James E Akenson
Mission Impossible. Good Luck, Jim. A ‘fur piece’ back in another television universe the opening sequence of Mission Impossible gave agent Jim Phelps a task on audio tape that before it self-destroyed said “Good Luck, Jim.”
Not only did I enjoy the series, but I enjoyed the fact that actor Peter Graves who played Jim Phelps went to Southwest High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota several years before I did. His brother, James Arness played Matt Dillon on the television version of Gunsmoke. Ms. Arness taught 3rd grade at lake Harriet Elementary School. I delivered the Minneapolis Star on my paper route to the Arness family.
But…I never forgot the title Mission Impossible. The term mission not only stood out in my mind because of the television series. Missions and missionaries spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ were taught in Sunday School and church services at First Baptist Church (Minneapolis, Minnesota). My devout family reinforced the mission concept as daily Bible study and prayers referenced missionaries in exotic places like Africa, India, and Japan.
Some people seem to identify a mission in life earlier in others. Some people wander aimlessly, have identify crises wondering who they are, and sometimes never establish a consistent identity and focus for their lives.
No so with Abigail ‘Abi” Miller. She’s not THE Mrs. Miller of sing-off-key fame from years ago. Abi Miller knows what she’s about. Her mission focuses on Country Music with a remarkable clarity and sophistication for a twenty-year old. Take a look at how she describes herself.
Abigail Miller is a 20-year-old musician and student at New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music with a double major in Gender & Sexuality Studies. As a singer-songwriter and producer releasing music under the name Abi Rider, she aims to defy stigmas and combat the discrimination that’s lingered in the country genre since its inception.
Inspired as much by boundary-breaking artists like Maren Morris as she is by scientists like Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Abi searches for the balance between country’s fun, nostalgic lyrics about nights out and long roads, and thoughtful commentary that gives women a place to speak their minds and own their bodies.
Abi is way ahead of my sense of identity and development when I was her age. I wouldn’t have known the equivalent male or female scientist of Dr. Ruth in enough depth to make them a role model for major ideas and confronting issues. Another woman, Abby Elizabeth Miller, almost the same name, doesn’t quite have the same depth of knowledge, gravitas you might say.
This other Abby Elizabeth Miller, though, certainly is an ambitious business woman with lots of social media savvy. Take a look at Abby Elizabeth Miller’s mission in life. Not being caustic, sarcastic, or critical, but I think Abigail Abi Miller of New York University probably has a touch more substance.
Abigail Miller certainly has depth and breadth of vision for her career. It doesn’t seem to me Roba Stanley’s 1925 Single Life would be on Abi’s radar as of yet.
Do not care for pretty little things
Always felt like dancing
Streets all lined with one dollar bills
The girls all sweet and dainty
Single Life is a happy life
Single life is lovely!
I am single and no man’s wife
And no man shall control me
Some will come on Saturday night
Some will come Sunday
If you gave them half a chance
They will stay til Monday
Single Life is a happy life
Single life is lovely!
I am single and no man’s wife
And no man shall control me
Two came in last Saturday night
Two came in my parlor
Every time he hugged my neck
He to play my parlor
Single Life is a happy life
Single life is lovely!
I am single and no man’s wife
And no man shall control me
Boy falls in love with a pretty little girl
His talk is as gentle as a dove
He will call her his honey and spend all his money
Sure is love
Single Life is a happy life
Single life is lovely!
I am single and no man’s wife
And no man shall control me
When I marry red headed boy
When marry for the money
All i want is brown eyed boy
To kiss and call me honey
Single Life is a happy life
Single life is lovely!
I am single and no man’s wife
And no man shall control me
Nor is it likely that the Carter Family’s 1928 Single Girl, Married Girl would also be on Abi’s radar.
Single girl, single girl
She’s going dressed so fine
Oh, she’s going dressed so fine
Married girl, married girl
She wears just any kind
Oh, she wears just any kind
Single girl, single girl
She goes to store & buys
Oh, she goes to store & buys
Married girl, married girl
She rocks the cradle & cries
Oh, she rocks the cradle & cries
Single girl, single girl
She’s going just where she please
Oh, she’s going where she please
Married girl, married girl
Baby on her knees
Oh, baby on her knees
But…as Abi Dives Deeper… into the history of Country Music, Roba Stanley, women of The Carter Family, and even Kitty Wells will likely become part of her references regarding women who challenged conventional boundaries. It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels broke new ground with its frank…for the times… discussion of cheating. Kitty Wells answered Hank Thompson’s The Wild Side of Life.
