David Miller was an American country music

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

ian. He is one of the earliest musicians to be associated with country music recording.

Miller grew up working at a fruit farm, and served in the Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. While there, he contracted blepharitis

Blepharitis

Blepharitis is an ocular condition characterized by chronic inflammation of the eyelid, the severity and time course of which can vary. Onset can be acute, resolving without treatment within 2–4 weeks , but more generally is a long standing inflammation varying in severity...

, and became totally blind

Blindness

Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...

 as a result. After his blindness set in, he began playing guitar and moved to Huntington, West Virginia

Huntington, West Virginia

Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia, along the Ohio River. Most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat. A small portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County. Its population was 49,138 at...

. He recorded a few pieces for the Starr Piano Company in 1924 and again in 1927, which are some of the earliest surviving audio documents of old-time music

Old-time music

Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music, with roots in the folk music of many countries, including England, Scotland, Ireland and countries in Africa. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dance, buck dance, and clogging. The genre also...

. He also recorded for Paramount Records

Paramount Records

Paramount Records was an American record label, best known for its recordings of African-American jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey and Blind Lemon Jefferson.-Early years:...

 in 1930. He played on West Virginia radio station WSAZ with Cecil Adkins from 1927 to 1933.

He also played with a string band

String band

A string band is an old-time music or jazz ensemble made up mainly or solely of string instruments. String bands were popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and are among the forerunners of modern country music and bluegrass.-String bands in old-time music:...

 called the West Virginia Mockingbirds in the 1930s and 1940s, alongside four brothers, Ed, George, Albert, and Frank Baumgardner. They played on radio and at local churches and dance parties, and became regionally popular. Miller continued to perform into the 1950s, playing regularly at the Guyandotte

Guyandotte, West Virginia

Guyandotte is an historic neighborhood of Huntington, West Virginia and was formerly a small town in Virginia located at the confluence of the Guyandotte River and the Ohio River...

 theater alongside musicians such as T. Texas Tyler

T. Texas Tyler

David Luke Myrick , known professionally as T. Texas Tyler, was an American country music singer and songwriter primarily known for his 1948 hit, "The Deck of Cards".-Biography:...

 and Patsy Cline

Patsy Cline

Patsy Cline , born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s...

.