David Leon "Biscuit" Miller (born December 30, 1961) is an American electric blues bassist, singer and songwriter. He writes most of his own material, and has released three albums to date. In 2012 and 2017, Miller won a

Blues Music Award The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Handy, " ...

in the 'Instrumentalist - Bass' category. His best known songs include "Lay It On Down", " Bottle of Whiskey Bottle of Wine", "Going Home", "One More Mile", "Monday Morning Blues", and "Wishbone". Miller is scheduled to play at the Bradenton Blues Festival in December 2017. ''

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' described him as "a real crowd-pleaser."

Life and career

Miller was born in

South Side, Chicago The South Side is an area of Chicago, Illinois, U.S. It lies south of the city's Loop area in the downtown. Geographically, it is the largest of the three sides of the city that radiate from downtown, with the other two being the north and we ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, United States, and was raised by his grandmother. His childhood nickname of 'Biscuit' was acquired when just before supper, Miller ate a pan of his grandmother's biscuits. He found a four string electric bass guitar belonging to his friend's elder brother and immediately was inspired to try to play the instrument. Miller discovered the blues via his connection to

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

. "I went to school with Willie's kids," Miller said, "and Willie did one of the first blues programs in Chicago. Once, he brought in this little kid named

Lucky Peterson Judge Kenneth Peterson (December 13, 1964 – May 17, 2020), known professionally as Lucky Peterson, was an American musician who played contemporary blues, fusing soul, R&B, gospel and rock and roll. He played guitar and keyboards Keyboard ma ...

" and Miller noted "hearing the band play excited... and made me want to play music." Miller formed his first band named Clever with his cousin, Ivan Wallace, and they jointly relocated to

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

in 1982. Miller went on to work with

Sonny Rodgers Oliver Lee "Sonny" Rodgers (December 4, 1939 – May 7, 1990) was an American electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He won a Blues Music Award, W.C. Handy Award for his release "Cadillac Baby" b/w "Big Leg Woman", which the Blues Foun ...

, from whom he learned a great deal about playing the blues and they recorded an album, ''They Call Me the Cat Daddy''. It won Rodgers a Handy Award for Best New Artist, although he died before he could accept his award. Miller moved on to backing

George "Mojo" Buford George Carter Buford, Jr. (November 10, 1929 – October 11, 2011), known as Mojo Buford, was an American blues harmonica player best known for his work in Muddy Waters's band. Biography Buford relocated from Hernando, Mississippi, to Memp ...

and Lady Blue (a

backing vocalist A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

for Ike & Tina Turner). During this time, he was asked if he could step in for one night to play the bass behind another Chicago born blues musician,

Lonnie Brooks Lonnie Brooks (born Lee Baker Jr., December 18, 1933 – April 1, 2017) was an American blues singer and guitarist. The musicologist Robert Palmer, writing in ''Rolling Stone'', stated, "His music is witty, soulful and ferociously energetic, br ...

. His tenure lasted for over ten years in Brooks backing band, including playing at the second inauguration of Bill Clinton. In 2000, he formed Biscuit and The Mix to fill in time between commitments to Brooks and they recorded Miller's debut album, ''Come Together'' (2002). Miller also played informally with

Anthony Gomes Anthony Gomes (born May 14, 1970, Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian blues and blues rock guitarist and singer. He was born to a Portuguese father and a French-Canadian mother. After his 1998 debut album release ''Blues in Technicolor'', he ...

, before joining his band as a full-time member in time to record ''Sweet Stringin' Soul''. During his five-year stint with Gomes, Miller contributed to the studio albums ''Sweet Stringin' Soul'' (2000), ''Unity'' (2002), and ''Music is the Medicine'' (2006). By 2009, Miller had formed his own band. Miller noted that "I was getting on up in my 50s... I'd done all this playing with everybody else, and it just seemed like time. I can play this bass fairly well and I can sing a little bit and I know how to smile." ''Blues with a Smile'' was released in 2010. Guest performers included Billy Branch on harmonica,

Ronnie Baker Brooks Ronnie Baker Brooks (born January 23, 1967) is an American Chicago blues and soul blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a respected club performer in Chicago, even before recording three solo albums for Watchdog Records. The son of fel ...

and Shawn Kellerman on guitar and Andrew "Blaze" Thomas on drums. They played alongside Miller's regular backing outfit, the Mix. In 2012 Miller gained his first Blues Music Award, whilst ''Blues with a Smile'', received airplay on Sirius XM Radio. In 2013, Miller performed at the Daytona Blues Festival. His most recent recording was ''Wishbone'' (2016), where the title track was inspired by Miller's two grandsons being excited about making a wish on the turkey wishbone during their

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

dinner. In May 2017, Miller won his second Blues Music Award in the 'Instrumentalist - Bass' category. He currently resides in Highland, Lake County, Indiana, but is based in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Discography

Albums

References

External links

Official websiteVideo footage on YouTube''Living Blues'' article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Biscuit 1961 births Living people Electric blues musicians Blues bass guitarists American blues guitarists American male bass guitarists American funk bass guitarists 21st-century American bass guitarists American blues singers American funk singers 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers Singers from Chicago Guitarists from Chicago Songwriters from Illinois 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers African-American songwriters African-American guitarists 21st-century African-American male singers American male songwriters

Life and career

Discography

Albums

See also

References

External links