Abigail Miller, she used her formal name, submitted a proposal for the 2022 International Country Music Conference (ICMC) that further reflects her sophistication. She became the youngest person on the ICMC 2022 program. I guessed that Abigail will be as insightful as many of the older presenters. There’s a certain directness, power, and elegance that belies her twenty years.
The topic is certainly up-to-date and in keeping with the discussions after the 2020 police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Morgan Wallen used a racial slur that was captured on a cell phone pain, but his career certainly hasn’t been hurt long term.
Titled Morgan Wallen: The Danger in Dangerous it references Wallen’s album that has been very successful. Her description of her presentation suggests a great deal of insight and sophistication.
Morgan Wallen faced immense backlash when he was caught using a racial slur 25 days after his January 2021 album release. Many highly regarded news sources posted responses tothe incident, questioning whether we can separate art from artist.
However, very few have analyzed the possibility that the art itself—a 30 song collection spanning nearly 2 hours—includes implicit messages about women, race, alcohol and beauty standards that are just as problematic as his drunken remark. This paper takes a deep dive into the words behind Dangerous, and how they’ve avoided the scrutiny that Wallen has received in the real world.
Clearly, Abi doesn’t lack for ability to deal with complex issues and didn’t give Morgan Wallen a pass for his N-Word indiscretion. Multiple indiscretions is my guess from the mention of women, beauty standards, and artistic expression.
All these thoughts made me want to know a bit more about Abi. So I did two things. First, we did Speed Dating email. I like Speed Dating since it doesn’t require discussion, but does show something about the artist’s thought and experience patterns. Second, I interviewed Abi on ZOOM.
Abi Rider Miller Speed Dating
Bold and italicized are Abi’s choices. Items about which she was unfamiliar she did not italicize.
Luke Combs or Jason Aldean
Tammy Wynette or Connie Smith
Waffle House or Cracker Barrel
Tiny Desk Concert or Country Station Visit
Telluride or Bean Blossom
Station Inn or Bluebird Café
Nashville or Austin
Ascend Amphitheater or Nissan Stadium
City Winery or Tootsies Orchid Lounge
Bill Monroe or Ralph Stanley
Yonder Mountain String Band or Infamous Stringdusters
Americana or Folk
Terrestrial Radio or Satellite Radio
Outlaw Country or Bluegrass Junction
The Tennessean or No Depression
Bob Dylan or Gram Parsons
Country Rock or Southern Rock
Allman Brothers or Lynyrd Skynyrd
Carrie Underwood or Miranda Lambert
Mickey Guyton or Yola
Fan Fest or SXSW
Dolly or Loretta
Billy Strings or Sturgill Simpson
Starday Records or Columbia Records
Country Music Hall of Fame or Birthplace of Country Music Museum
Ernest Tubb Record Shop or The Great Escape
Wanda Jackson or Brenda Lee
Patsy Cline or Dottie West
The Ryman or the Opry House
Jimmie Rodgers or The Carter Family
Louvin Brothers or Delmore Brothers
Grand Ole Opry or Louisiana Hayride
What do you think? I think Abi has a lot of knowledge at this stage of her life. I didn’t begin to know as much as Abi when I was twenty. She knows contemporary Country Music…Luke Combs and Miranda Lambert to Americana (Billy Strings) plus some Country Music history. She knows Tammy Wynette, Patsy Cline, and Brenda Lee. The Carter Family is on her radar.
She’s heard Sirius/XM satellite radio and knows Outlaw Country. There are festivals and venues in Nashville and around the country that she has yet to experience or form an opinion about on a second-hand basis. Bluegrass history with Bill Monroe or 1950s acts such as the Louvin Brothers are yet in her wheelhouse. Abi began filling in some gaps when she attended the 2022 International Country Music Conference (ICMC) in Nashville.
Physically exploring Nashville plus listening to lots of ICMC presentations meant that Tootsies, Nissan Stadium, the Station Inn, and the Bluebird Café take on new meanings. I’d say she’s not only grew as an artist but in her knowledge of the landscape of Country Music.
Abi thinks Morgan Wallen is indeed dangerous. I’m thinking that if Abi Miller were a 40 year-old professor with a PhD she would have made a very positive impact. She’s that good! Where does Abigail Abi Miller go from here?
She’s transferring to Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Not a bad move at all. Our daughter went to Emory. It is clearly a major player on the national scene. Abi’s pedigree will only grow at Emory. My read says that Abi will earn a PhD.
She’ll somehow deal with women’s issues and just maybe continue to deal with Country Music as well. I’ll able to say I knew Abi Miller way-back-when and just knew she was destined to be an academic star…a Country Music academic star.
Check me out. Hold me accountable to my prediction.
