Bill Miller, the pianist who accompanied Frank Sinatra for over 40 years, has died at a Montreal hospital. He was 91.
His daughter, Meredith, told the Los Angeles Times her father died from complications following a heart attack nearly a fortnight ago. Miller suffered the heart attack not long after falling and breaking his hip while performing in Canada on July 1.Miller played on such Sinatra recordings as 'My Way', 'You Make Me Feel So Young', 'Strangers In The Night' and 'Young At Heart'. Their partnership began in 1951, when the New York-born Miller caught the eye of Sinatra, who appreciated the pianist's understated style.
In recent years, Miller had been playing with Sinatra's son, Frank Jr. The younger Sinatra told the Washington Post that Miller was "the greatest singer's pianist there ever was".
Miller's casual, elegant and evocative playing style was the perfect counterpart to Sinatra's bold charisma. Sinatra's long-time guitarist Al Viola called Miller a "one of a kind".
"There are lots of great piano players," said Viola, 87, "but to be an accompanist to a singer is really an art form. It's a conversation, but you really have to listen and pay respect to the singer. That's what it's all about, and that's what Bill did."
