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 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 largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
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
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...
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 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
Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band founded in 1947 that continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group record ...
.
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.
After Haley and the Comets signed to
Decca Records
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...
, 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 albums.
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
Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...
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
Swarthmore ( , ) is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Swarthmore was originally named "Westdale" in honor of noted painter Benjamin West, who was one of the early residents of the town. The name was changed to "Swarthmore" after the es ...
, 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
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, lea ...
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 cover
An album cover (also referred to as album art) is the front packaging art of a commercially released studio album or other audio recordings. The term can refer to either the printed paperboard covers typically used to package sets of and 78-r ...
s.
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
The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...
to his label and had his Somerset albums distributed in the United Kingdom by Pye Records.
Disques Vogue
Disques Vogue was a jazz record company founded in France by Léon Cabat and Charles Delaunay in 1947, the year after the American Vogue label ceased.
They originally specialized in jazz, featuring American performers such as Sidney Bechet, D ...
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
David Leonard Miller (July 4, 1925May 24, 1985) was an American record producer and the founder of many budget album record companies. Miller is more familiar to some record buyers and collectors as the notorious Leo Muller who produced many Exp ...
; 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
Stereo Gold Award was a budget label record label owned by producer Dave Miller. It released many budget and exploito type recordings during the 1970s. It was one of the last of Muller's major business ventures.
Background
The label was a U.K. b ...
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
File:Alvinoreyguitarboogie.jpg
File:AmMusicBunk78.jpg
File:Bingola1011b.jpg
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 ...