’60s Rockstar Jerry Miller Has Died

Moby Grape co-founder and guitarist Jerry Miller has died. Miller’s death was confirmed on the Moby Grape Facebook fan page and by journalist Eric Brenner, with Deadline reporting that he passed away in Tacoma, Washington, on Saturday, July 20. He was 81. A cause of death was not disclosed.

“Sadly, I have to relate that Jerry Miller passed away last night,” a message shared by one of the group’s members confirmed. The message added that Miller’s partner Jo Johnson and his 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.” Text messages from Jo shared by the group’s members requested that fans “flood the Ether with Jerry Miller’s music” and to “play it all day long for me and him.”

Born in Tacoma on July 10, 1943, per Ultimate Classic Rock, Miller, who played on an early version of the 1960 Bobby Fuller hit “I Fought the Law,” formed Moby Grape in San Francisco in 1966 alongside guitarists Peter Lewis and Skip Spence, bassist Bob Mosley, and drummer Don Stevenson. The group signed with Columbiana and released their acclaimed self-titled debut album in 1967, with covers of its songs recorded by Robert Plant, Cat Power, R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked the album No. 121 on its list of 500 greatest albums of all time.

With Grape, Miller co-wrote with Don Stevenson three of the group’s best-known songs – “8.05,” “Murder In My Heart for The Judge” and “Hey Grandma,” which was included in the soundtrack to the 2005 Sean Penn/Nicole Kidman film The Interpreter. The group released three more albums by 1969 – 1968’s Wow/Grape Jam, and 1969’s Moby Grape ’69 and Truly Fine Citizen – shortly after which they split before regrouping in 1971.

Outside of Moby Grape, Miller formed The Rhythm Dukes, joining with organist Bill Champlin, and also led his own group, the Jerry Miller Band. He was widely regarded as a great guitarist, with Eric Clapton once calling him the “best guitar player in the world” and Rolling Stone once ranking Miller as one of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time, writing that Miller’s “playing was never self-indulgent, and his soloing was propulsive, always aware of where the song was headed.”

In a tribute, musician Bill Cutler wrote on Facebook, “Hearing Moby Grape’s amazing debut album in 1967 was the reason I decided to move to San Francisco as a young songwriter. We spent some wonderful times together when he lived in Santa Cruz. I will miss him for the rest of my days. He was a giant and this is a huge loss for music.”