Alvin "Skip" Miller
Personal life[edit]
Born in New York City,[1] Miller was the son of a fireman.[2] He graduated from Hofstra University with a degree in chemistry.[3] Miller joined the U.S. Army in 1968 and served in the Vietnam War.[1][2]
In September 2009, Miller died of a heart attack while being treated for an intestinal infection at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.[2] After Miller's death, Smokey Robinson called Miller "an integral part of . . . our Motown family. He was my brother, and I loved him very much. What a loss."[2]
Career[edit]
Motown[edit]
Miller began his career in the recording industry as a stock clerk for Motown in 1971.[4] He was promoted through the ranks at Motown to positions in sales, marketing and artist relations.[4] He received the Recording Industry Association of America's Music Executive of the Year award in 1980[3][5] and became the president of Motown Records in 1987.[4] He remained president of Motown until the company was sold to MCA in 1988.[5] In his 17 years at Motown, Miller has been credited with being a key to the success of numerous artists, including Rick James, DeBarge and the Commodores.[2] He also worked with Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and Diana Ross.[5]
RCA Records[edit]
After the sale of Motown, Miller worked for a decade at RCA Records.[3] He was the senior vice president of black, jazz and progressive music at RCA,[5] where he was credited with rejuvenating the label’s black music division.[2] He discovered and developed SWV, Me Phi Me and Stacy Earl.[3][5] He also helped develop to the rap genre, working with DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince (Will Smith), Kool Moe Dee, Too Short and KRS-One.[3][5]
Lion Tracks and Panda Entertainment Group[edit]
In 1998, Miller he took over Lion Tracks, where he was the manager of Lionel Richie's solo career.[3] In 2004, he established Panda Entertainment Group, a talent management company where he worked with Richie, R. Kelly, Lina, Nathan Stone and Megan Peeler.[5]