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 Alton Miller was born in March 1969 in Aiken, South Carolina. He moved to Beaumont, then on to Vidor, Texas as a child. At the age of eight, he began impersonating Elvis Presley at nightclubs, VFWs, American Legions, and retirement facilities. Alton got his first set of drums at the age of ten. He performed in various country, rock, Cajun, and blues bands in the Golden Triangle of Beaumont, Texas. He moved to Wyoming at seventeen where he sang lead vocals in a country band known as The String Stealers. Later, Alton joined a rock and roll band known as Rattlesnake Logic. Together, they toured Wyoming, South Dakota, and Montana.
Alton joined the United States Army in 1994 as an M1A1 Abrams Tank Crewman. During a tour in Korea, he played as the drummer and lead singer for a band known as The Blue Aces. They competed in the Army Battle of the Bands where Alton was awarded top vocalist out of twenty other contestants. Their band won first place in the country genre and best overall in the World Competition Battle of the Bands. Thereafter, Alton was selected for the Army Soldiers' Show and was an alternate for the USA Express Band in 1996. Alton competed in the Army Battle of the Bands at Fort Riley, Kansas in 1999, performing most of the competition with songs that he had written. He won the competition.
Alton took a break from the Army in November of 2000, moving to the outskirts of Nashville, Tennessee. While there, he played in several different bands. He performed on a country music showcase in Shelbyville on and off for about a year as a drummer/singer and even performed a comedy act.
Alton rejoined the Army in January 2003 where he found himself stationed once again at Fort Riley, Kansas. He was deployed in September of that year in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom I & II, and The Global War on Terrorism. In October 2004, after returning to the States, Alton recorded one of his songs, The Man That Made The Medal. He wrote this song about a dear friend who was killed during the initial ground war in Iraq. Alton was asked to perform this song numerous times at memorial ceremonies for fallen comrades while serving his country in Iraq. The Man That Made The Medal received special interest from two local radio stations (Sunny 102.5 & Angel 95.5) and received a large listener response from his interviews and radio air-play. After a performance in Manhattan, Kansas, Alton was introduced to producer Joe Mills. They selected four songs from a list of many that Alton had written over the years to be recorded and pitched to record labels.
Alton was honorably discharged from the Army in April 2005. While waiting to raise funds to complete the demo, he gassed up his car and headed East to solicit as many radio stations as he could in eight states. He was featured at several radio stations in Kansas, Ohio, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. While on his "radio tour", Alton was interviewed for a second time by an NBC affiliate in Georgia. Once Joe and Alton acquired the funds needed to complete the demo, they traveled to Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee and mixed it.
Alton Miller is married to Dell Jane and has two wonderful children, Robert and Sandy. He takes his music very seriously and always gives 110% to whatever task is before him. Music is in his blood, it is a part of him, and it is what he does best.
THE MAN THAT MADE THE MEDAL
Alton was sitting on Tuttle Creek Lake one night when he got to thinking. The Man That Made The Medal isn't just about soldiers, it's about anyone who puts their life on the line... in or out of a uniform. The medal that hangs upon a chest, displayed in a velvet lined box, or sits packed away in the bottom of a footlocker is a symbol of many things... character, valor, honor, country, selflessness, and integrity. A person has a GOD-given free will to make decisions that will affect their lives and other people's lives in a time of danger. In a moment, Alton realized that this song is about the police officer who responds to a crime that is being committed, the fireman that runs into a burning building, a paramedic who races to the scene of an accident to revive an auto crash victim, or the quick thinking civilian who runs out into the busy street to save a small child from passing cars.
September 11, 2001 brought light to those who sacrifice on a daily basis, when the firemen, police officers, and paramedics went into the Twin Towers to save others; the passengers of Flight 93 that overtook the plane from the terrorist; the people who were in the Pentagon when the plane was flown into it; the soldiers and sailors, the marines, airmen, coast guard, and national guardsmen that sacrifice their lives to bring democracy and peace to another country.
"TO ME, ALL ARE THE MEN AND WOMEN THAT MAKE THE MEDAL." - Alton Miller
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