Dusty Miller & His Colorado Wranglers

Dusty Miller and the Colorado Wranglers were one of America's early country music (then known as hillbilly music) bands. Dusty Miller, the stage name for Elmer Rossi (22 July 1910 - 3 March 1997), formed his band in 1932 in Guinnison, Colorado. After performing shows and concerts for several years on the West Coast, Rossi decided to travel East. The band's composition and personnel changed considerably during the early years of touring and traveling, however Rossi (Dusty Miller) always maintained the central position of the band as leader, master of ceremonies, and lead guitarist. Eventually settling down in the region of Amsterdam, New York, in the 1940s, Rossi was joined by Barry Frank (second guitar), Curly Dean (accordion), and Clem Myers (a young fiddler who went by the stage name "Flash Gordon"). In Amsterdam Rossi and his band began performing radio shows for WAFS/WSSS/WCSS Amsterdam, NY and KCAX/WCAX Burlington, VT, developing a devoted following and began to receive regional and then national coverage. The band's lineup underwent several personnel changes as performers were drafted into the military for World War II and as performers moved to other areas the band saw a number of star performers like Patty Lane and Carly Moore (the "Songbird of the Adirondacks") rotate through the roster along with a chimeric mixture of talent including performers like C. Keith Lettice, Mary Thomas, Herm Ziemba, Joey Iannotti, Johnny Costello, and many others. As performance followed performance from the 50s to the 60s and 70s, Rossi developed something of a legendary status and was referred to as "Amsterdam’s favorite Cowboy". Performances continued at a slower pace throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, finally ending completely in January 1997. The following month Amsterdam Mayor John Duchessi proclaimed February 3 as "Dusty Miller Day", and by March of the same year Rossi died. Trivia: • Rossi's mother was Zoe Mahue Rossi and his father was John Rossi. • Rossi's brother Jimmy (who had joined Elmer on his trip east in the 30s) formed The Saddle Mates with Smokey and Lois Carey and settled in Rutland, VT. • Rossi had been married to Marion Rossi and had had two sons (Elmer and John) and two daughters. • Elmer Rossi Jr. married Patty Lane.