Early Career
Multi-instrumentalist Max Miller was born on November 17, 1911 in East Chicago, Indiana. He learned banjo at an early age and played that in the East Chicago, Indiana high school band. He started playing professionally after joining the Musicians Union at age 16. In 1927, he switched to guitar and played with numerous local bands in the Indiana/Michigan area, playing primarily dixieland jazz. He moved to Chicago in the early 1930s and worked gigs as a drummer and string bassist and it was at this time that he started experimenting with the vibraphone. From this time on he worked with numerous bands around Chicago playing guitar, piano and vibes, including gigs as guitarist in a group with a constantly changing lineup that included pianist Kansas City Frank Melrose and drummer Dave Tough. Before long he was touring as guitarist and featured vibraphonist with the Vincent Lopez Orchestra, with Betty Hutton as vocalist. It was during this period of traveling the big band circuit that he began to concentrate on the vibes and began learning piano. He made his greatest impact as a musician when he switched to those two instruments. In 1937, at age 26, he left Lopez to become musical director at WIND radio, where he stayed for two years, performing 21 live shows a week, much of it original compositions.
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