Luckily, it didn’t come to that. Miller instead became a top-rank songwriter whose hits include chart-toppers for stars like Terri Clark (“I Just Wanna Be Mad”) and Trace Adkins (“You’re Gonna Miss This”).

But when the classically trained multi-instrumentalist headed south from his native Nicholasville, Kentucky, he didn’t think of himself as a songwriter. He discovered his true calling with the encouragement of associates like BMI’s Thomas Cain. “He said, ‘You’re not reinventing the wheel as a musician or singer, but you might be able to write songs’,” Miller remembers.

Ken Mellons recorded two of his songs, and soon Miller was getting cuts regularly. BlackHawk took his “Days of America” to the Top 40 in 2002, and a few months later Joe Nichols’s rendition of “The Impossible” went all the way to the top. “That changed everything,” Miller recalls. “It was suddenly easier to get people to listen — and honestly, I think it gave me more confidence.”

That breakthrough began a hot streak that continues today. Miller has branched out into production work with artists including Steve Holy and Amy Dalley, but songwriting remains his top priority.

“I’m living a fantasy,” he declares. “I’m a father of four with a wife I’ve been married to for 16 years, and I make stuff up for a living. I’m the happiest person in the world.”

I'LL TAKE THAT AS A YES (THE HOT TUB SONG)
Jon McElroy
Vince Melamed
Senor Vicente Music
Songs of Mighty Isis
Vista Larga Music
Phil Vassar
Arista Nashville

LIKE WE NEVER LOVED AT ALL
Vicky McGehee
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Faith Hill
Warner Bros.

LONG, SLOW KISSES
Jeff Bates
Gordon Bradberry
New Works Music Co.
Smith Haven Music
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Jeff Bates
RCA

LOT OF LEAVIN' LEFT TO DO
Brett Beavers
Run The Trotline Music
Sony/ATV Tree
Dierks Bentley
Capitol Records

ME AND CHARLIE TALKING
Miranda Lambert
Heather Little
Nashville Star Music
Sony/ATV Tree
Tiltawhirl Music
Miranda Lambert
Epic Records

MY GIVE A DAMN'S BUSTED
Joe Diffie
Tony Martin
Tom Shapiro
Difftunes
EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc.
Mike Curb Music
Music of Stage Three
Sony/ATV Tree
Jo Dee Messina
Curb Records
MY OLD FRIEND
Steve McEwan (PRS)
Careers-BMG Music Publishing
Tim McGraw
Curb Records

MY SISTER
Amy Dalley
Music of Stage Three
Reba McEntire
MCA Nashville

NOBODY BUT ME
Shawn Camp
Phillip White
Big Yellow Dog Music
Murrah Music Corporation
Sony/ATV Tree
Travelin' Arkansawyer Music
Blake Shelton
Warner Bros.

PLAY SOMETHING COUNTRY
Ronnie Dunn
Terry McBride
Showbilly Music
Sony/ATV Tree
Still Working For The Man Music, Inc.
Turn Me On Music
Brooks & Dunn
Arista Nashville

PROBABLY WOULDN'T BE THIS WAY
Tammi Kidd
Irving Music
LeAnn Rimes
Asylum-Curb

SHE DON'T TELL ME TO
Bob DiPiero
Tom Shapiro
EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc.
Love Monkey Music
Piano Wire Music LLC
Sony/ATV Tree
Montgomery Gentry
Columbia Records

SHE LET HERSELF GO
Dean Dillon
Sony/ATV Acuff Rose
Unwound Music
George Strait
MCA Nashville

SKIN (SARABETH)
Doug Johnson
Mike Curb Music
Sweet Radical Music
Rascal Flatts
Lyric Street

SOMEBODY'S HERO
Ed Hill
Shaye Smith
Careers-BMG Music Publishing
EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc.
Sagrabeaux Songs
Shaye Smith Music
Jamie O'Neal
Capitol Records

SOMETHING MORE
Kristian Bush
Dirkpit Music
Sugarland
Mercury Nashville

SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF
Jeffrey Steele
Gottahaveable Music
Songs of Windswept Pacific
Montgomery Gentry
Columbia Records

SONGS ABOUT ME
Ed Hill
Shaye Smith
Careers-BMG Music Publishing
EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc.
Sagrabeaux Songs
Shaye Smith Music
Trace Adkins
Capitol Records

STAY WITH ME (BRASS BED)
Jedd Hughes
Terry McBride
Still Working For The Man Music, Inc.
Terry McBride Music
Wilmington Road Publishing
Josh Gracin
Lyric Street

THE TALKIN' SONG REPAIR BLUES
Dennis Linde
EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc.
Rising Gorge Music
Alan Jackson
Arista Nashville

TEQUILA MAKES HER CLOTHES FALL OFF
Gary Hannan
John Wiggins
Chobe Music
Fiddle Stock Music
Heavy Leather Music, Inc.
Notewrite Music
Joe Nichols
Universal South

TONIGHT I WANNA CRY
Keith Urban
Coburn Music, Inc.
Guitar Monkey Music
Keith Urban
Capitol Records

WHEN I GET WHERE I'M GOING
George Teren
House of Full Circle Music
Brad Paisley featuring Dolly Parton
Arista Nashville

WHO YOU'D BE TODAY
Bill Luther
Aimee Mayo
Careers-BMG Music Publishing
Evansville Music
Little Blue Typewriter Music
Kenny Chesney
BNA

YOU'LL BE THERE
Cory Mayo
Coburn Music, Inc.
George Strait
MCA Nashville
YOUR MAN
Jace Everett
EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc.
Josh Turner
MCA Nashville

Pictured are Curb's Drew Alexander, Lee Thomas Miller, Amy Dalley and BMI's Mark Mason.

photo by Brian Tipton]]> 2005-01-25T17:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/234144 Artists, Clark, Terri, Dalley, Amy, Miller, Lee Thomas, Musical Styles, Country Lee Thomas Miller recently added two more songwriting honors to his catalog during a lunch hosted by BMI Nashville. He and publisher Mosaic Music saw their #1 hits "The Impossible" (Joe Nichols) and "I Just Wanna Be Mad" (Terri Clark) each certified as a BMI Million-Air, signifying one million broadcast performances. Based on an average length of three minutes, two million spins is the equivalent of 100,000 hours or 11.4 years of continuous airplay.

Miller's latest single is "Men Don't Change," which he co-wrote with Curb artist Amy Dalley and also produced.

Pictured are Mosaic Music's Lionel Conway, BMI's David Preston, Lee Thomas Miller, and Mosaic Music's Tim Hunze and Lisa Ramsey.

Photo by Caroline Davis

Universal South's Bryan Switzer, Mosaic Music's Tim Hunze, Universal South's Tony Brown, Mosaic Music's Lisa Ramsey, Joe Nichols, Universal South's Tim DuBois, Lee Thomas Miller, BMI's David Preston

Joe Nichols and Radio & Records' Lon Helton

Mosaic Music's Nancy Tuck and Lisa Ramsey, Joe Nichols, Lee Thomas Miller, Mosaic Music's Tim Hunze and Amy Shepherd

Lee Thomas Miller, Joe Nichols, Jana Miller

Lee Thomas Miller, Kelly Lovelace, Amy Dalley, BMI's Perry Howard, Leigh Reynolds

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