thumb|Rhett Miller at the Triple Door in Seattle. December 10, 2013

Stewart Ransom "Rhett" Miller II (born September 6, 1970) is the lead singer of the alternative country rock band Old 97's. He also records and performs as a solo musician, and has been published as a writer of both fiction and non-fiction.

Early life

Miller, a seventh-generation Texan, was born in Austin, Texas. Miller's parents divorced when he was 17 years old. Miller, the oldest of three children, has a younger brother and sister. Rhett's paternal grandfather, Giles E. Miller, was a young millionaire scion of a successful textile family who, in 1952 owned the first NFL football team in the south, the Dallas Texans. The Texans folded after seven games, marking the last time an NFL franchise would go bankrupt.

Miller's family lived in Highland Park, Texas, where he went to Armstrong Elementary School. In 4th grade, Miller was hospitalized for several months due to a severe inner-ear problem. In 6th grade, he began attending St. Mark's School of Texas, a private boys' school in North Dallas. He started taking guitar lessons when he was 12 years old and writing songs when he was 13. Miller has said that his time at St. Mark's was very difficult, and that he was ostracized and bullied, leading to depression which culminated in a suicide attempt at the age of 14.

Career

In 1989, while still in high school, Miller released an album called Mythologies. The album title was taken from a book of essays by the French media philosopher Roland Barthes. Only 1,000 copies of the CD exist. Miller signed and numbered each one.

In 2002, Miller released The Instigator on Elektra Records. The record was produced and recorded with Jon Brion, received critical acclaim and substantial airplay on alternative-oriented radio stations. It includes a cover of Brion's "I Believe She's Lying" and "Fireflies", a duet with Rachael Yamagata.

In 2009, Miller released his fourth record, the self-titled Rhett Miller, on Shout! Factory. The record includes Jon Brion on guitar and bass, The Apples in Stereo's John Dufilho on drums and Billy Harvey on guitar. In 2011, Miller self-released a live recording of The Interpreter: Live at Largo.

thumb|Miller performing in 2013

In 2012, Miller released The Dreamer. The record, a Maximum Sunshine release which Miller self-produced, included collaborations with Rosanne Cash and Ben Kweller.

In 2015, Miller released his sixth solo record, called The Traveler, on ATO Records. The album was a notable shift for Miller, as he recorded it with a Portland, Oregon-based bluegrass band called Black Prairie, which includes members of The Decemberists. The album also features contributions from Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey of R.E.M.

In 2018, Miller released The Messenger on ATO Records.

In 2022, Miller released The Misfit on ATO Records.

In 2025, Miller released A Lifetime of Riding by Night on ATO Records.

Writing

Miller has written short stories, essays and articles that have appeared in Rolling Stone, The Baffler, Bookforum, Sports Illustrated, McSweeney's, The Atlantic, and Salon.

  • 2004: Recorded a version of Simon and Garfunkel's "Homeward Bound" for one of MasterCard's "Priceless" advertisements
  • 2008: Co-produced the first EP, No One Will Know, of New York band The Spring Standards
  • 2009: Appeared as a member of the musical ensemble in the 30 Rock episode Kidney Now!
  • 2019: On 1/23/19 Miller announced the 1/24 start of his podcast, Wheels Off, subtitled A Show About the Messy Reality Behind the Creative Life. In partnership with Revoice Media, it's an 11-episode series; each segment features host Miller conversing with musicians, writers, artists, actors, comedians and other creative people about the pivotal moments that shaped their work, what it means to create in a digital age and grappling with the challenges and joys of living a creative life.

Awards

In 2025, Miller's band the Old 97's received a Lifetime Achievement award from the Americana Music Association.

Philanthropy

In 2006, Miller and his brother Ross Miller launched the Breathe Easy Concert Series, an annual event in Dallas that raises money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and awareness about cystic fibrosis.

In 2016, Miller appeared as part of the Okay to Say initiative sponsored by the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute in Dallas, which encourages the use of therapy to prevent suicide and address mental health issues. In the campaign, Miller discusses his own suicide attempt when he was 14 years old, Miller said that Jason Isbell encouraged him to talk publicly about his sobriety. Miller now lives in New York's Hudson Valley.

Miller said he got the nickname "Rhett" because his mother liked Rhett Butler from the movie Gone with the Wind.

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| US<br />Rock<br />

|-

! scope="row"| Mythologies

|

  • Released: 1989
  • Label: Carpe Diem
  • Format: LP, CD

|—

|—

|-

! scope="row"| The Instigator

|

  • Released: September 24, 2002
  • Label: Elektra
  • Format: LP, CD

|126

|—

|-

! scope="row"| The Believer

|

  • Released: February 28, 2006
  • Label: Verve Forecast
  • Format: LP, CD

|138

|—

|-

! scope="row"| Rhett Miller

|

  • Released: June 9, 2009
  • Label: Shout!
  • Format: LP, CD, streaming

|128

|50

|-

! scope="row"| The Dreamer

|

  • Released: June 5, 2012
  • Label: Maximum Sunshine
  • Format: LP, CD, streaming

|139

|50

|-

! scope="row"| The Traveler

|

  • Released: May 12, 2015
  • Label: ATO
  • Format: LP, CD, streaming

|—

|27

|-

! scope="row"| The Messenger

|

  • Released: November 9, 2018
  • Label: ATO
  • Format: LP, CD, streaming

|—

|—

|-

! scope="row"| The Misfit

|

  • Released: September 16, 2022
  • Label: ATO
  • Format: LP, CD, streaming

|—

|—

|-

! scope="row"| A Lifetime of Riding by Night

|

  • Released: October 10, 2025
  • Label: ATO
  • Format: LP, CD, streaming

|—

|—

|}

Live albums

  • 2011: The Interpreter: Live at Largo (Maximum Sunshine Records)

Singles

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|-

! rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2" style="width:16em;"| Single

! Peak positions

! rowspan="2"| Album

|- style="font-size:smaller;"

! width="65"| US AAA<br/>

|-

| rowspan="2"| 2002

! scope="row"| "Our Love"

| —

| align="left" rowspan="2"| The Instigator

|-

! scope="row"| "Come Around"

| 7

|-

| 2006

! scope="row"| "Help Me, Suzanne"

| —

| align="left"| The Believer

|-

| 2009

! scope="row"| "I Need to Know Where I Stand"

| —

| align="left"| Rhett Miller

|-

| 2012

! scope="row"| "Out of Love"

| —

| align="left"| The Dreamer

|-

| 2015

! scope="row"| "Most in the Summertime"

| —

| align="left"| The Traveler

|-

| 2018

! scope="row"| "Total Disaster"

| 28

| align="left"| The Messenger

|-

| colspan="4" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart

|}

Other contributions

  • 2003: The Executioner's Last Songs: Volumes 2 & 3 (Bloodshot Records) – "Dang Me"
  • 2005: This Bird Has Flown - A 40th Anniversary Tribute to the Beatles' Rubber Soul (Razor & Tie) – "Girl"

Filmography

{| class="wikitable"

|+

!Year

!Title

!Role

!Notes

|-

|2006

|The Break-Up

| rowspan="3" |Himself

|Cameo

|-

|2007

|Golden Days

|Documentary

|-

|2009

|30 Rock

|Episode: "Kidney Now!"

|-

|2022

|The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special

| rowspan="2" |Bzermikitokolok

|Television special

|-

|2023

|Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

|

|}

Works and publications

Chronological order

  • – short story
  • - poetry

References

  • Rhett Miller
  • Old 97's