Wendy Miller
Musician · Kentucky
Best known for
Mandolin
Wendy Miller is a Kentucky-based mandolinist whose tradition-rooted playing has anchored Larry Sparks & the Lonesome Ramblers, Country Grass, J.D. Crowe & the New South, and Jimmy Martin's Sunny Mountain Boys — widely regarded as one of the top traditional bluegrass mandolinists of his generation.
- Full name Winston "Wendy" Miller; came to wide notice as Larry Sparks' mandolin player alongside banjoist Mike Lilly, helping define the early Lonesome Ramblers sound.
- Wrote the enduring bluegrass mandolin instrumental "Kentucky Chimes" during his Sparks tenure.
- Co-founded Country Grass with Mike Lilly in the mid-1970s.
- Joined J.D. Crowe & the New South in the early 1980s in the Keith Whitley / Jimmy Gaudreau / Bobby Slone-era lineup, recording "Somewhere Between" (1982).
- Sideman credits with Jimmy Martin's Sunny Mountain Boys and the Russell Brothers.
- Reunited with Mike Lilly to revive Country Grass; current lineup includes Wendy on mandolin and tenor vocals, his son Chris Miller on guitar/lead vocals, Mike Lilly on banjo/baritone, and Jeff Dotson on bass.
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Going Up Home (To Live in Green Pastures)Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers · The Lonesome Sounds of Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers (1974)
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These Old BluesLarry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers · The Lonesome Sounds of Larry Sparks and The Lonesome Ramblers (1974)
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Why Did You WanderLarry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers · The Lonesome Sounds of Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers (1974)
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Larry Sparks and the Lonesome RamblersPlayed on recordings with Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers
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Dave Evans and River BendPlayed on recordings with Dave Evans and River Bend
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J.D. Crowe and the New SouthPlayed on recordings with J.D. Crowe and the New South
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Wendy Miller and Mike LillyPlayed on recording with Wendy Miller and Mike Lilly