Douglas Miller

A rich baritone voice and Grammy-nominated presence in gospel music define Douglas Miller, who entered the world in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on New Year’s Eve 1949. Church choirs shaped his early performances, and while enrolled at the University of Akron he trained under the influential choir director, arranger, singer, and songwriter Mattie Moss Clark, sharpening his already finessed baritone technique. He maintained Akron as his primary base throughout most of his professional life. Although recording sessions began in 1979, Miller’s first major-label release arrived in 1984 via Atlanta International; I Still Love the Name Jesus appeared on the Billboard Gospel Albums chart early the following year. The 1985 follow-up Unspeakable Joy advanced to number three, and he sustained chart visibility across the ensuing decade with the third album Redeeming Love plus the 1988 and 1993 projects Sing Until Morning and Victory. In 1990 he joined his mentor for the collaborative album With Mattie Clark, and after more than a dozen releases—including the Grammy-nominated Live in Houston—The Best of Douglas Miller: The Early Years surfaced in 2000. Beyond recordings, Miller has composed multiple gospel musicals, among them Secret Lover, which originally featured both Miller and Clark in the cast.