Morris "Morrie" Bradford Miller 1948 - 2009

RITTS, MILLER

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 8/25/2020 at 13:24:22

Sioux City Journal
13 April 2009

SIOUX CITY -- Morris "Morrie" Bradford Miller, 61, of Sioux City died Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2009 at his residence.

Abiding by his wishes, he was cremated. Memorial services will be held 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, at the Martin Towers ballroom, 410 Pierce St., in Sioux City. Rabbi Guy Greene will preside, and the public is welcome.

He was born Dec. 11, 1948, in Sioux City, to Morris and Fanchon (Ritts) Miller. He lived in Sioux City and attended Central High School. Through his teen years, he played with numerous rock bands, including Denny & the Triumphs and Patch of Blue. He played side by side with Sioux City's Tommy Bolin, performing a mix of rock & roll, R&B and pop hits at shows around Sioux City and the region.

After high school, he moved to Denver, where he played, booked and promoted music there in the late 1960s and 1970s. He convinced Bolin to join him there in 1967, giving the guitarist a place to crash. He was an outspoken member of Denver's musician's union, and was active in promoting music in the Rocky Mountains, all the while meeting icons along the way, Dr. Hook, Jimi Hendrix, Dwayne Allman. He went on to form the band Skye King, which performed around Iowa, Colorado and the Midwest. He was married once and later divorced.

In the early 1980s, he returned to Sioux City. He worked at MCI and was a contributing writer for numerous publications, including What's Happening, a weekly published in the 1980s, the 4th Street Revue, a monthly alternative magazine published in the late 1990s, and the Weekender. With an encyclopedic knowledge of music, he co-published the first publication of the Blues City Journal, an annual publication produced for the Saturday in the Park music festival. He wrote many of the stories and detailed band histories for the early Blues City Journal publications and continued as a contributor for many years.

In 1999, the band Patch of Blue and Tommy Bolin were inducted into the Iowa Rock and Roll Music Association's Hall of Fame. Throughout his life, he was a lover of the Earth, of animals, including Princess his cat, and all things related to the world of music.

He is survived by a sister, Carole Whitten of Stanton, Texas, and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Keith; and a sister, Bonnie Johnson.