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Mrs. Miller
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Miller with Jimmy Durante during a 1966 appearance on The Hollywood Palace.
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| Born | Elva Ruby Connes (1907-10-05)October 5, 1907
Joplin, Missouri, U.S.
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| Died | July 5, 1997(1997-07-05) (aged 89)
Vista, California, U.S.
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| Resting place | Pomona Mausoleum, Pomona, California |
| Spouse |
(m. 1934; died 1968) |
Elva Ruby Miller (October 5, 1907 – July 5, 1997), who recorded under the name Mrs. Miller, was an American singer who gained some fame in the 1960s for her series of shrill and off-tempo renditions of popular songs such as "Moon River", "Monday, Monday", "A Lover's Concerto" and "Downtown". An untrained mezzo-soprano, she sang in a heavy, vibrato-laden style; according to Irving Wallace, David Wallechinsky and Amy WallaceinThe Book of Lists 2, Miller's voice was compared to the sound of "roaches scurrying across a trash can lid."[1]
Nevertheless, "Downtown" reached the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in April 1966, peaking at No. 82. The single's B-side, "A Lover's Concerto," also cracked the Hot 100 that same month at No. 95.[2]
Elva Ruby Connes was born in Joplin, Missouri, the third of seven children born to Edward and Ada (Martin) Connes, and was raised in Missouri and Kansas. She married John Richardson Miller, a professional investor 30 years her senior, on January 17, 1934. They moved to Claremont, California the following year, where she studied music, voice and composition at Pomona College and involved herself in church and community projects.[3] She said that singing was merely a hobby, but she produced several records, mainly of classical, gospel and children's songs. She self-financed and recorded at least one 45’ ("Slumber Song"), and distributed it to local orphanages. Arranger Fred Bock heard her recording and convinced her to try more modern songs, after which he presented the recordings to multiple record labels.[4]
Miller was discovered by radio disc jockey (and later Laugh-In announcer) Gary Owens, who first featured Miller on his radio program in 1960. Owens also included her on a limited-run album of his comedy routines. In 1965, Miller was signed to Capitol Records by young producer Lex de Azevedo.[4][5]
Miller's success, as with that of Florence Foster Jenkins before her and Wing after her, was largely attributable to the amateurish quality of her singing.[6] Capitol Records seemed eager to emphasize it; in a 1967 interview with Life magazine, Miller claimed that during recording sessions, she was deliberately conducted one half beat ahead of or behind time, and that the songs on the finished album represented the worst take from each song's set of recordings. Her first LP, with the tongue-in-cheek title Mrs. Miller's Greatest Hits, was issued by Capitol in 1966. Composed entirely of well-known pop standards, it sold more than 250,000 copies in its first three weeks. Owens wrote the album's liner notes. Will Success Spoil Mrs. Miller?! followed, and The Country Soul of Mrs. Miller came a year later.[4][7]
Miller sang for American servicemen in Vietnam, performed at the Hollywood Bowl and appeared on numerous television talk and variety shows. She also appeared in Roddy McDowall's film The Cool Ones, in which she sang "It's Magic". Eventually, public interest in Miller began to wane, and Capitol Records dropped her from its roster in 1968. She released one album, Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing, on the small Amaret Records label, before issuing several singles on her own Vibrato Records label.[4] She recorded two albums of material at Radio Recorders studios in Hollywood that were issued by Dunhill Records, which went largely unnoticed. Her last known recording was a 1971 self-released EP.[8]
Miller officially retired in 1973, by which time interest in her career had virtually disappeared. She spent her remaining years working for various charities. She lived in a condo in Northridge, California until the earthquake in 1994, and she then moved to a retirement home.[4][9]
Miller may have been the inspiration for a similar act called Mr. Miller and the Blue Notes, who released a version of the Herman's Hermits hit "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter" in 1966.[10]
Elva Miller died at the Garden Terrace Retirement Center in Vista, California in 1997 at the age of 89.[9] She was interred at the Pomona Mausoleum at Pomona Valley Memorial Park in Pomona, California. Two years later, a compilation CD of her work was released on Capitol's Ultra-Lounge label titled Wild, Cool & Swingin': The Artist Collection Volume Three.[11]
| Album[12] | Year | US charts[13][failed verification] |
|---|---|---|
| Mrs. Miller's Greatest Hits | 1966 | 15 |
| Will Success Spoil Mrs. Miller?! | 1966 | — |
| The Country Soul of Mrs. Miller | 1967 | — |
| Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing | 1968 | — |
| Wild, Cool & Swingin': The Artist Collection Volume Three | 1999 | — |
| The Turned-On World of Mrs. Miller | 2000 | — |
| A Christmas Gift from Mrs. Miller | 2020 | — |
"—" did not chart
| Single | Year | Billboard Hot 100[2] |
|---|---|---|
| "Downtown" | 1966 | 82 |
| "A Lover's Concerto" | 1966 | 95 |
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