in the early 1930s, miller was a trombonist, arranger, and composer in the dorsey brothers. miller composed the songs "annie's cousin fannie", "dese dem dose", "harlem chapel chimes", and "tomorrow's another day" in 1934 and 1935. in 1935, he started an american orchestra for british bandleader ray noble. in this band, he featured a lead clarinet over four saxophones. he later used this arrangement in his own bands.