Miller, Townsend, 1919-1989

Born in Gainesville, Texas, Townsend Miller (1919-1989) was a country music columnist for the Austin American-Statesman from 1972 through 1983. Having attended Rice University intermittently from 1937 through 1941, Miller served as a navigator on a B-17 bomber during World War II. Upon his discharge in 1944, he enrolled in North Texas State University as a journalism student. After graduation, Miller worked as a reporter and editor for Texas Game and Fish Magazine, True West, and Frontier Times before becoming a stockbroker for Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith in 1959. His love for journalism continued, however, as Miller wrote freelance articles between 1952 and 1974, including pieces for Country Music Magazine on Ernest Tubb and Anita Rodgers Court.

Miller’s interest in country music spanned his lifetime but developed in earnest when he began to seriously collect country music sound recordings in 1969. He began gathering published and unpublished discographical information and also compiled his own discographies as well as corresponding with other collectors on the subject. In 1972, Miller approached the Austin American-Statesman about writing some articles on country music, which led to a twice-weekly column by Miller. Originally intended to reflect his interest in country music history and record collecting, the column shifted focus to the progressive country music scene emerging in Austin as the city’s reputation as a live music venue grew in the early 1970s. Miller amassed a vast collection of sound recordings and artist biographical information during the eleven years he wrote the column. He also visited local clubs three to four nights a week, while he still held his day job at Merrill Lynch. Miller wrote his last column for the Statesman in April 1983, retiring from Merrill Lynch the following year. He died in April 1989 of smoke inhalation and burns from an accidental car fire at Town Lake in Austin.

From the guide to the Miller, Townsend, collection 91-088; 98-081., 1952-1983, (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)

Born in Gainesville, Texas, Townsend Miller (1919-1989) was a country music columnist for the Austin American-Statesman from 1972 through 1983.

Having attended Rice University intermittently from 1937 through 1941, Miller served as a navigator on a B-17 bomber during World War II. Upon his discharge in 1944, he enrolled in North Texas State University as a journalism student. After graduation, Miller worked as a reporter and editor for Texas Game and Fish Magazine, True West, and Frontier Times before becoming a stockbroker for Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith in 1959. His love for journalism continued, however, as Miller wrote freelance articles between 1952 and 1974, including pieces for Country Music Magazine on Ernest Tubb and Anita Rodgers Court.

Miller's interest in country music spanned his lifetime but developed in earnest when he began to seriously collect country music sound recordings in 1969.

He began gathering published and unpublished discographical information and also compiled his own discographies as well as corresponding with other collectors on the subject. In 1972, Miller approached the Austin American-Statesman about writing some articles on country music, which led to a twice-weekly column by Miller. Originally intended to reflect his interest in country music history and record collecting, the column shifted focus to the progressive country music scene emerging in Austin as the city's reputation as a live music venue grew in the early 1970s. Miller amassed a vast collection of sound recordings and artist biographical information during the eleven years he wrote the column. He also visited local clubs three to four nights a week, while he still held his day job at Merrill Lynch. Miller wrote his last column for the Statesman in April 1983, retiring from Merrill Lynch the following year. He died in April 1989 of smoke inhalation and burns from an accidental car fire at Town Lake in Austin.

From the description of Miller, Townsend, collection, 1952-1983 (University of Texas Libraries). WorldCat record id: 719599173