Preston R Miller

The blues are so simple, but so few people can play it right.  Preston Richard Miller was one such person.  Born, to Richard and Ethel Miller, in Selma, Alabama on Valentine’s Day in 1955, Preston was a wailer from the start.  Growing up in the heart of the Black Belt, where the clay and dirt are as deep and rich as the history, started him on his musical journey.  At nineteen he moved to Washington and started to share his style with those he encountered.  He married LaDonna McKowen, helped raise two amazing children, put 30 years of devotion into his work at the Rainier School, and often filled the house with the sounds of the 7th chord.  For Preston blues was affirmation with absolute elegance.  Everything comes out in the blues and the music never lied.  It nurtured him, healed his heart, and allowed him to intimately connect with people and places.  It helped him wash away the dust of everyday life so that each day might be new and beautiful.  On May 26, 2019 the last note was played in the song of Preston’s life.  Perhaps he’s gone to make music with those who went before him, his parents Richard and Ethel, or the king of that old Delta sound, Muddy Waters.  His is now the still water and the soundtrack for the lives he has changed; that of his wife of 43 years, LaDonna; sons Nathaniel Richard Miller and Christopher David Miller; sister Martha Miller; his nephews Jack Rory Marshal and Kyle (Chelsea) Marshal; all the members of the South Sound Blues Association; and anyone who ever heard him lay fingers to strings and play.  Remembrances for Preston and his music may be made to the South Sound Blues Association.

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