Jerry Miller

Jerry Miller
Born	July 10, 1943 Tacoma, Washington
Genres	Rock, psychedelic rock, folk rock
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Guitar
Associated acts	Moby Grape Jerry Miller Band The Elegants The Kingsmen The Rhythm Dukes

Jerry Miller (born July 10, 1943 in Tacoma, Washington) is an American songwriter, guitarist and vocalist. He performs as a solo artist and as a member of the Jerry Miller Band. He is also a founding member of the 1960s San Francisco band Moby Grape, which continues to perform occasionally. Rolling Stone included Jerry at number 68 on their list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time and Moby Grape's album 'Moby Grape' at number 124 on their list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Jerry Miller's professional career began in the late 1950s, playing and recording with popular Northwest dance-rock bands including The Elegants. He was apparently a member of The Kingsmen (of Louie Louie fame) at one time, with promotional photos that exist as evidence of that. He contributed guitar work to an early version of the hit record I Fought the Law by The Bobby Fuller Four, and toured with Bobby Fuller in his predecessor group to The Bobby Fuller Four.

While both were playing locally in Seattle, prior to becoming internationally famous, Jerry Miller befriended Jimi Hendrix. Along with Larry Coryell, who was developing his reputation as a guitarist while attending the University of Washington in Seattle, they would regularly get together to watch touring bands visiting the Seattle area. One particular club was the Spanish Castle, in Des Moines, Washington, between Seattle and Tacoma. The later Hendrix song, Spanish Castle Magic, was based on his experiences with fellow guitarists at the Spanish Castle in Des Moines.

Before co-founding Moby Grape, Miller and bandmate Don Stevenson were members of The Frantics, a Pacific Northwest bar band, based in Seattle. The band relocated to San Francisco and, with the addition of Bob Mosley, formed the nucleus of what would become Moby Grape. Moby Grape was formed in San Francisco in 1966. Jerry Miller was the lead guitarist in the three-guitar band. The Grape signed with Columbia and recorded four albums for that label, released between 1967 and 1969. During this period, Miller co-wrote (with Don Stevenson) three of Moby Grape's best known songs, "Hey Grandma" and "8.05", both from the self-titled first Moby Grape album (1967) and "Murder In My Heart for The Judge", from the Wow album (1968). The latter song was covered by both Three Dog Night and Lee Michaels, while Robert Plant covered "8:05" and The Move covered "Hey Grandma". More recently, "Hey Grandma" was included in the soundtrack to the 2005 Sean Penn-Nicole Kidman film, The Interpreter, as well as being covered in 2009 by the Black Crowes, on Warpaint Live.

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