Eddie Miller

Musician · 1919–1977 · Camargo, Oklahoma
Best known for Songwriter

Eddie Miller was an Oklahoma-born locomotive-engineer-turned-Western-swing-bandleader who, with Robert Yount and Dub Williams, wrote “Release Me” in 1946. The song became a 1954 Top-Ten country hit for Jimmy Heap, Ray Price, and Kitty Wells — and, after Engelbert Humperdinck’s 1967 cover, an international pop No. 1 cut by more than four hundred artists.

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  • Born December 10, 1919, in Camargo, Oklahoma.
  • Worked as a locomotive engineer before turning full-time to music.
  • Formed Eddie Miller & His Oklahomans in the early 1940s; reformed the group after his Army service and began recording in Texas in 1947.
  • Co-wrote “Release Me” with Robert Yount and Dub Williams in 1946; could not place the song for several years.
  • Three different versions of “Release Me” reached the country Top 10 in 1954.
  • Engelbert Humperdinck’s 1967 cover spent six weeks at No. 1 in the UK and reached No. 4 on the Hot 100; the song has since been cut by more than 400 artists.
  • Co-founded both the Academy of Country and Western Music and the Nashville Songwriters Association International.
  • Taught songwriting at the University of Tennessee.
  • Moved to Nashville in 1967.
  • Inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
  • Died April 11, 1977.

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