Dorothy “Dottie” Leonard Miller, born August 10, 1945, passed away on October 11, 2024, at the age of 79. She was an incredibly generous and gracious woman who impacted countless lives with the Gospel through her entrepreneurial pursuits in Christian music and distribution.
Guided by the Holy Spirit and giving glory to God for all she achieved, she used her communication skills and unwavering determination to build several businesses whose products and services helped spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world, always surrounding herself with talented people to help accomplish her goals.
From humble beginnings in Wilmington, Delaware, the eldest child of William and Dorothy Golt discovered her true calling later in life. As a single mother raising two children in Hendersonville, Tennessee, Dottie learned about business through her clerical work at an accounting firm and a law firm, gained sales experience selling Jhirmack hair products throughout Nashville, and honed her communication skills working for the Democratic Party of Nashville on successful campaigns for Senator Jim Sasser, President Jimmy Carter, and others. Throughout this time, she worked a second job in ER admissions at Hendersonville Hospital to make ends meet. With no prior experience in music, she took a receptionist position at Calvary Records, building it into positions in radio promotions and sales to Christian bookstores.
She followed producer Ronnie Drake to Windchime Records to continue her sales efforts before starting her own company in her garage in 1981 with a small amount of funding from her father, William Golt, her brother, Bill Golt, and family friend, Ray Lorrig. New Day Christian Distributors focused initially on sales of sheet music and albums by independent artists like Mike Adkins and Jimmy Swaggart and eventually became a one-stop distributor for major labels like Word/Curb, Capitol Christian, Provident, Gotee, Centricity, Integrity, Fair Trade, as well as offering many other Christ-centered products to Christian bookstores from offices on Shivel Drive in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Needing products of her own, she reunited with Ronnie Drake to start DayWind Soundtracks and Daywind Records, providing resources to church singers and bringing the music of great artists like Opryland’s Gospel Quartet, the Cumberland Boys, the Steeles, the New Hinsons, Greater Vision, the Crabb Family, Gold City, Karen Peck and New River, Brian Free and Assurance, Triumphant Quartet, Down East Boys, the Perrys, the Hoppers, Tribute Quartet, the Guardians, Jonathan Wilburn, the Steeles, Joseph Habedank, Scotty Inman, the Blackwood Brothers, the Nelons, Southbound, Lefevre Quartet, The Sound, High Road, Michael English, Truesong, Legacy Five, and more to the world..
Dottie later added Daywind Music Publishing, now the predominant music publisher in Southern Gospel and Bluegrass music genres with renowned songwriters like Lee Black, Jason Cox, Sue C. Smith, Bill Whyte, Jonathan Smith, and more, two recording studios, and a cd manufacturing facility. Lately, her business expansions include Daywind Worship (choral products), Spiritus Distribution (Catholic products), Daywind Music Foundation (Tree Radio), a 24/7 broadcaster of Southern Gospel music, and Billy Blue and Billy Jam Records whose artists include Appalachian Road Show, Authentic Unlimited, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Alex Miler, Darin and Brooke Aldridge, Tennessee Bluegrass Band, Carson Peters and Iron Mountain, Kristy Cox and Grasstime, Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers, Bob Minner, Dave Adkins, Alan Bibey and Grasstowne, Caroline Owens, Marty Raybon, and more.
Dottie’s impressive career received recognition in the form of Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Gospel Music Association, BMI, the Southern Gospel Music Guild, the Singing News Magazine, and Absolutely Gospel Music. She has been inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Her artists and songwriters have received countless Dove Awards, Singing News Fan Awards, BMI Christian Music Awards, Grammy® nominations and one Grammy® Award (Jason Crabb), and over 125 #1 songs.
One of the most accomplished female music business executives in history, Dottie would quickly point to those who used their talents to help her along the way, including Ronnie Drake, Sylvia Mays, Wayne Haun, Marty Funderburk, Rick Shelton, Norman Holland, Brenda Wilcox, Lisa West, Dusty Wells, Vince Wehby, Janice Hoback, Theresa Richards, and many more.
