Jerry Miller, Co-Founding Guitarist of Moby Grape, Dies at 81

Jerry Miller, co-founder and guitarist of 1960s San Francisco rock band Moby Grape, died on Saturday, July 20, in Tacoma, Washington. He was 81. A Moby Grape Facebook fan page broke the news, according to a report from Deadline.

“Sadly, Jerry Miller passed away last night,” the post reads. “Jo and the family are asking for everyone to please give them some privacy and respect, and Jo asked that people cease phone calls for the time being. Thank you.”

Miller was born in Tacoma, and returned there in the mid-90s. However, his career began in the 50s when he contributed guitar to many rock bands in the Northwest. Being from Washington, he was a contemporary of Jimi Hendrix—born in Seattle—and Larry Coryell, who grew up in Richland. The three would often see bands together at places like the Spanish Castle in Des Moines, Washington, which Hendrix would later write a song about.

Before Moby Grape, Jerry Miller and Don Stevenson formed a Seattle-based band called The Frantics. The two eventually moved to San Francisco in 1966, added Bob Mosley, Peter Lewis, and Skip Spence, and started Moby Grape with Miller playing lead in the three-guitar band.

Miller was responsible for co-writing some of Moby Grape’s most famous songs, such as “Hey Grandma” and “8.05” from their 1967 self-titled album, and “Murder in My Heart for the Judge” from the 1968 album Wow.

Moby Grape Co-Founder and Influential 60s Guitarist Jerry Miller Dead at 81

Moby Grape continued touring and making music until 1970, when the band dissolved. However, throughout the years the band would get back together with various lineups, touring and recording intermittently. Through the 70s, Jerry Miller performed with Hendrix, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, and The Doors, and has influenced many guitar players in his time.

In 1995, Jerry Miller returned to Tacoma, Washington. He started The Jerry Miller Band and did solo work as well. Miller was an advocate for the arts in Tacoma, championing local musicians through the Jerry A. Miller Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts which provided practice and teaching spaces for artists, according to a 2005 press release for the foundation.

The final Moby Grape reunion occurred in 2007, featuring original members Miller, Bob Moseley, Peter Lewis, and Don Stevenson. In 2023, Jerry Miller told The Spectator that the rocky and tumultuous legacy of Moby Grape didn’t really bother him.

“The way I see it, I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” he said at the time. “I’ve still got my health and my music, and I still get to do what I most love for a living. Maybe the Grape were screwed, but so what? If you haven’t been ripped off, you haven’t been in the music business.”

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