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A Musician's Life: Rhett Miller

Series: A Musician's Life
From: WXPN
Length: 00:05:00

Texas native Rhett Miller threw away a full scholarship to Sarah Lawrence College to pursue music full-time. His gamble paid off. Miller's band Old 97's has a loyal following. And Rhett has managed to hold on to a solo career. His new self-titled album was informed by the death of his grandmother and the suicide of his literary hero David Foster Wallace. Read the full description.
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Piece Description

Rhett Miller made his first record when he was still in highschool.  But his music didn't catch on until he became frontman for the Old 97's in the early 1990's.  The band's mix of pop and country made for an appealing blend.  Rhett Miller's literary songwriting added another dimension to the group's music.  In 2002 Rhett launched a solo career with his major label recording, "The Instigator".  He continues to record with his band.  He has just released another solo album.  This one is called "Rhett Miller".  It's a sad record.  But Miller balances the melancholy with bouncy melodies. 

Broadcast History

This segment will air 5 times on WXPN-FM in Philadelphia week of July 5, 2009. It went up as a podcast on NPR Monday June 29, 2009

Intro and Outro

INTRO:

On this edition of A Musician's Life WXPN's Tracey Tanenbaum speaks with Old 97's frontman Rhett Miller

OUTRO:

That was Tracey Tanenbaum with Rhett Miller. A Musician's Life is produced at WXPN-FM in Philadelphia.