Miller, Bill (23rd January 1955-Present)

He is a singer-songwriter, guitarist, Native American flautist and artist born with the Mohican name Fush-Ya Heay Aka (bird song) in northern Wisconsin’s Stockbridge-Munsee reservation.

He began playing the guitar, getting his own when he was 12, and in his teenage years could be heard performing with several local rock bands.

He moved away from the rock genre before too long though and after mastering the Native Indian flute and switching to the acoustic guitar he concentrated more on performances of bluegrass and folk music. After moving to Milwaukee in 1973 where he received a scholarship, he studied at the Layton school of Art & Design followed by The University of Wisconsin, and has since become recognised for many of his paintings and other drawings.

At the same time he was becoming more and more interested in a musical career, settling in Nashville as a singer-songwriter and recording his debut album in 1983. Many singers and musicians have noticed his work and he has toured, co-written and performed in the studio with a great many through the course of his career so far. They include The Bellamy Brothers, Kim Carnes, Nanci Griffith, Arlo Guthrie, Richie Havens and Michael Martin Murphey, to name a few, and Tori Amos sought him out after she had heard one of his albums and this led to him being an opener for her on the Under the Pink tour.

The albums he has appeared on include his own The Art of Survival, Healing Waters, Hear Our Prayer, Loon Mountain & Moon, Bill Miller and Native Sons, Native Suite – Chants, Dances and the Sacred Earth, Old Dreams and New Hopes, Raven in the Snow, Red Road, Reservation Road, A Sacred Gift, Spirit Rain, the 5-time Native American Music Award winning Ghost Dance and the Grammy Award winning Cedar Spring Songs as well as Beach House on the Moon by Jimmy Buffett, Tools for the Soul by Danny Flowers, Prayer That Mentions Everything by Stormie Omartian and Tramp On Your Street by Billy Joe Shaver.

2008 saw him working on a regional arts center project in La Crosse, Wisconsin, where he painted a six foot tall heron for auction, having the world premiere of his co-composed “The Last Stand” symphony performed by La Crosse Symphony Orchestra and still touring on a national and international basis.

He is the winner of 3 Grammy Awards and many Native American Music Awards along with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Sources:

Miller, Bill (23rd January 1955-Present)

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