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Year of birth: 1932 City of birth: Young Harris, GA  Although Zell Miller is widely regarded as a politician, he is also a longtime, avid fan of country, bluegrass and Appalachian music. He authored the only comprehensive biography of Georgia musicians, “They Heard Georgia Singing,” published in 1984, and it was largely through his efforts that the Georgia Music Hall of Fame was established.
In 1977, then Lt. Governor Miller appointed the Senate Music Recording Industry Committee to study the economic impact of the music industry in Georgia. The findings of that study led to the founding of Georgia Music Week in September 1978 and the launching of the inaugural Georgia Music Hall of Fame Awards ceremony in September 1979. Passionate about the need to not only acknowledge, but also preserve the state’s rich musical heritage, Lt. Gov. Miller presented the vision of a permanent repository and museum to the Georgia General Assembly. His was vision was shared and in 1989, Macon was selected as the future site of the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, which opened in September 1996.
Born in 1932 in Young Harris, Ga., Zell Miller graduated from Young Harris College in 1951. He served in the U.S. Marine Corp until 1956, then went on to earn a graduate degree from the University of Georgia. Throughout his political career in Georgia, Miller served as mayor of Young Harris (1959-1960); state senator (1961-1964); lieutenant governor (1975-1991) and Governor (1991-1999). He was appointed on July 24, 2000, as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Paul Coverdell and served through 2005.
A professor of political science and history, Miller has penned two other popular books, “Corps Values: Everything You Need to Know I Learned in the Marines” (1996) and “A National Party No More: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat (2003).
He donated his own significant collection of sound recordings and books related to Georgia artists to the Georgia Music Hall of Fame archives.
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