Bill Miller

Who was Bill Miller?

Bill Miller was an American jazz pianist, who accompanied Frank Sinatra over fifty years, and for the last eight years of his life, accompanied Frank Sinatra, Jr..

Miller was born in Brooklyn. Performing with Red Norvo, Mildred Bailey and Charlie Barnet in the 1930s, Miller also performed with Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman.

First meeting Sinatra in 1941, they didn't work together until November 1951, when Miller was performing in the lounge of the Desert Inn, in Las Vegas. Sinatra was having difficulty holding on to pianists, and it was Jimmy Van Heusen who recommended Miller to Sinatra.

Miller's house was destroyed in a 1964 mudslide in Burbank, California, which also claimed the life of his wife, Aimee. He was abruptly dismissed for no apparent reason by Sinatra in 1978, but was invited back in 1985.

Sinatra died in 1998, and Miller performed "One for My Baby" at his funeral. He retired for three years, and then came out of retirement to work for Sinatra's son, Frank Sinatra, Jr..

Bill Miller also played on the recreation of Silent Night, rerecorded after Sinatra's death with a full orchestra.

Miller died "on the road", while touring with Sinatra, Jr., from complications following a heart attack, at Montreal General Hospital.