Bobby Miller

Producer/songwriter Bobby Miller helmed several hits by <a href="spotify:artist:0wbrRIw2po5DV4LeaHw55S">the Dells</a> (the There Is album, "O-O, I Love You," "I Can't Do Enough," "Always Together") during their stint as recording artists for Chicago, IL-based Chess Records. Along with singer/songwriters <a href="spotify:artist:3MKwHkhEjcvzva2rasZeWD">Barrett Strong</a> ("Money") and <a href="spotify:artist:4dUwbgj6jgmsBTRxVuCLEP">Wade Flemons</a> ("Here I Stand"), Miller co-wrote "Stay in My Corner," a dual decade hit for <a href="spotify:artist:0wbrRIw2po5DV4LeaHw55S">the Dells</a> -- first as a 1965 hit on VeeJay Records and then as a 1968 number number one R&B/number ten pop hit on Chess' Cadet label. Besides hits for the Harvey, IL-based R&B/soul vocal group, Miller also wrote "Bet You Never Thought," a Constellation Records single for <a href="spotify:artist:52uMkSFt2RVO6XxTEt5VeW">Gene Chandler</a>, and recorded a single for the label, "Uncle Willie Time," that was based on a mid-'60s dance craze. On the flip was "Big Question." Other sides by Miller are "Wonder of It All" b/w "That's All That Matters" for the Apollo label. Miller worked closely with arranger <a href="spotify:artist:1kGgLfwxUWUuggbxjF29Ds">Charles Stepney</a> on <a href="spotify:artist:0wbrRIw2po5DV4LeaHw55S">the Dells</a>' late-'70s Chess hits. <a href="spotify:artist:1kGgLfwxUWUuggbxjF29Ds">Stepney</a>, who also worked with many Chess acts including a pre-stardom <a href="spotify:artist:2i1IdHG5w0wiSmJGoqAGlj">Minnie Riperton</a>, would go to arrange and co-write several gold and platinum hits for '70s supergroup <a href="spotify:artist:4QQgXkCYTt3BlENzhyNETg">Earth, Wind & Fire</a>, which was founded by former Chess session drummer <a href="spotify:artist:6T46cZo3M8wXq5eOoXbZBx">Maurice White</a>.

In summer 1967, <a href="spotify:artist:0wbrRIw2po5DV4LeaHw55S">the Dells</a> were on the low end of the hierarchy of the Chess Records roster, having returned to the label in 1966 after having hits with another Chicago-based label, VeeJay Records. Miller, now a Chess staff producer, picked the group to work with, amid much guffaws, after a staff meeting with Leonard Chess.

Their collaboration with Miller and arranger <a href="spotify:artist:1kGgLfwxUWUuggbxjF29Ds">Stepney</a> yielded a hit single, "O-O, I Love You," which went to number 22 R&B in late 1967. Their career-making fast-selling album There Is was issued in March 1970. The title track was written by Miller and <a href="spotify:artist:1qArEr90ScXe4NurrH9vLq">Raynard Miner</a>. The single, "There Is" b/w the Motown-ish "Show Me," peaked at number 11 R&B in early 1968. The hits continued with a majestic six-minute remake of "Stay in My Corner" (number one R&B for three weeks, number ten pop in summer 1968) and "Always Together" (number three R&B, fall 1968). Miller wrote both songs for the double-sided hit "I Can't Do Enough" b/w "Hallways of My Mind" in spring 1969. Other hits were the medley "I Can Sing a Rainbow"/"Love Is Blue," which went to number five R&B in late spring 1969; "Oh What a Night" -- a respelled remake of their VeeJay hit -- that went to number one R&B in summer 1969; an up-tempo cover of <a href="spotify:artist:60df5JBRRPcnSpsIMxxwQm">Otis Redding</a>'s "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay"; "Oh What a Day," which hit number ten R&B in early 1970; "Open Up Your Heart," which hit number five R&B b/w a remake of the Coronets' "Nadine" in spring 1970; a cover of <a href="spotify:artist:3mFuZPYNpQfxCrwK3gg526">Lee Andrews</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:7izVf2hlyBQizC8DufiTym">the Hearts</a>' 1957 hit "Long Lonely Nights"; and "The Glory of Love" from early 1971.

In the fall of 1969, Leonard Chess, one of the group's biggest supporters, suffered a fatal heart attack. The following year, Bobby Miller left Chess for Motown and <a href="spotify:artist:1kGgLfwxUWUuggbxjF29Ds">Charles Stepney</a> took over the production duties for <a href="spotify:artist:0wbrRIw2po5DV4LeaHw55S">the Dells</a>. ~ Ed Hogan, Rovi