Moby Grape co-founder Jerry Miller dead at 81
Jerry Miller, who was a founding member of San Francisco psych-rock band Moby Grape, has passed away. The guitarist was 81 years old.
Before he founded Moby Grape, Miller found early success working with Bobby Fuller. In 1965, Miller contributed his guitar expertise to Fuller’s cover of Sonny Curtis’s ‘I Fought the Law’.
One year later following a move to San Francisco, Miller became a founding member of local psych-rockers Moby Grape. The lineup included fellow guitarists Skip Spence and Peter Lewis, alongside bassist Bob Mosley and drummer Don Stevenson. Matthew Katz, who also managed Jefferson Airplane, took on managerial duties.
Per Deadline, Miller’s death was announced by a Moby Grape fan page on Facebook and journalist Eric Brenner. “Sadly, Jerry Miller passed away last night,” the post began, before requesting that fans afford Jo Johnson, Miller’s partner, privacy during this difficult time.
The post continued, “Jo and the family are asking for everyone to please give them some privacy and respect, and Jo asked that people cease phone calls for the time being. Thank you.” The post did not specify the cause of Miller’s death.
The genre-blending band released their self-titled debut album in 1967, which performed well in the charts and with critics. The record included songs that would be covered by the likes of Robert Plant and Cat Power.
After recording and releasing three follow-up albums, none of which performed quite as well as anticipated, the band disbanded in 1969 and Miller played a short stint with The Rhythm Dukes. This marked the beginning of a career of disbandment and reunion for Moby Grape, marked by battles with mental illness, addiction and legal problems.
Throughout the decades that followed, Moby Grape would continually disband and then reform in a never-ending cycle. The lineup rarely strayed from the original founders, though they occasionally pulled in session musicians like Bob Moore. Spence passed away in 1999.
Moby Grape’s lengthiest stint together is their most recent. In 2006, they reunited. Though they have been fairly inactive for several years now, they have yet to officially announce another separation.
Although Moby Grape only found modest success compared to some of their contemporaries, Miller’s guitar-playing attracted the attention and admiration of some huge names. Most notably, Eric Clapton once labelled Miller as the “best guitar player in the world.”
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