August 10, 1949 - September 26, 2022
To say Larry enjoyed music is an understatement. He was ultimately able to turn his passion into a career. Born in Evansville, Indiana, he spent his early years in Boonville, Indiana. Larry moved to Washington, Missouri, during his grade school years. He graduated from Washington High School, with honors, in 1967. Majoring in English Literature at University of Missouri-Columbia (Mizzou), he served on the concerts committee, enjoying the perk that members were able to reserve their seats before the venue opened. Larry told tales of driving the Turtles manager around in his VW Bug and asking Gregg Allman what kind of shampoo he used (because Larry also had long hair). He worked at the campus radio station, sold audio equipment and Discwasher record cleaning fluid. As he worked on his masters, he served as the head of the Recorded Sound Collection at Mizzou. He moved to the D.C. area in the early '80s, selling Modular Switching Systems, then working at Montgomery College - Tacoma Park as an instruction equipment technician and photographer.
In 1983, he started with the Library of Congress, working in the Thomas Jefferson building until they moved the film & recorded sound collections to the then-new Packard Campus of the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center (NAVCC) in Culpeper, VA. As a Preservation Specialist, Larry oversaw the design & implementation of the shelving installations that house many different types of media of which required climate-controlled vaults. Larry loved solving challenges. As part of a project digitizing the contents on phonographic cylinders, it was necessary to devise a very structured way to bring them to room temperature for playing back. Instead of looking for an expensive or custom-made device, Larry found a Playmate cooler that allowed for a padlock to keep it closed for a determined period of time, as to not accidentally damage the cylinder as it warms up, or cools back down for the return to storage. One of Larry's favorite things to do was submitting nominations for the annual National Recording Registry selections. Learn more about the program here.
Larry and I were born 17 years apart, which doesn't make for a traditional sibling relationship. I got to know him better when I was in my late-20s. I would travel to D.C. and stay with him while exploring the area, going to concerts and enjoying the fantastic food scene. Larry would cut out the Cheap Eats section from the Washington Post and we would visit his favorite places, or try a new one. Larry enjoyed Chinese food, but would call the fortune cookies homily cookies instead, as they didn't give one a prediction/fortune as much as they did a reflection/homily. Larry could also find amazing food in...gas stations! When he started visiting me in Knoxville, he happened to stop for gas near Roanoke and saw baggies of jerky in a basket near the register. He inquired and learned the owner's wife made the jerky. He bought multiple bags. It was really good jerky, so then I began stopping there and buying some on my way to visit him. When driving around with his friend Laura one evening after he passed away, we were at an intersection and she pointed out the "catfish gas station." She explained that Larry learned they fried up delicious catfish and got his co-workers to start going there for lunch on occasion.
Larry loved sharing information about music, movies and TV shows that he enjoyed. He had an email list and would regularly send out what movies were coming up on TMC soon and why they were important to watch. He would talk in-depth about music he likes (more of that later in this post). He could explain the nuances of why a certain recording of a particular classical piece or other song or album makes that piece sound superior to others.
At 73, Larry had no plans to retire, as he was one of the lucky ones who found a way to make his passions his life's work. We were the lucky ones who had Larry in our lives.
The Library of Congress Remembers Its Own: Larry Miller
Even if you have been to the Recorded Sound Research Center of the Library of Congress in person, most of you never met Larry Miller, a longtime staff member of the section who died suddenly on September 26th. But if you have used the Library’s recorded sound holdings in some way, whether as a researcher or as a user of the our National Jukebox, you probably have benefited in some way from his years of service. We hope you enjoy this appreciation of the life of one of our colleagues, and how the work of such a person reaches well beyond the confines to the Library of Congress.
Larry’s official job title was “Preservation Specialist,” which is broadly accurate but still a poor measure of the man, who brought a unique skillset and personality to his work. He started at the Library in 1980, and gave us forty years of unique service and support. At that time, the Library’s Recorded Sound Section was housed in the Madison Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, where until 2006, he oversaw the sprawling basement area known simply as “G-12.” Our recording collections lived there and were accessed by techs for fulfillment of listening requests that were piped to researchers upstairs.
He hired and supervised many who are still working for us in the National Audiovisual Conservation Center, some of whom have retired from our section or others at the Library after decades of service. Larry seems to have never considered retirement himself. Just seven weeks ago, a retiring colleague in our film section raised the idea with him and Larry dismissed it with a smile, saying he loved his job too much to leave it.
This love was multi-faceted. He loved design, and was instrumental in the building and operation of both G-12 and the Recorded Sound Section of the NAVCC that was opened in 2007. The sight of Larry, metal yardstick in hand, calculating the best ways to use our vault and shelf space, will endure for us. Often, the yardstick and other measuring tools just seemed to provide second opinions that confirmed his initial assessment.
Larry Miller places the first 45 on the shelf at the brand new Packard Campus in 2007.
He loved music of all kinds passionately and knowledgeably, and helped us address many gaps in our holdings. Prior to working at the Library, he had sold high-end audio equipment, and often advised on the best pressings and editions to seek out, and was happy to examine a stylus for wear under a microscope. Once, we were looking over a collection of early 1970s classical commercial reels that had been transferred to us. At first, they seemed to duplicate items already in our holdings, but Larry happened to walk by and said, “Wow, those are quadraphonic reels!” We kept them.
