Journal Review, Crawfordsville In.

Gospel quartet, producer keep partnership strong

By Wade Coggeshall
wade@jrpress.com


If you knew someone with JD Miller’s credentials, you’d want to keep working with him too.

Covington-based Homeward Bound recently teamed up with Miller for the third time on their forthcoming CD, “Where He Leads.” The gospel quartet will have a record release party 8 p.m. Friday at Second Church of Christ, 3350 E. Voorhees St., Danville, Ill. Admission is free.

“He’s just in a league all his own,” Homeward Bound’s Randy Paddock said of Miller. “If you ever listen to his music, you don’t have to listen to singing. Just to hear the music itself is inspirational. I’ve often told JD I feel like a guy who can afford to ride in a Volkswagen and I get to ride in a Cadillac when his music’s behind it.”

Miller, minister of music and production and head of Kingdom Creations & Earpiece Studios at Shelby Christian Church in Shelbyville, Ky., doesn’t take all the credit for Homeward Bound’s variegated inspirational music. “They bring songs, I bring songs and we collectively decide who’s going to sing what,” he said. “It’s their ideas combined with some ideas I think might fit their particular group.”

Miller’s musical ability was spotted early on by his parents. By the age of 4, he was already taking piano lessons. His training was further strengthened by playing at his father’s church, where the elder Miller was pastor.

During the 1960s, he performed along with his brother and sister in a vocal trio at talent contests sponsored by local TV stations. Such gigs led to them singing back-up on a country-western show out of Parkersburg, W. Va., called “Big Red Jubilee,” where some of the biggest stars out of Nashville at the time would perform through the week. “Singing on that show gave us some great experience,” Miller said.

After high school he got a job singing with Christian entertainer Lowell Mason, which led to working with such artists as Roger Miller, Kenny Rogers, Bette Midler and as a session keyboard player with Chet Atkins in the early ’70s. Witnessing the production process would open the door to Miller becoming versed on that side of the industry. “I was fascinated by the process of recording and discovered I could actually produce,” said Miller, who owned Miller Melodies Studio in Versailles, Ky., before joining Shelby Christian.

Working for Rebel Records in the mid-’70s provided Miller the opportunity to break into the ad business. An ad agency representative showed up at the studio one night offering Miller $750 to write a jingle and have it on the air by noon the next day. They started at 6 the next morning and made the deadline. “It was the easiest money I had ever made in my life,” Miller stated. Further interested in writing more jingles, Miller convinced a friend at a Lexington, Ky., bank to let him write an ad for him at his own cost. That jingle went on to win a local advertising award. After a couple more ads, people started calling him. “I just stumbled into it, honestly. Never planned on it,” Miller said. Following that he started writing songs for artists he was producing albums for.

All told, Miller has won Dove and Grammy awards for his songwriting, produced advertising campaigns for companies as well known as McDonald’s, Valvoline and American Airlines, produced more than 200 albums and has had well over 100 songs published. In addition to working as a missions tour leader in such countries as India, Italy and China, Miller has an extensive resume.

He’s proudest of having the opportunity to touch people’s lives through his work. His wife recently arranged a surprise party for his 50th birthday, complete with several different speakers — people he had worked with but hadn’t seen in years. The event left an indelible impression on him.

“I got a brand new appreciation for what God has allowed me to do,” Miller said. “The seeds had been planted as influence in people’s lives. Thanks to them I received a huge amount of satisfaction and self-value from knowing I had gotten to contribute to their ministries or lives.”

Homeward Bound ranks high on an impressive list of artists Miller has worked with throughout his career.

“I really believe in those guys with all my heart,” Miller said. “They’re the real deal. They’re humble, they’re talented and they’re dedicated.”