By Marilyn Lester . . .
In the music business, legacy is mainly about family—generally the descendants of a songwriter or musician of note, tasked with making sure the work is protected and lives on for posterity. In the case of songwriter Ron Miller, after a 16-year battle to win back the rights to his songs after his 2007 death, daughter Lisa Dawn Miller is now making sure her father’s work is front and center, not to be forgotten as his creations. For Once In My Life – The Songs of Ron Miller, launched at 54 Below, this show is the start of a journey, aiming high, with sites on Broadway.
Ron Miller, the only white writer on staff for Motown Records in the 1960s and 1970s, was a hitmaker. He wrote in a showtime style, yet his work had mass appeal across genres, ages and ethnicities. Some tunes were written by Miller with personal intention—dedicated to his wife Aurora and children: Angel, Lisa, Mark, Debbie, Julie and Gary. Ron Miller himself figured he’d written about 5,000 songs total; the number that Lisa Dawn owns and manages (administered by Sony Music Publishing) totals an astounding 500. Among them are major hits, such as “Touch Me in the Morning,” “Heaven Help Us All,” “A Place in the Sun,” “Yester-me, Yester-you, Yesterday,” “I’ve Never Been to Me,” “Someday at Christmas,” “If I Could” and the show’s title song.
For Once In My Life – The Songs of Ron Miller appropriately began with the man himself, singing his (words and music) “I Want to Come Back as a Song,” as a touching video montage, played on the club’s two video screens. Miller fille hosted the program with back stories and, of course, inside information about the songs and her father’s life. She also sang “Wasn’t I a Good Time” (music by Ken Hirsch), “If I Could” (music by Hirsch and Marti Sharron) and with Bryan Wells at the piano, “A Place in the Sun,” Miller’s writing partner on this song. Additionally, for 14 years Miller has produced the musical Sandy Hackett’s Rat Pack, with husband Sandy, who happens to be the son of the late comedian, Buddy Hackett. Hackett spoke about his father and sang Miller’s “Forty Five Seconds of Love” (music by William O’Malley).
Talent, music and singing is clearly a strong family affair, and the vocal of “For Once in My Life” (music by Orlando Muden) was the honor of Miller’s son and Ron Miller’s grandson, Oliver Richman. School pals of RIchman’s from New York University offered the following: “I Can See” (Ken Hirsch) by Gabbie Ballesteros; “You Were There” (Hirsch) in duet with guitarist Sofia Campoamor and Saviidu Geevaratne; “Where Did We Go Wrong” by Deana Cowan; and “Yester-me, Yester-you, Yesterday” (Bran Wells) by Kalonjee Gallimore.
A powerhouse performer—and no relation to clan Miller—added zest to the production with his resonant baritone: Major Attaway, a notable Genie of Broadway’s Aladdin, sang “Will I Still Be Me” (Ken Hirsch).
Miller co-produced For Once In My Life – The Songs of Ron Miller with Robert W. Schneider. Miller’s long-time music director, percussionist Ryan Rose, led the band comprised of top-notch musicians Sean Decker (acoustic and electric bass), Mairi Dorman-Phaneuf (cello) and Michael Lavine (piano).
For Once In My Life – The Songs of Ron Miller took place October 8 at 54 Below (254 West 54th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue). www.54Below.org
Photos: Marilyn Lester
