Walter Miller Celebrates His CMA Awards 35th Anniversary
By Holly Gleason
They say you can tell how much Walter Miller likes you by how much New York abuse he heaps on you. And through the years, he's rattled, prattled and teased Country Music's biggest luminaries - from Johnny Cash to Vince Gill, the Dixie Chicks to Rosanne Cash - on his way to creating indelible television in the name of Country Music.
"They all know my rough and gruff way," laughed the hard-boiled teddy bear of a man. "But deep down, there's another person. . I really care. The artists know that, and I know they know it, so we're free to carry on to break the tension."
Miller, waist deep in his 35th CMA Awards, has some impressive credentials. His credits include the GRAMMY Awards, as well as a longtime turn with the Tony Awards - which yielded a pair of Emmys for the "47th Annual Tony Awards" in 1993 and the "52nd Annual Tony Awards" in 1998 - "Comic Relief," a music special for Barbra Streisand and television specials for Robin Williams, Rodney Dangerfield and Sam Kinison.
"Artists are very special people, and you can't just stick them up on a stage and let it happen," said Miller, who has won three Directors Guild Awards, a pair of Peabody Awards and earned 20 Emmy nominations. "You want whatever an artist is going to do to reflect their essence, their career, their soul. . And to do that, you can't just do cookie-cutter television."
Miller makes anything but cookie-cutter television. When the country needed help healing after the September 11th terrorist attacks, he programmed Alan Jackson's hushed performance of "Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)."
He sent Dolly Parton out in spangles to perform the gospel meltdown of "He's Alive."
He gave Mary Chapin Carpenter her big break, singing about the indignities of being the "Opening Act." Whatever special, timely element Country Music has to offer in any year, Miller inevitably recognizes it and gets it on the CMA Awards.
"Country Music is not only steeped in tradition, but we really try to respect and protect the roots," said Miller, who has kept his show steady while the genre moved around from fiddle-driven traditional Country to rock-influenced sounds and Country pop. "I love to see the new people coming up, the young artists who are the future. The idea with this show is do both, and make them both come across as special as they are."
Miller has plenty of experience to draw on.
"What's hard today is now you're fighting the clock and the economy. It makes the schedules tighter, so you're really moving," said Miller of the challenges of doing a television special. "It's exciting in a way, because it's live and you have that rush of knowing that once it starts, it's on - and that prep work is going to have to carry you. I joke that the only downside really is that because it's so tight, I eat more! Over the years, I've probably gained and lost 1,200 pounds - trying to make the calls and eating frozen Snickers bars."
Snickers bars, a sense of humor, a passion for creativity and a deep love of music may be at the root of what Miller and his son director Paul Miller create each year for the CMA Awards. But in the end, it also comes down to a not-so-secret secret weapon: the artists.
"You listen to the voice, see their character, weigh their stage presence - and you listen to the music, especially if they're songwriters," Miller said. "I'm a pretty good judge of people, sizing them up, so my goal is to put across what I see and feel. . If I can bring that forward, show the audience all the different phases of these artists, then I think we're creating something that represents the people making the music and Country Music.
"There's a lot going on now in Country. It's very sophisticated in so many ways. I want to reflect that, but always keep its soul."
After 35 years, Miller knows Nashville's soul as well as anyone. He's watched as Charlie Rich burned the envelope containing John Denver's name as Entertainer of the Year. He created a setting suitable for Country's Mount Rushmore of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson, and he oversaw the merger of the past and future when staging a performance of "Young Country" by Hank Williams Jr. and friends including Lyle Lovett and Nanci Griffith.
The notion of bringing the CMA Awards to New York isn't the mind-bender many people seem to think, Miller said. "Nashville's like my second home, but I was born in Manhattan, so I know the pace of New York and its pulse. So, we're going to make it a Country show, but bring in that energy of New York City. It's not about a heavy hand or the obvious, but how we take that pulse of New York and put it into the Country Music we're making. I, personally, think it's going to be really exciting."
When the show at Madison Square Garden has been completed, Miller is ready to come back to Nashville next year. "After 35 years, I almost consider this a long-time job," Miller said. "The people in Nashville have taken me to their bosom and I'm treated as part of the family rather than an intruder. They know me for who I am, and they know how deeply I care about the music. . When you're doing a job like this, that's the greatest gift you can be given."
For Miller, though, it's more about what he gives than what he receives. The ultimate present - for all of us - is the insight, the sensitivity and the staging he gives the artists who perform each year on the show.
"The 39th Annual CMA Awards," which is hosted for the second year by Brooks & Dunn, airs live Tuesday, Nov. 15 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the CBS Television Network from Madison Square Garden in New York City.
On Nov. 3, the Country Music Association named Miller the Executive Producer of the CMA Awards.
"For 35 years, Walter has contributed immeasurably to the success and popularity of the CMA Awards," said CMA Executive Director Ed Benson. "His vision and passion for this program and our artists is evident in every detail."
Miller was recognized Wednesday, Nov. 9, when CMA formally donated an archive of the CMA Awards from 1968 to the present to The Museum of Television & Radio in New York City. The donation represents the largest single collection of Country Music-themed footage presented to the Museum, the premiere trust of television and radio programming, made available to the public at both its New York and Los Angeles locations.
The presentation included a screening of a 90-minute retrospective culled from the Awards broadcasts since 1968, when it first aired on network television, and a panel discussion with Miller and CMA Awards hosts Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn moderated by Great American Country (GAC) host Lorianne Crook. The Museum will screen the compilation at its locations in New York and Los Angeles through Dec. 31, 2005.
On The Web: www.CMAawards.com
© 2005 CMA Close Up News Service
November 15, 2005
The Country Music Association has named longtime CMA Awards Producer, Walter C. Miller, the Executive Producer of the CMA Awards. Miller was recognized Wednesday, Nov. 9 (12:30-2:30 PM/ET), when CMA formally donated an archive of the CMA Awards from 1968 to the present to The Museum of Television & Radio in New York City. Miller is pictured here reviewing his notes at his production table during rehearsals for the 2002 CMA Awards in the Grand Ole Opry house in Nashville, Tenn. Photo: Theresa Montgomery
