The human mind is a wonderful thing, it starts working from before you’re born and doesn’t stop till you sit down to write a song
~Roger MillerIt’s one thing to have talent. It’s another to figure out how to use it.
~Roger Miller
Leaven’s Not The Only Way To Go:
From Wikipedia:
| Birth name | Roger Dean Miller |
|---|---|
| Born | January 2, 1936 Fort Worth, Texas |
| Died | October 25, 1992 (aged 56) Los Angeles, California |
| Genres | Country |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar, fiddle, drums |
| Years active | 1957–1992 |
| Associated acts | Bill Anderson, George Jones,Dean Miller, Willie Nelson,Johnny Paycheck, Minnie Pearl,Ray Price, Jim Reeves, Sheb Wooley, Dwight Yoakam, Faron Young |
| Website | www.rogermiller.com |
Roger Dean Miller (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known for his honky tonk-influenced novelty songs. His most recognized tunes included the chart-topping country/pop hits “King of the Road”, “Dang Me” and “England Swings”, all from the mid-1960s Nashville sound era.
After growing up in Oklahoma and serving in the United States Army, Miller began his musical career as a songwriter in the late 1950s, penning such hits as “Billy Bayou” and “Home” for Jim Reeves and “Invitation to the Blues” for Ray Price. He later started a recording career and reached the peak of his fame in the late 1960s, but continued to record and tour into the 1990s, charting his final top 20 country hit “Old Friends” with Willie Nelson in 1982. Later in his life, he wrote the music and lyrics for the 1985 Tony-award winning Broadway musical Big River, in which he also acted.
Miller died from lung cancer in 1992, and was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame three years later. His songs continued to be recorded by younger artists, with covers of “Tall, Tall Trees” by Alan Jackson and “Husbands and Wives” by Brooks & Dunn, each reaching the number one spot on country charts in the 1990’s. The Roger Miller Museum in his home town serves as a tribute to Miller.
You Can’t Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd & Chug-a-lug:
From allmusic.com – Stephen Thomas Erlewine:
Roger Miller is best known for his humorous novelty songs, which overshadow his considerable songwriting talents as well as his hardcore honky tonk roots. After writing hits for a number of artists in the ’50s, Miller racked up a number of hits during the ’60s which became not only country classics, but popular classics as well.
….read more @ allmusic.com
Album of the day – All Time Greatest Hits (2003):
From allmusic.com – Stephen Thomas Erlewine:
There have been many collections of Roger Miller’s hitmaking peak on Mercury over the years, but few have been as comprehensive or as good as Mercury/Chronicle’s 2003 CD, All Time Greatest Hits. Spanning 20 tracks over the course of one CD, this contains all the big songs: “Dang Me,” “Chug-a-Lug,” “Do Wacka Do,” “In the Summertime (You Don’t Want My Love),” “King of the Road,” “You Can’t Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd,” “Kansas City Star,” “England Swings,” and “Husbands and Wives,” among others. All but one track from the seminal 1965 collection Golden Hits is here (“Atta Boy Girl” is the missing culprit — a good song but not enough to tip the scales in favor of the 38-year-old collection), and it spans further than that record, collecting hits from 1967-1970 and ending with the 1986 hit “River in the Rain.” While that final song isn’t quite of the standard of what preceded it, it provides a nice closer to a set of songs that unequivocally proves Miller’s genius. ….read more @ allmusic
Other October 25:
Continue reading Today: Roger Miller passed away in 1992 – 20 years ago
