BEST OF THE 00s: BUDDY & JULIE MILLER

In June of 2008, Americana music magazine No Depression put Buddy Miller on the cover of their final issue, naming him "Artist Of The Decade." You can read the entire cover feature here. I've been a fan for years, ever since I sat next to his mom at an Emmylou Harris concert (he was playing guitar in her awesome backing band, Spyboy, and he was also the opening act).

I think he was a great pick, but I'd expand it a bit to also include his wife, singer-songwriter Julie Miller as well. I tend to overromanticize things, but I love the fact that they have been married for over two decades and still create great art, up to and including last year's Written In Chalk, one of my favorite albums of 2009.

Buddy and Julie have put out great albums together and seperately over the past decade (but they tend to "guest" on each other's "solo" albums. But they've had a big impact in music, outside of their own records.  Buddy, as I mentioned, plays in Emmylou Harris' backing band, as well as Robert Plant & Alison Krauss' band, and in John Fogerty's band. He produced a great Solomon Burke album, Nashville, and Allison Moorer's Mockingbird. And he's worked with Levon Helm, Miranda Lambert, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Frank Black and The Chieftans, among others. Julie's songs, meanwhile, have been covered by Emmylou (including "All My Tears," one of Emmy's greatest moments), Miranda Lambert and The Dixie Chicks.

They aren't famous and they probably prefer it that way - look at the cool stuff they get to do, and they can probably walk down the street unhassled - but if you are reading this blog, you are a music fan and you owe it to yourself to check them out. Try Written In Chalk, but there are lots of other great albums to try: 2008's The Best Of The High Tone Years is a good starting point. I really dig their 2001 album Buddy & Julie Miller.