Biography
An Appalachian fiddler with years of road experience, Sonny Miller attained command of the traditional fiddle repertoire passed down through successive generations of settlers in the Appalachian region. His timeline aligned closely with Kenny Baker’s, allowing him to absorb the style directly from its living sources while remaining active well into later decades. Peak visibility came in the early 1980s when Del McCoury added him to the Dixie Pals alongside mandolinist Herschel Sizemore, another veteran of old-time and early bluegrass circles; the bandleader thereby introduced these seasoned players to the decade’s newly energized bluegrass audience. By then Miller had already logged roughly three decades as a professional musician. One notable chapter found him in the New River Boys, supporting the singular banjoist and frontwoman Ola Belle Reed. He also issued several recordings under his own name on modest regional labels such as New River. In the early 1980s he began appearing with Mike Seeger, the old-time and folk-revival authority formerly of the New Lost City Ramblers; the pair shared a bill at the Philadelphia Folk Festival, an event preserved by Prestige Records for its folk series. Live documents from gatherings such as the Galax Fiddle Festival place Miller in a more rustic context. Throughout the 1990s he led his own country group, the Sonny Miller Country Band, at events including state fairs. He bears no relation to the Tin Pan Alley composer and lyricist celebrated for “I’ve Got a Date With an Angel.”
Albums