Texas singer Frankie Miller passes away

"Frankie had just completed work and released his biography, "The Blackland Farmer: Life Among Country Music Legends," written by Greg Wilson," said Tracy Pitcox, President of Heart of Texas Records, who released his music.. "He remained active in the industry and continued to enjoy making music into his 90s. He even was a special guest and performed with his long-time friend Willie Nelson a few years ago at the Luck Reunion."

Miller, a native of Victoria, Texas, was born on Dec. 17, 1930. He organized his first band, The Drifting Texans, and began making regular visits to his local radio station, KNAL, in his teen years. He also did some guest spots at KLEE Houston, where he met Hank Locklin, who helped him get a contract with Gilt Edge Records, a subsidiary of Four Star.

Miller released five singles from a session made in 1951, and then military service halted his musical career for two years. Miller received Bronze Star and attained the rank of sergeant.

After the Korean War, Miller renewed his career by signing with Columbia Records. Between July 1954 and November 1955, he cut a dozen numbers in Jim Beck's Dallas studio, including "Hey Where Ya Goin?" and "It's No Big Thing." Miller continued to appear on the Cowtown Hoedown on Fort Worth radio and played shows in Texas, recording one single each for the Cowtown Hoedown and Manco record labels.

In 1959, Miller signed with Starday Records and released his first recording, "Blackland Farmer," backed by "True Blue." The song became one of Starday's biggest sellers, first appearing on the country charts in April 1959 and climbing into the top five. "Blackland Farmer" returned to the charts in 1961, reaching the Top 20 and also crossing over to the pop charts. The song went on to become Miller's signature recording and was later recorded by Sleepy LaBeef, who took it into the country Top 70 in 1971, and Elizabeth Cook, who included it on her 2010 album, "Welder." Miller said he wrote "Blackland Farmer" about an uncle.

A second Starday single, "Family Man," also made the Top 10. Two other releases, "Baby Rocked Her Dolly" reached the Top 15 in 1960 and "A Little South of Memphis" achieved Top 40 status in 1964. Over a period of seven years, Miller recorded nearly 50 songs released on Starday.

He appeared as a regular on the Louisiana Hayride and guested on both the Grand Ole Opry and the Ozark Jubilee. During the time, Miller toured with Johnny Cash, George Jones, Patsy Cline, Ernest Tubb, Buck Owens, Lefty Frizzell and Willie Nelson.

By 1965, Miller had cut a pair of singles for United Artists, but decided to return to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. In 1968, Stop Records released his last major single with "Pain" and "I Put The Blue In Her Eyes."

His songs were recorded by Webb Pierce, Jessie Colter, Pat Boone, Faron Young, Dwight Yoakam and Wink Martindale. Miller returned to the music business in the 1990s and started touring primarily throughout Texas but enjoyed success overseas, including headlining the Rhythm Riot in England in November 2003 and a trip to Sweden in 2015 at the age of 85.

Miller inked with Heart of Texas Records based in Brady, Texas, in 2005. "The Family Man" was released in 2006. The album contained a couple of rerecorded gems from Miller, including "Blackland Farmer," "Pain" and "Family Man," and newer material in the hardcore country style. It was followed by "Back When Gas Was 60 Cents A Gallon" in 2012 and his final full-length album "A Friend Remembered: My Tribute To George Jones" in 2020.

Survivors include his daughters Sandi Wilson and Lori Chaney, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.