Ron Miller, RIP

[GA Russell]

I didn't know that the composer of For Once In My Life was a Motown employee. I didn't realize that Stevie Wonder had his hit of it before Tony Bennett recorded his.

Here's his LA Times obit:

Ron Miller, 74; wrote the popular music classic 'For Once in My Life'

From Times Staff and Wire Reports

July 25, 2007

Ron Miller, 74, a songwriter whose biggest hit was the pop classic "For Once in My Life," died Monday of cardiac arrest at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center after battling emphysema and cancer, said his daughter, Lisa Dawn Miller.

He wrote "For Once in My Life" with Orlando Murden, and it is one of the most recorded songs in history, with more than 270 versions, according to All Music Guide. It became a signature song for Stevie Wonder, and a rendition by Wonder and Tony Bennett won a Grammy award this year.

Among the other songs Miller wrote are "Yester-me, Yester-you, Yesterday," "Touch Me in the Morning" and "Heaven Help Us All."

Born in Chicago, Miller wrote his first sad song as a child for his hapless but beloved baseball team, the Cubs. He served in the Marines before Berry Gordy saw him at a piano bar in the 1960s and asked him to write and produce for Motown Records.

A song Miller wrote in the 1980s, "If I Could," has been recorded by more than 100 artists, including Celine Dion. Written for his six children, it was Miller's favorite among his own compositions.