released material ...
record companies. Miller is more familiar to some record buyers and collectors as the notorious Leo Muller who produced many
Exploito Exploito is a term generally given to describe cover version or sound-alike recordings that capitalize on the official recordings of artists. Typically they are of the budget release type of album. Often the buying public would think they are buyin ...
type records.
Life and career
Miller was born in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, to Albert and Olive Miller. Following World War II service in the United States Navy along with his brother in-law Ralph Joseph, they started recording weddings direct to disc. After briefly working at the RCA Victor record pressing plant in Camden, New Jersey, where he learned more about recording and manufacturing records, he and his brother Paul formed their first record company with their own savings and those of their father Albert, naming their company Palda Records (a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words
Essex Records
Miller became the founder of
Essex Records
Essex Records was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1951 by David Miller primarily to record contemporary country and western, rhythm and blues as well as jazz and gospel. Jack Howard was the promotion manager. The label had little pop ...
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1951. The label had local popular success, being known mostly for its release of the early records by Bill Haley & His Comets.
Miller originally changed the name of the group from the "Four Aces of Western Swing" to "Bill Haley and the Saddlemen" then repeated a suggestion that the group change their name to the Comets after
Halley's Comet
Halley's Comet or Comet Halley, officially designated 1P/Halley, is a short-period comet visible from Earth every 75–79 years. Halley is the only known short-period comet that is regularly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the on ...
.
After Haley and the Comets signed to Decca Records, Haley sued Miller for selling the group's earlier records on his Essex label without paying royalties. As a result, Miller went bankrupt.
Somerset Records
Under his Miller International Company formed in 1957, with his Essex Records office manager George Phillips, he founded Somerset Records and Somerset Stereo Fidelity Records budget albums. His greatest claim to fame was selling large amounts of cheaply priced albums, with Somerset claiming to have manufactured the first stereo
budget album Budget albums (also known as unofficially by some collectors as either drugstore records or junk records) were low-priced vinyl LPs of popular and classical music released during the 1950s to 1970s consisting either of previously released material ...
s.
The name of Somerset high fidelity albums was suggested by Miller International's West Coast distributor, Jimmy Warren, with the name of Stereo Fidelity ( stereo albums) thought of by Wally Hill to capitalize on the public's interest in both high fidelity and stereophonic sound.
The economy came from Miller starting his own record factory in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, using public domain music and non union musicians from outside the United States to record
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s of hit songs of the time. Many original tunes were written by Monty Kelly, Robert Lowden, and Joseph Kuhn with the music published by Miller's own music publisher, Chesdel Music created in 1962.
Miller had his own distribution channels of his records in supermarkets and drugstores with the cheap albums being sold in metal racks similar to those holding paperback books or cardboard record holders called "dumps" that could be placed anywhere. Miller's record albums were sold wholesale for 93 cents to salesmen who sold them to merchants who sold them to the public for $1.98. Somerset Records used artist Anthony "Chic" Laganella to create attractive eye catching album covers.
Miller used the name ''
101 Strings
101 Strings Orchestra was a brand for a highly successful easy listening symphonic music organization, with a discography exceeding 150 albums and a creative lifetime of around 30 years beginning in 1957. 101 Strings had a trademark sound, focusin ...
'' for several German orchestras; their first album appearing in September 1957. In 1958 Somerset released 24 ''101 Strings'' titles.
Miller International's philosophy after their experience with Essex Records was that recording "hits" was too unstable, and recording for teenagers and "sophisticates" was unprofitable as the two types bought "fads". Miller said that he did not want to record anything that would not sell ten years in the future.
In 1959 Miller signed the London Philharmonic Orchestra to his label and had his Somerset albums distributed in the United Kingdom by
Pye Records
Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherho ...
. Disques Vogue of France followed soon afterwards.
Miller sold Somerset to Al Sherman in 1963 but remained credited as a producer on the albums when Sherman changed the name to Alshire Records; though the name Somerset was still used for some albums.
Miller formed
Europa Records
Europa (styled as EUROPA) is a German record label, originally owned by Miller International Records Company (Germany). It has since belonged to the MCA Inc. and Bertelsmann Music Group, and is now owned by Sony Corporation of America. It was ...
in Germany to duplicate the American sales success of Somerset in Europe. Many of the Somerset/Alshire recordings were issued in Europe on the Europa label. He continued to occasionally produce material and in the mid 1970s formed a brief partnership with Marty Wilson to release three albums of heavily orchestrated material for the New York Disco scene, also releasing the recordings in European markets.
Stereo Gold Award
Budget label Stereo Gold Award was one of the last of Miller's major business ventures. It was a U.K. based label. The records were distributed in the U.K. by Record Merchandisers. On this label he often used the pseudonym Leo Muller. Some of the albums he produced and was credited composer for include ''Tamla Hits'' by Dianne And The New Worlds and ''Tribute To Jimi Hendrix'' by The Purple Fox.Discogs The Purple Fox – Tribute To Jimi Hendrix /ref>
Death
Miller died in London, England, in 1985 at the age of 59. Retrieved 10 November 2022
See also
*
List of record labels
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Lists of record labels cover record labels, brands or trademarks associated with marketing of music recordings and music videos. The lists are organized alphabetically, b ...