"While Elva may not replace Elvis, her rocking-chair rock features a kind of slippin' and slidin' rhythm that is uniquely her own. Her tempos, to put it charitably, are free form; she has an uncanny knack for landing squarely between the beat, producing a new ricochet effect that, if nothing else, defies imitation. Beyond that, her billowy soprano embraces a song with a vibrato that won't quit..." - Time magazine
"As does the work of Plan 9 director Ed Wood Jr., Mrs. Miller gives us something in which there is so much human charm that we are disarmed by it. We laugh at first, because the ineptitude is so striking- but the enthusiasm, heart, and above all, frailty, touches the heart. Ed Wood and Elva Miller make us happy, and in ways that neither could ever have foreseen." - author Skip Heller
"Despite (or because of) her strange operatic singing style, her first record sold more than 250,000 copies in its first three weeks. Ironically called Mrs. Miller’s Greatest Hits, the LP reached #15 on Billboard’s Top Albums chart. In April 1966, two of her songs hit the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart: Downtown at #82 and A Lover’s Concerto at #95. Listeners loved the novelty of Mrs. Miller. She sang off key and out of sync with the band, but she was a good-natured, plump 59-year-old woman whose enthusiasm for performing and overconfidence in her singing ability seemed authentic." - Mental Floss
It's Mrs Miller time!
There are no further words I can express...
Elva Ruby Miller (5th October 1907 – 5th July 1997)
I am old enough to remember, vividly, her appearances on all sorts of variety shows. Variety shows, but the early 70s were a kind of art form that we could really use right now. Many of them had this "Oh what the hell" attitude that made them greater than the sum of their parts.
ReplyDeleteCould there ever be a revival of the "Variety Show" in this day and age? Without the insidious requirement for a panel of "judges", without a braying, mocking audience and a stream of "armchair critics" on social media demanding attention for their own comments on the performers' hair, voice or demeanour? Not a chance. We live in a "vox pop" world, more's the pity. The days of "light entertainment" as we remember it are dead, and cynicism rules the airwaves. Jx
DeleteI frequently play Mrs Miller's version of "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" when I DJ at my Lobotomy Room club night - and people dance to it! She sounds great played alongside an Edith Massey track like "Punks Get off the Grass" or "Big Girls Don't Cry."
ReplyDeleteI really, really must get to the Lobotomy Room one night... Jx
DeletePS I just checked your blog for dates, but - ahem - you haven't updated it since August :-)