As close as he was to his work, he did not let it rule him. He was a native son of Missouri and a proud graduate of the University of Missouri—“Mizzou”– a devoted fan of the St. Louis Cardinals, and a close follower of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Carl Barks’ Uncle Scrooge comics were an enduring delight for him.
His “office,” such as it was, was in a cubicle between the above-ground complex where processing, cataloging and digitization are performed, and the network of temperature and climate controlled underground vaults where our millions of recordings are stored. It was a logical and practical place for him to work, but also symbolic of the nexus that he embodied between the past, present and future of the Recorded Sound Section, as well as between the measurable technical side of our work, and the unmeasurable riches that this work allows us all to draw from. All of us pass his office in our work, often several times in a day. Now we do it with feelings that no post or plaque will ever quite capture, but we’ll be thinking of Larry.
From the Culpeper Star-Exponent
Library of Congress sound preservationist had 'unique skillset and
personality'
BY DAVY MEISTER FO
Oct 9, 2022
One who best knew Larry Miller—Matthew Barton, recorded sound curator at the Library of Congress’ Packard Campus in Culpeper—summed up the man perfectly:
“He started work at the Library on February 22, 1983, and gave us more than thirty-nine and a half years of unique service and support,” Barton wrote Friday in a post on the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center's "Now See Hear!" blog. (The reporter then excerpts the LOC blog article posted above)
On Friday 10/7/2022, colleague Stacie Seifrit-Griffin appended this note to Barton's tribute: "The passion and mark that Larry has left with the Library of Congress will be enjoyed by generations long after we are all gone. He was such a fun person to talk to, especially as we were making decisions about the National Recording Registry. He always had interesting backstories and fun facts about the recordings and the artists. I wish peace in his memory to family and all who loved him."
In 2019, Larry's good friend Laura asked him for a playlist for a long vacation she was planning. She asked for his Top 5, but, of course, he didn't stop at 5. I thought folks might enjoy seeing his picks:
Frank Sinatra: Only the Lonely
I first heard this when I was 12. Why a kid of that age would become fixated on an album of what Sinatra himself termed “saloon songs,” is still a mystery. It’s been on the list of my favorite albums since I asked my mom to get it from the Capitol Record Club. I think I still have that copy.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/only-the-lonely-mw0000194131
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Sinatra_Sings_for_Only_the_Lonely
Joni Mitchell: For the Roses or Hejira
Roses is my favorite of Joni’s albums, but Hejira is second.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/for-the-roses-mw0000191040
https://www.allmusic.com/album/hejira-mw0000194905
Tim Buckley: Blue Afternoon, except for the final song, “The Train,” which I rarely listens to because I don’t think it fits with the rest of the album. (You didn’t think I was going to be able to give you simple answers, did you?)
https://www.allmusic.com/album/blue-afternoon-mw0000198548
And here is where I confess to bending the rules, but not quite to the breaking point, I contend. I will not name specific songs, but what I want to do is offer some the album sides that are very dear to me. A great album side is a concept which has little meaning in an era of CDs and iTunes, but was once important to me and rare to encounter. So, if you take any four of these, you will have the equivalent of my final two LPs.
Walter/Wendy Carlos: “Fall” from Sonic Seasonings, side 3.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_Seasonings#Track_listing
Pure Prairie League: Bustin' Out, side 2 https://www.allmusic.com/album/bustin-out-mw0000195933
"Falling In and Out of Love" – 2:12
"Amie" – 4:18
"Boulder Skies" – 4:01
"Angel" – 4:26
"Call Me, Tell Me" – 2:41
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nNUVRq_jHdSg9psbt9aycpA3AEu9tAsjY
When I was living in Columbia, Missouri, there was a bar called the Cork & Dart, which was on my walk home during the winter that my van died and I didn’t have the money to fix it. I would stop in to warm up, especially after I discovered that the bartenders thought that an order for a glass of Harvey’s Bristol Cream sherry meant filling a wine glass with it. They had a jukebox which played LPs and I would often play this side while I warmed up with my tumbler of sherry.
Dory Previn - Mythical Kings And Iguanas, side 1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythical_Kings_and_Iguanas
"Mythical Kings and Iguanas"
"Yada Yada la Scala"
"The Lady With the Braid"
"Her Mother's Daughter"
"Angels and Devils the Following Day"
When I was in college, my then roommate, Steve Hecox, introduced me to Dory Previn and, specifically, this album. I’d never heard anyone sing about stuff like this. Joni Mitchell deservedly gets credit for her confessional lyrics, but Previn takes that into a deeper, darker place.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtoTMhx1xAdoY0w-VaP4uL7b5k7uXJV5V
The Incredible String Band – The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter, side 1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hangman%27s_Beautiful_Daughter
1. "Koeeoaddi There" 4:49
2. "The Minotaur's Song" 3:22
3. "Witches Hat" 2:33
4. "A Very Cellular Song"
I will confess that some friends, perhaps most, when hearing this, think I’ve either gone deaf or mad, but if I had to pick only ten albums to listen to for the rest of my life, I think this would be among them. I know of no other album which affects me like this one.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kk1NNhmGX3GhUG5RKnkwBaFYGQwdADs_Q
Jefferson Airplane: Surrealistic Pillow, side 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrealistic_Pillow
Side one
"She Has Funny Cars" (Jorma Kaukonen, Marty Balin) – 3:14
"Somebody to Love" (Darby Slick) – 3:00
"My Best Friend" (Skip Spence) – 3:04
"Today" (Balin, Paul Kantner) – 3:03
"Comin' Back to Me" (Balin) – 5:23
It’s hard for me to think of a better three song sequence to “My Best Friend,” “Today,” and “Comin’ Back to Me.”
