Miriam Linna (born October 16, 1955 in

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...

, Ontario) is a Canadian-American drummer who has run the Brooklyn-based independent record label Norton Records since 1986, originally with her husband, the late producer and singer-songwriter Billy Miller. Her skill as a drummer earned her a "May I recommend?" nod from Bob Dylan on his XM '' Theme Time Radio Hour'' program (episode 37) in January 2007. Linna is part of the collective of musicians that emerged from the Cleveland, Ohio punk rock scene, including the

Dead Boys The Dead Boys are an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The band was among the first wave of punk, and regarded by many as one of the rowdiest and most violent groups of the era. They were formed by vocalist Stiv B ...

and Pere Ubu. When the re-formed Rocket from the Tombs performed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 2003, singer David Thomas dedicated the band's signature song "Amphetamine" to her.

Linna as musician

Linna was a founding member of The Cramps, performing in the band from their first date on November 1, 1976, until July 10, 1977. She appears on their ''

How to Make a Monster How may refer to: * How (greeting), a word used in some misrepresentations of Native American/First Nations speech * How, an interrogative word in English grammar Art and entertainment Literature * ''How'' (book), a 2007 book by Dov Seidma ...

'' compilation album. Linna left The Cramps to join the new wave band Nervus Rex. After performing with the Zantees, Linna and Miller launched

The A-Bones The A-Bones was an American garage rock band from Brooklyn, New York. Their name was derived from a song by The Trashmen. The band was formed in 1984 by vocalist Billy Miller and his wife, drummer and co-vocalist Miriam Linna, in the wake of a p ...

(named after a 1964 tune by The Trashmen). The A-Bones released two 10" EPs (''Tempo Tantrum'' in 1986 and ''Free Beer for Life!'' in 1988), followed by four full-length albums between 1991 and 1996. The A-Bones regrouped after a short hiatus to perform in Spain with

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...

Andre Williams Andre Williams may refer to: * Andre Williams (musician) * Andre Williams (American football) * Andre Williams, British DJ better known as Shy FX {{hndis, Williams, Andre ...

and the Great Gaylord. Linna also played drums on

Maureen Tucker Maureen Ann "Moe" Tucker (born August 26, 1944) is an American musician and singer-songwriter who was the drummer for the New York City-based rock band the Velvet Underground. After they disbanded in the early 1970s, she left the music industry ...

's 1994 album ''

Dogs Under Stress ''Dogs Under Stress'' is the fourth studio album by Moe Tucker. It was released in 1994. Track listing All tracks written and arranged by Moe Tucker except where noted. #"Crackin' Up" (Ellas McDaniel) – 4:52 #"Me, Myself and I" – 2:37 #"I' ...

''. Linna and A-Bones bassist Marcus "The Carcass" Natale guested on a 2007 recording session by the proto-punk band Figures of Light, produced by Miller; she also handled the drums on Figures of Light's 2011 album ''Drop Dead'', produced by Mick Collins of The Dirtbombs. In 2014, as "Miriam", Linna released her first solo album on Norton Records, ''Nobody's Baby,'' produced by

Sam Elwitt Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional ...

. The album features Linna singing over distinctly Phil Spector- and Jack Nitzsche-inspired arrangements of a selection of mostly obscure cover songs from the 1960s. Norton released her follow-up LP, ''Down Today,'' in 2015.

Linna as author, publisher

Linna's past magazine ventures include ''Kicks'' (co-edited with Miller), ''Smut Peddler'' and ''Bad Seed''. Her first fanzine in 1976 was '' The Flamin Groovies Monthly'', which she inherited from Bomp Records founder Greg Shaw. Her lengthy liner notes for Norton and other labels display an unusual writing style of wild word play and imaginative humor. In 1997, Linna and Miller published (as "Kicks Magazine Photo Album No. 1") ''The Great Lost Photographs of Eddie Rocco''. Rocco contributed to ''Ebony Song Parade'' and freelanced for Fort Worth's '' Sepia'' magazine, and the book collects many of his previously unpublished 1950s and 1960s images, including shots of

Ruth Brown Ruth Alston Brown (; January 12, 1928 – November 17, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and actress, sometimes referred to as the " Queen of R&B". She was noted for bringing a pop music style to R&B music in a series of hit songs for Atl ...

