MoTown songwriter Ron Miller. Miller died Monday of cardiac arrest at Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center after a long struggle with emphysema and cancer. (File Photo)

BEIJING, Aug. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- MoTown songwriter Ron Miller died Monday of cardiac arrest at Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center after a long struggle with emphysema and cancer, said Lisa Dawn Miller, his daughter. He was 74.

Miller got his professional start in the music business in the 1960s, when Motown founder Berry Gordy saw him perform at a piano bar and invited him to Detroit as one of the label's first songwriters and record producers.

Miller's songs included pop classics "Touch Me in the Morning" and "For Once in My Life." His songs have been recorded by many leading artists, including Judy Garland, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross and Ray Charles.

"For Once in My Life," written with Orlando Murden, is one of the most recorded songs in history, with more than 270 versions, according to All Music Guide. A rendition by Tony Bennett and Wonder won a Grammy award this year.

In 2005, Charles¡¦and Gladys Knight's version of Miller's "Heaven Help Us All" won the best gospel performance Grammy.

Born in Chicago, Miller was a die-hard Cubs fan, who wrote his first sad song as a child about his beloved but hapless team, his daughter said.

Before meeting Gordy at the piano bar, Miller made a living selling washing machines and taking odd jobs. He also served in the Marines and was stationed all over the world.

Miller wrote the book and lyrics to many musicals, including "Daddy Goodness" and "Cheery," based on William Inge's "Bus Stop." during the 1970s. Barbra Streisand recorded "I've Never Been A Woman Before," from the musical, for her "The Way We Were" album.

"My father will be reborn every time someone sings one of his songs," Lisa Dawn Miller said. "When they feel joy or sadness or any emotion, that will be my dad and his words."

Miller is survived by his wife, Aurora Miller, and six children.

(Agencies)