Dwayne and Melba Miller

An eBay seller told me about a gospel duo from Arkansas with an albumcover as unique as the Louvin Brothers’ Satan Is Real – complete with the cartoonish depiction of the devil and the pile of burning garbage that hell is supposed to be.

I was intrigued, searched the internet, and didn’t find much besides that unusual cover art. The cover depicts the couple, Melba sporting the “the higher the hair…” hairdo and Dwayne playing a 12-string guitar. There is a cross with a heart on the wall and a guy on his knees as the devil, wearing one of those self-made Halloween masks from the 1940s. The photo is framed with comical blood and maybe tear-splatters. You have to admit, that ain’t your grandpa’s gospel record, although it is exactly that.

Dwayne’s obituary outlines how the two met:

In 1965, Dwayne heard Melba sing in church. He thought she was an angel and said, “I could sing with her” and in no time they were married and did exactly that. He happily gave up bull-riding when Melba said, “It’s the bulls or me.” He and Melba travelled many, many miles to sing at revivals and camp meetings. Dwayne was a talented songwriter, musician and singer and loved using his talent to praise his Lord. They were blessed with a wonderful marriage of 42 years until Melba was called home in 2008.

Obituary

Released around 1970, this record is maybe not exactly what you expect from the cover, but the promise of it being an extraordinary record is not broken. The music is consistent, upbeat country gospel by a very enthusiastic band that makes that slightly detuned piano ring, that pedal steel guitar yawn, and the drums swing ecstatically. There is not too much to hear from Dwayne’s 12-string, which is a bummer. But overall, as a duo, the two are very good together, and the band gives it a bit of an outsider, real-people feel, even if they are semi-professional musicians, it seems.

The songs are all cover versions by the Louvin Brothers, Dottie Rambo, and others, and it’s a fun listen – definitely worth picking up, music-wise.

Play

Unfortunately, the odd devil cover makes the price of the record “go up, up, up to be with Jesus,” and that’s a bit of a bummer. But luckily there are MP3s and a kind person who posted them.

And then there is the couple’s second record – same ecstatic band, similar interesting and unusual cover art. This time it’s only Dwayne with his 12-string and Melba at his side. Both are depicted slightly from the back, standing in front of a sky mural with clouds and beams coming out of the top left corner, looking up at the source of the rays and waving their hands.

Play

Musically, it’s the same style, but this time they are playing all Dwayne’s own songs.

These are the only two records known so far, and I’m sure the two played music together as long as they were together. Melba was the author of several books and died in 2008, and Dwayne worked for the Arkansas Highway Department and “joined the Shekinah Glory” in 2022.

I happened to be able to visit their final resting place at the Wolf Cemetery in Oppelo, AR. It’s a nice place near a tree. Unfortunately, there was no milk crate with sealed copies of their records for music nerds to find – but again, that’s what MP3s are for!

All images and audio courtesy of bebesfinds.blogspot.com, image of the headstone taken by me.