I'm a little surprised I got an itch to write about Frankie Miller today. Tho' I've had his albums The Rock, Full House, and Falling in Love for years, beyond a few initial spins, I've rarely played them. Honestly, I thought he was a bit of an also-ran singer-songwriter with the 1970s taste for the bluesy and rural sounds—there were SO many hopefuls, you know. But picking through his songs TODAY, it seems he was able to inject a bit more of something like SOUL into his songs. Crap, I hate when I overlook sweet jams, and his records are full of sweet jams, like the tear-stained Stax/Muscle Shoals groover "This Love of Mine," and the Free-like "Jealous Guy." Turns out, Miller IS a bit of a BIG deal; his songs have been covered/recorded by EVERYONE—from top soul vocalists like Etta James and Bettye LaVette to country entertainers like the Bellamy Brothers and Waylon Jennings and, through their voices, he's even racked up a few Top 10 hits. However, till right now, had any of y'all ever heard his name?

I think he's still unknown in the United States 'cause his solo records never even broke the Top 100. This includes his 1974 LP Highlife, which was produced by Allen Toussaint! The album garnered good press, but it didn't sell well because Miller couldn't promote it, as he didn't have a band to tour with. His rotating backing groups proved to be persistent problems; he'd assemble a band, record an album, the album would get some buzz, and then the members would begin to peel away before they could capitalize on their success. In the 1980s, Miller turned up in Nashville and started seriously writing for others, while still recording for himself. He also began writing for soundtracks and acting. Then in 1994, his career stalled after he suffered a massive stroke.