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLp0j-eZoUju5Th9GZ3NSpkxiO7N_zgSGB
Pentangle: Basket of Light, side 1. https://www.allmusic.com/album/basket-of-light-mw0000191266
The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[4]
Side one
No. Title
1. "Light Flight"
2. "Once I Had a Sweetheart"
3. "Springtime Promises"
4. "Lyke-Wake Dirge"
5. "Train Song"
I think this is the greatest British folk-rock album.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_ksZUev669lJTEb1N0aKkBNJZBBd5qe5c4
Shawn Phillips: Second Contribution, side 1 https://www.allmusic.com/album/second-contribution-mw0000651824
1 She Was Waitin' for Her Mother at the Station in Torino and You Know I Love You Baby, But It's Getting to Heavy to Laugh
2 Keep On
3 Sleepwalker
4 Song for Mr. C
5 The Ballad of Casey Deiss
Shawn Phillips has the perhaps dubious distinction of being the third best male vocalist I ever saw live. The other two are already on the list.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXV98wW6I7k&list=PL8a8cutYP7fqwIit4XPJpLE7LhQ6w2lzT
Spanky & Our Gang: Like to Get to Know You, side 2. https://www.allmusic.com/album/like-to-get-to-know-you-mw0000464302
"Echoes (Everybody's Talkin')" (Fred Neil) lead vocals: Malcolm Hale – 3:10
"Suzanne" (Leonard Cohen) – 3:47
"Stuperflabbergasted" (Bruce Summers, Carlos Bernal) lead vocals: Lefty Baker– 1:10
"Like to Get to Know You" (Stuart Scharf) lead vocals: Lefty Baker, Malcolm Hale, Kenny Hodges, Spanky McFarlane – 2:15
"Chick-a-Ding-Ding" (Stuart Scharf) lead vocals: Nigel Pickering, Spanky McFarlane – 2:23
"Stardust" (Hoagy Carmichael, Mitchell Parish) lead vocals: Spanky McFarlane, Nigel Pickering – 3:32
"Coda (Like to Get to Know You)"
A beautiful album side with one song slipping seamlessly into another. This 1968 album used sounds and conversation three years before Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mAYFWTJXMROXbjIY5iW5T7PT03CbIYFvo
And, finally, (Yes, I had to make myself stop) for my sole classical selection, Netania Davrath’s recording of Canteloube’s Songs of the Auvergne. Frankly, these recordings have been reissued so many times in different orders that specifying a side would be pointless, so, if you like them, pick an album side’s worth of songs and call it a day. There are two important details. First, it must be Netania Davrath singing them and, second, I recommend the Songs of the Auvergne over the New Songs of the Auvergne. The original songs are the most beautiful classical vocal recordings I’ve ever heard. Below is a picture of the original album cover and a link to some YouTube copies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv_gdi6ivF0&list=OLAK5uy_lL8mVkkNymKzKKbRTU3HysywFoiFDgS6w&index=3
Netania Davrath – Folksongs of the Auvergne (This was a perennial dark horse nomination of his for the Registry. I had never heard of it until he mentioned it. Then I stumbled on a vinyl copy of it, and damn but its good!)
Joni Mitchell – For the Roses (This one is actually on the Registry. Once I said something about how I thought “Blue” would have been a better choice, not realizing that Larry had lobbied hard for this. He told me that he loved it too, and that it was probably most people’s favorite Joni album, but he’d played through all of her records again and gave the edge to “For the Roses.
Duke Ellington – Far East Suite. I only found out how much he loved this record because the band at our wedding, which included David Sager, played “Isfahan” and he was blown away. When I saw him next at work he went on at length about how great a record it is.
The Association – And Then…Along Comes the Association (He once told me that in his perfect world, this album was on the Registry, but he knew it didn’t have a chance!)
Bobby Hackett – Music for Lovers Only (Another one of Larry’s perennial dark horse nominations. The album is actually credited to Jackie Gleason, who came up with the idea of getting Bobby Hackett to play romantic cornet solos over strings and “conducted,” the orchestra, but it’s Hackett’s show. He once said that “Gleason couldn’t conduct traffic through the Holland Tunnel at four in the morning.” Larry always held it up as an example of how brilliant a so-called “easy listening” record could be.
From Cary O'Dell:
Connie Smith – Women’s Music
