Billy Miller, Norton Records RIP

Billy and Miriam put my old band up in 2004. I crashed out in this very room. Both world class people. Not much else I can say. RIP Billy and thanks for everything.

 

RIP...a true archivist in the pre-internet age who rescued a lot of great American music that otherwise would have been lost or forgotten.

 

A sad loss, awesome record collector and reissue label owner. Billy Miller is an influence of mine. He'll be missed, and Norton Records is for me the most adventurous of reissue labels.

 

This is not unexpected but still devastating news.
Billy and Miriam were true musical archeologists and were responsible for a huge amount of musical discovery by me both through their Norton releases and the much loved Kicks magazine.
R.I.P. Billy and condolescences to Miriam.

 

A great loss. R.I.P. Billy.

 

I just saw that he passed away from the same thing my father died from.

Up yours, multiple myeloma.

 

RIP

 

I was thinking about all of the artists they either introduced to me or increased my appreciation for. It's a pretty long list.

 

Jack Starr , amazing

 

The Bobby Fuller thread mentioned Miriam's BF bio. This got me thinking about ML and BM for the first time in a while. And then the next day he passed away.

Back in the day, as a teenager lost in the cow pastures of the South, I somehow got hold of a copy of Kicks (second issue). Reading that little fanzine was, without exaggeration, one of the significant moments of my musical life. I had never seen obscure 1960s bands -- we would now call them "garage bands" -- treated with so much attention and even respect. Around the same time I got a cutout of the Sire reissue of Nuggets -- and I was rescued from the yacht rock and redneck metal that dominated my town's one AOR station.

I guess that's enough about me, except to say perhaps I serve as one example for all the tireless archivists like BM who can't completely know just how much impact their work is having.

RIP

 

Rockin' Jelly Bean!!!

RIP Billy.....thanks for the Groovies reissues. Some of my favorite albums of all time.

 

So sorry to hear this...RIP

 

Nice write-up on Billy in the NY Times today...

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/a...nge-music-dies-at-62.html?mwrsm=Facebook&_r=0

 

Ran into Billy and Miriam many times at shows in NYC. Billy was never that talkative with me but Miriam always had a smile and hug to offer. The last time I saw was at a Flamin' Groovies show last year in Brooklyn and you could see the light go on in her eyes when she spoke about Billy.

I saw some posts on Facebook earlier this year and damn, he was suffering but always positive. Good to see he received some acknowledgement from the NY Times as the paper did a nice obituary on Billy. He was a major part of the national scene of garage and indie rock and will be sorely missed.

 

The headline kinda makes me wanna yak, but yes, great article. You can feel the honest passion the two of them have/had for the music they wrote about and released. We are all the better for it.

 

Not fair.

 

Billy was one of the very best of our flock and a genuine 'nice guy'.
I always thought that he had the quick wit of a young Lenny Bruce
combined with the 'rock & roll commitment' of a Gene Vincent. It
was always a blast to hang out with him and Miriam at record shows
and clubs whenever our paths crossed. We will miss you, my friend.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/a...istorian-of-fringe-music-dies-at-62.html?_r=0

 

David Fricke Remembers Billy Miller: Norton Records' Tireless Co-Founder »

 

A real loss for rock 'n roll true believers everywhere. RIP Billy Miller.

So many previously lost records will live on as part of our musical culture thanks to Norton.

 

Great, thanks for posting.

 

A nice tribute show from Dave The Spazz on WFMU last night, featuring Norton and related releases, and soundbytes from Billy:

Dave the Spazz's Playlist - November 17, 2016 »

 

Looks great, I'll try and listen to this tonight.

 

What a true-blue, rock & roll to the core guy. What a perfect record label. What a freaking shame.

I really hate 2016.

 

Six months later, NY Times article:

Norton Records, Still Rocking, Is Releasing a Lost Dion Album

 

Read it this morning. Very nice piece. Glad for Miriam that things look to be doing well.