Esquerita Eskew Reeder, Jr. (November 20, 1935 or 1938 – October 23, 1986), usually known by the stage name Esquerita, and occasionally as S.Q. Reeder or The Magnificent Malochi, was an American R&B singer, songwriter and pianist, known for his frenet ...

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

and the

Treniers The Treniers (pronounced /trəˈniərz/) were an American R&B and jump blues musical group led by identical twins Cliff and Claude Trenier. They were originally billed as the Trenier Twins, who performed alongside the Gene Gilbeaux Quartet, ...

.Clark, Dr. Roy Peter. "Jukin' with Eddie Rocco," Dr. Ink, April 2, 2003.
/ref> In 2004, Linna co-edited ''Sin-A-Rama: Sleaze Sex Paperbacks of the Sixties'' (Feral House), also contributing an article, "Ron Haydock aka Vin Saxon", about the twisted career of novelist-musician

Ron Haydock Ron Haydock (April 17, 1940 – August 14, 1977) was an American actor, screenwriter, novelist and rock musician. Career Haydock's band, Ron Haydock and the Boppers, were heavily influenced by Gene Vincent. In August 1959, Cha Cha Records rele ...

. In 2009, her paperback book company, Kicks Books, launched with the publication of '' Sweets and Other Stories'' by

Andre Williams Andre Williams may refer to: * Andre Williams (musician) * Andre Williams (American football) * Andre Williams, British DJ better known as Shy FX {{hndis, Williams, Andre ...

. Subsequent books have included ''This Planet Is Doomed'' (2011), a collection of Sun Ra's poetry; ''Pulling a Train'' and ''Getting in the Wind'' (2012), previously uncollected short stories by

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of '' Psycho'' ...

; ''Lord of Garbage'' by

Kim Fowley Kim Vincent Fowley (July 21, 1939 – January 15, 2015) was the American record producer, songwriter and musician who was behind a string of novelty and cult pop rock singles in the 1960s, and managed The Runaways in the 1970s. He has been ...

; ''Benzedrine Highway'' by Charles Plymell; and ''Gone Man Squared'' by

Royston Ellis Christopher Royston George Ellis (born 10 February 1941), known as Royston Ellis, is an English novelist, travel writer and erstwhile beat poet. Biography Born in Pinner, Ellis was educated at the Harrow County School for Boys in Middlesex unt ...

. Linna also co-authored a biography of Texas musician Bobby Fuller, ''I Fought the Law'', published by Kicks in 2015. Linna owns one of the world's largest private collections of vintage paperbacks, including complete runs of Avon, Beacon,

Signet Signet may refer to: *Signet, Kenya, A subsidiary of the Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), specifically set up to broadcast and distribute the DTT signals * Signet ring, a ring with a seal set into it, typically by leaving an impression in sea ...

and others. Her collection includes over 500 juvenile delinquent paperbacks, and she featured the covers of some of these in her book ''Bad Seed: A Postcard Book'', published in 1992 by

Running Press Running Press is an American publishing company and member of the Perseus Books Group. The publisher's offices are located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with many of the corporate functions taking place in Perseus' New York City headquarters. I ...

. On May 15, 2009, she launched an autobiographical blog, Kicksville 66, documenting everything from

Ashtabula Ashtabula ( ) is a city in Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States, and the center of the Ashtabula micropolitan area. It is located at the mouth of the Ashtabula River on Lake Erie, northeast of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, the city ha ...

angst to her days at the

Strand Bookstore The Strand Bookstore is an independent bookstore located at 828 Broadway, at the corner of East 12th Street in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, two blocks south of Union Square.

, and is illustrated with promo flyers, handwritten letters and photographs.

References

External links

''New York'' magazine feature on Miriam Linna (2/3/2003)Kicksville 66
{{DEFAULTSORT:Linna, Miriam 1955 births Living people American book publishers (people) American humorists American music journalists American people of Finnish descent American rock drummers The Cramps members Journalists from Ontario American magazine publishers (people) Musicians from Greater Sudbury Women autobiographers American women journalists Women writers about music Women book publishers (people) American autobiographers Canadian emigrants to the United States 20th-century American drummers American women record producers Canadian women record producers Women humorists 20th-century American women musicians 21st-century American women