Dottie’s greatest joy in life has been her family. She is survived by her daughter, Susan Leonard Sovine and grandchildren, Taylor McKellar and Kennedy Sovine; her son, Ed Leonard, his wife Kathleen, and their children Eddie Leonard, Mary Leonard, Evan Leonard, Aidan Leonard (Caroline Leonard), Rachael Zuckett (Joey Zuckett), Caroline Leonard, Ian Leonard, Liam Leonard, and Emily Leonard; her great-grandchildren Leo Zuckett and Eloise Joyce; her sister, Cynthia Paranczak; and Jere Miller. Dottie was preceded in death by her brother, Bill Golt, and her parents, William and Dorothy Golt.
Dottie became an avid bridge player after moving to Hendersonville, Tennessee, from Wilmington, Delaware, in 1972. She loved spending time in Florida where she would read and listen to the ocean and at her cabin in Lafayette, Tennessee, where she would enjoy her alpacas, donkeys, goats, and chickens. She was blessed to travel throughout the United States, Europe, and the Caribbean, but mostly enjoyed time spent with family, her co-workers, friends, and artists. She will be remembered by all as a warm, loving, generous woman with a flair for fashion and who could light up every room she was in with her engaging personality.
A celebration of Dottie’s life will be held at a later date in lieu of a funeral.
“For the more than forty years of our friendship, Dottie was a champion for our genre’s Music. She was a pioneer in her field, and she was passionate about her mission to get The Gospel to as many people as possible. I will miss her enthusiasm and our conversations, which always included lots of laughter. My friend is with The Lord, but we WILL meet again, soon!” – Gerald Wolfe, Greater Vision
“Dottie was one of my greatest heroes and influences. She blazed the trail for many of us in Southern Gospel Music. I love that she always trusted the Lord in fulfilling her dreams of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ into all the world. Those dreams became realities. Now she is reaping the harvest of the many souls she touched for the cause of Christ. I love and appreciate Dottie more than words can express. She will be greatly missed. Her legacy will live on forever.” – Karen Peck-Gooch, Karen Peck & New River
“Almost 30 years ago I met a wonderful, smart, classy lady named Dottie. She had the ability to make you smile even when you didn’t necessarily feel like it. She lit up a room the moment she walked in no matter who else was there. She also showed the world she was a savvy businesswoman by starting the best record company in the world. I’ll miss you Dottie and so will many other people but I’m glad you’re not in pain anymore. I’ll never forget your smile.” – Brian Free, Brian Free & Assurance
“I’ve been with Daywind Records for over 20 years. I’ll never forget Dottie taking a chance on signing me after I got out of rehab and I was only six months clean and sober. She will be truly be missed” – Joseph Habedank
“She was a front runner in a world where businesses were run by men. She was an incredibly strong woman. She gave a lot of families hope and jobs. Nothing got in the way of her vision. On a personal side, our family has been a part of Daywind for over 25 years. We love Dottie. When Shellye and I first got married, we were doing everything we could to make ends meet. Dottie would give us her condo to have a vacation. Dottie was special to all of us. She is forever going to be miss. BUT can you imagine what she’s doing right now? She’s having a time. We wouldn’t bring her back for nothing. Dottie, enjoy it. You told everybody about. You helped everybody tell others about it. Welcome into the kingdom.” – Jason Crabb
“We can only imagine the reunion our beloved friend Dottie is having with so many artists she helped and loved along the way. She is home and at perfect peace with her Savior who is no doubt smiling with her because of the incredible heavenly choir she helped ensure with her earthly faithfulness. We will join them one day and we will all finally feel complete. Dottie, you are so loved and will be missed so much.” - The Isaacs
“Our beautiful Dottie Leonard has taken her flight like a mighty eagle. What an exceptional woman of faith, wisdom, foresight, courage and excellence; she paved the way for so many of us!
