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Carol Miller (DJ)

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Carol Miller is an American radio personality and disc jockey. She has been a steady presence on rock radio stations in the New York City area since 1973. She began her broadcasting career as a college undergraduate, and stayed with it even after she completed graduate studies in law school. She rose to prominence at WPLJ-FM and then moved to WNEW-FM. She has been heard most recently on WAXQ-FM ("Q-104.3") and Sirius XM.

Miller is an ardent champion of classic rock music. In addition to her live radio program, she also helms a weekly Led Zeppelin tribute show, Get the Led Out, which has been in syndication since 1984. Her autobiography, Up All Night: My Life and Times in Rock Radio, was published in 2012.

Early life

Carol Miller was born in 1951 Queens, New York. At the age of 10, she and her family moved to New Hyde Park in Long Island, where she attended Herricks High School.[1] Later she went to the University of Pennsylvania and earned a degree in biology. While there, she developed a love of broadcasting by volunteering at the college radio station, and in late 1971 she began working professionally at the progressive rock station WMMR-FM in Philadelphia.[1] She returned to New York to pursue a degree from Hofstra Law School, but still maintained her working position at WMMR. With help from her friend and fellow disc jockey Dennis Elsas, she even took on a second job, this one at WMMR's sister station in New York, WNEW-FM.[1]

Radio career

Miller made her New York radio debut at WNEW in 1973,[2] where she worked for a little over a year. According to colleague Richard Neer, she entered into a rivalry with the station's other female personality, veteran DJ Alison Steele aka "The Nightbird", and after Steele's complaints reached management, Neer claims Miller was dismissed.[3] This account is disputed by Miller in her memoir Up All Night: My Life and Times in Rock Radio, and attributed to "scurrying underlings".[4] Miller writes that she was not terminated by WNEW, but resigned.[5]

She worked for the short-lived WQIV-FM in 1974,[6] and began at WPLJ-FM in the following year.[1] Her evening show was part of a talent roster on WPLJ that proved very successful, and included Tony Pigg, Pat St. John, and John Zacherle, and Jim Kerr.[6]

One of Miller's favorite musical artists is Bruce Springsteen, and while she was at WPLJ she became the very public voice of a drive to make "Born to Run" the New Jersey state anthem. The effort was ultimately unsuccessful, but on June 12, 1979, the New Jersey General Assembly acknowledged its widespread support and declared "Born to Run" to be the state's "Unofficial Youth Rock Anthem".[7]

She returned to WNEW in 1983.[1] In 1985 she even found a niche on television, reporting on new music in 90-second spots for Entertainment Tonight.[8]

In addition to her live show, she began a feature on her program, Get the Led Out, in 1984.[2] The now widely syndicated show, Carol Miller's Get The Led Out (United Stations Radio Networks,) chronicles the history of Led Zeppelin.[2] Miller's former producer Denny Somach authored a Led Zeppelin overview based on her syndicated show. Also titled Get the Led Out, the extensively illustrated coffee-table book was published by Sterling in 2013.[9]

Miller currently appears on New York radio station WAXQ-FM ("Q-104.3") as well as Sirius XM’s Deep Tracks, Classic Rewind, and other channels.[2] She still plays her preferred musical style: "Classic rock is not an oldies format. It’s a lifestyle format. I don’t see it as part of the past at all."[2]

Miller's memoir, which also chronicles her extensive battles with breast and endometrial cancers, Up All Night: My Life and Times in Rock Radio, was published in 2012.[10][11][12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Connors, Anthony (March 25, 1997). "Miller Time: 25 Years a Deejay". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on April 5, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e Maeder, Jo (March 5, 2013). "What Makes This Radio D.J. Roll?". The New York Times. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  3. ^ Neer, Richard (2001). FM: The Rise and Fall of Rock Radio. Random House. Section: "Nightbird Flying". ISBN 9781588360731.
  4. ^ Miller, Carol (2012). Up All Night: My Life and Times in Rock Radio. New York: Ecco. pp. 115–116. ISBN 9780061845246.
  5. ^ Miller, p. 124.
  6. ^ a b Neer, Richard (2001). FM: The Rise and Fall of Rock Radio. Random House. Section: "My Aim Is True". ISBN 9781588360731.
  7. ^ Marsh, Dave (2004). Bruce Springsteen: Two Hearts. Routledge. p. 254. ISBN 9781135880477.
  8. ^ "Vox Jox". Billboard. March 9, 1985. p. 5. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  9. ^ "Step Inside Led Zeppelin's Inner Circle with Denny Somach and 'Get the Led Out'". Goldmine. April 1, 2013. Archived from the original on April 5, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2017. – via HighBeam Research (subscription required)
  10. ^ Barmash, Jerry (March 13, 2013). "Carol Miller Takes Readers on a Lifetime Journey of Cancer, Family, and Rock Radio". Adweek. Archived from the original on April 5, 2017.
  11. ^ Sigman, Michael (September 10, 2012). "Rock DJ Carol Miller On The Magic of Radio And The Fight Of Her Life". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on April 5, 2017.
  12. ^ Aberback, Brian (September 11, 2012). "Groundbreaking female DJ Carol Miller to sign book in Ridgewood". NorthJersey.com. The Record. Archived from the original on April 5, 2017.
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