Ned Miller was born in Rains, Utah on April 12, 1925 and started playing the guitar and writing songs as a teenager. He sent his first song to Fabor Robison at Dandelion Music and Fabor Records and quit his job and moved to California as soon as Robison bought the first song. Among his earliest songs was “Old Mother Nature and Old Father Time.”
His two most successful songs for Robison and Dandelion came in quick succession. Living in California, Ned drove to Robison’s recording studio compound in Malibu to present him with his latest song, “From a Jack To a King,” and was extremely disappointed to find out that Robison was away.
On his way home, he looked at the moon and thought it should not be so bright because he was so dejected. He stopped on the side of the road and wrote “Dark Moon,” with its line, “Why oh why have you lost your splendor.”
He presented both songs to Robison when they were both again in Malibu and both were tremendous hits. Ned Miller himself recorded “From a Jack to a King” and had a pop and country hit in 1962. Artists who also sang it included Elvis Presley, Bobby Darin, Ricky van Shelton, Jim Reeves, Sleepy LeBeef and the Starlite Orchestra.
Robison recorded “Dark Moon” with Bonnie Guitar and had Dot distribute it. Dot then recorded it with Gale Storm and the two versions raced each other up the charts. Later renditions were done by Jim Reeves, Elvis Presley and Lynn Anderson.He remained extremely prolific and composed and recorded "Invisible Tears," later covered by, among others, Connie Smith, Bobby Bare, and the Ray Conniff Singers.
Despite Ned Miller’s recording success, he shunned performance and preferred writing songs so did not fulfill his full potential as an artist.