She was a true fan of Gospel Music and believed it was her lifelong calling to ensure that great gifts in us are to be celebrated & given worldwide platforms.
On a personal note…. she was/is a dear friend whose legacy will live forever. She was the treasure of encouragement.
We didn’t “lose” her… we know exactly where she is! Please give Mama Dottie Rambo a hug from me. Love you so much… see you at The House.” – Reba Rambo
“We will always remember Dottie as a sweet, dedicated, woman of God, who changed the world with her love of gospel music, and we will be forever grateful for the gift of her encouragement in our lives.” – Jim and Melissa Brady
“I met Dottie over 30 years ago, and I knew then I had met a “life friend”. She was a friend, business partner, and great counselor. Life was made sweeter because of her love for me. I will meet her again because of our belief in the savior, Jesus Christ.” – Jonathan Wilburn
“Had it not been for Dottie Leonard Miller, you would have never heard a song I’d written, a track I’d produced, or an orchestration I’d created. She believed in me when others didn’t. She believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. She gave us the truest example of how faith in motion works. And now her faith has become sight. I am heartbroken, but I know I will find her again.” – Wayne Haun
“Dottie Leonard Miller wasn’t just a pioneer; she was a trailblazer with a heart full of faith and a vision that reshaped the landscape of Southern Gospel music and the Christian bookstore industry. Through Daywind Records and New Day Christian Distribution, she brought light, and hope to so many, empowering artists, songwriters, bookstores, publishers, record labels and touching countless lives. Her legacy is one of unwavering dedication and belief in the power of the gospel to change hearts. We have lost a true giant and a treasured friend, but her spirit will continue to inspire us every day.” — Dusty Wells, Director of A&R and Label Relations, Daywind Music Group
“Dottie Leonard Miller was a true inspiration and encourager to many across this country and around the world. Her love for others and leadership through Gospel Music will continue to impact lives for decades to come.” – Gary Casto, Tribute Quartet
“Dottie was a visionary and a pioneer. People with that gift and calling are a breed apart, often questioned and sometimes misunderstood, but fiercely dedicated to allowing the dream inside them to manifest itself in the physical realm. Dottie’s dedication to that dream and its’ subsequent value will only fully be recognized in eternity. The music she championed reverberates not only on earth but in heaven as well, and countless lives have been changed, hearts have been encouraged, and burdens lightened by the message of the resources provided by New Day Distribution and Daywind Records.
Thank you, Dottie, for being true to the call God had on your life. We are all blessed by the fruit you bore and your faithfulness to never give up.” – Billy Blackwood, Blackwood Brothers Quartet
“Dottie was one of the most respected and admired people in Southern Gospel music and beyond! Her work ethic was what one should strive to emulate. Awarded here, rewarded on Heaven’s shore!” – Doyle Lawson
“Dottie was a visionary, a pioneer, she was determined, humble, and generous. Serving her vision, her artists, her songwriters and the industry she loved has been a tremendous honor. What she did with her life touched the lives of so many.” – Rick Shelton, VP of Daywind Publishing
"Dottie Leonard Miller's passion for music was unmatched. And, her vision and God-given ability to use the power of that music to reach people in a positive way through the companies she has built, has literally impacted millions of lives over her long and illustrious career. She was easily one of the strongest women and most faithful servants of God I have ever known. She was so proud of our Daywind, New Day, and Billy Blue family, and she loved and appreciated each and every artist and member of our family. She will be greatly missed, but her legacy will be honored by continuing to spread the Gospel and love of Jesus Christ through the music and products we create." – Jerry Salley, A&R/Creative Director, Billy Blue Records
“Dottie Leonard’s story is a woman with vision, faith, and courage to make a difference. Her work and tenacity will be forever remembered as will her legacy as a single mother, founder of Daywind Records, and New Day Distribution, and member of the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame. On behalf of the GMA Board of Directors and the entire gospel music community, we say farewell to Dottie and offer our deepest condolences to her family as she has now received her greatest reward.” - Jackie Patillo, GMA President
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