Mrs. Miller

Exactly how middle-aged housewife Mrs. Elva Miller ended up on the same mid-1960s Capitol Records roster as the Beatles and the Beach Boys remains one of the great riddles in popular music — a less than gifted singer (to put it charitably), her unintentionally hilarious albums are highly prized by today's collectors of lounge and novelty records. Reportedly a longtime opera buff with several years of vocal training under her belt, Miller performed regularly at church functions throughout the Claremont, CA area and even cut a handful of self-financed recordings before she was discovered by Capitol A&R executive Lex de Azevedo in 1966; debuting with an LP bravely titled Mrs. Miller's Greatest Hits, she warbled her way through painfully inept renditions of pop favorites from "Downtown" to "Let's Hang On." Television appearances with Ed Sullivan, Jack Paar and others followed, as did two more albums, Will Success Spoil Mrs. Miller? and The Country Soul of Mrs. Miller, before she parted ways with Capitol. Landing on the tiny Amaret label, in 1969 she returned with Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing before disappearing for good.