Parthenon Huxley
Parthenon Huxley (born January 19, 1956) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and producer who is known for his solo albums and for his involvement in ELO Part II and The Orchestra, both of which are latter-day offshoots of the 1970s–80s symphonic rock band Electric Light Orchestra. He has also made cameo appearances in several films including Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story and The Flintstones. Early life Huxley was born Richard Willett Miller in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and grew up in New Jersey and Athens, Greece before moving to North Carolina to attend UNC-Chapel Hill. His stage name (now legal name) honors two of his varied interests: his love for Greece, and the British writer Aldous Huxley. He began his recording career as guitarist on Matt Barrett's EP The Ruse (Moonlight Records), produced by Don Dixon and Mitch Easter. The Blazers, P. Hux and VeG His touring career began as a member of the Chapel Hill, NC rock band The Blazers, which consisted of Huxley (credited under his original name Rick Miller), Sherman Tate (lead & harmony vocals, rhythm guitar), Ronnie Taylor (drums & percussion) and Lee Gildersleeve (bass). The band recorded one album, How to Rock: Ten Easy Lessons (Moonlight Records, 1980), again produced by Don Dixon. His first solo recording (released under the pseudonym "Rick Rock") was the self-produced, self-financed single "Buddha, Buddha" / "Sputnik" (Big Groovy, 1983). Despite its modest recording budget of US $400 "Buddha, Buddha" was named one of the ten best records ever made in North Carolina by the Greensboro Record. During this period Huxley also toured as guitarist with Don Dixon under the name Me & Dixon. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1987 and signed with Columbia Records; the following year he recorded his first solo album, Sunny Nights (Columbia 1988), produced by Huxley and Paul McCartney producer David Kahne. Three of its tracks ("Double Our Numbers", "Guest Host for the Holy Ghost" and "Chance to Be Loved") were released as singles during that year. Although the album received favorable reviews (Rolling Stone Magazine called it a "monumental debut"), it did not sell well and this ended his association with Columbia. It was five years before Huxley's next album; in the intervening period he co-produced the two solo albums by Eels frontman E, 1992's A Man Called E and 1994's Broken Toy Shop. The first single from A Man Called E ("Hello Cruel World" – co-written by Huxley) reached #8 on the Modern Rock chart. Huxley also produced an eponymous album with power pop singer Kyle Vincent (Carport/Hollywood Records). The album's first single, "Wake Me Up (When the World's Worth Waking Up For)", reached #101 on Billboard's singles chart and stayed there for eight weeks, setting a curious record for "bubbling under" the Hot 100. Huxley's next album, Deluxe, was credited to P. Hux, a power-pop trio comprising Huxley, Gordon Townsend (drums, vocals) and Rob Miller (bass, vocals). The album was released in the US in 1995 on the Black Olive label,