Roger Miller was born on January 2, 1936, in Fort Worth, Texas. When he was only a year old, Roger’s father, Jean Miller, died of spinal meningitis at age 26. Laudene Holt Miller, Roger’s mother, was already struggling to care for three children by herself during the Great Depression.

Unable to provide for their children, Jean’s three brothers came, and each took one of the boys to live with them. He was sent to live with his Uncle Elmer on his farm outside of Erick, Oklahoma.  He once said “We raised cotton ankle high.”

“When we were kids, we were so poor, words were our only toys.”

“Our town was so small we didn’t have a village idiot; we had to take turns.”

He learned to play guitar and fiddle from his cousin’s husband, Sheb Wooley, who later became a famous actor and singer. Sheb would take Roger out to fix the fencing, chase steers, and talk about stardom.

They would listen to the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday nights and the Light Crust Doughboys on Fort Worth radio by day. Wooley bought Roger his first fiddle and taught him chords on a guitar. 

Note that one of my very favorite bloggers is Phil Strawn & his Notes From the Cactus Patch. Phil’s father is John Strawn, pictured with his fiddle (2nd from right)

About his stint in Korea, Miller used to say “My education was Korea, Clash of 52.”

He was a phenomenal fiddler and each show’s final encore ended with a foot-stompin’, thigh-thumpin’ Orange Blossom Special.

He was once known as The Singing Bellhop, and he took that job at the Andrew Jackson Hotel because it was in the middle of Nashville’s music district.

His first job in country music was on the road with Minnie Pearl. He then met George Jones, and rode back to Texas with George, singing and writing songs along the way, including “Tall, Tall Trees,” which Jones (co-wrote) recorded in 1957, and “Happy Child” which Jimmy Dean recorded right away.

He moved to Amarillo and joined the fire dept, and sang in clubs after work. He really was fired, when he slept through the alarm of the second fire of his employment (the first fire was a chicken coop.) “It was in Amarillo that Roger met Ray Price, and became one of the Cherokee Cowboys.

He moved back to Nashville with a new song he wrote, “Invitation to the Blues.” Both Rex Allen and Ray Price recorded it.

Ernest Tubb recorded “Half a Mind,”
Faron Young recorded “That’s the Way I Feel,”
Jim Reeves recorded “Billy Bayou” which hit # 1 and “Home” made it to # 2.

In the late 50s he sang with Donny Little, later known as Johnny Paycheck. Years later, Johnny Paycheck wrote the beginnings of another song while sitting in a rocker in his living room. “Take This Job and……”

Roger’s “When Two Worlds Collide “ written in the back seat of his Rambler station wagon on the way to Texas, was named after his favorite movie.

In 1961 he was being paid $50 / week and went through money before he even received it. He once took a job as Faron Young‘s drummer. When Young said he needed a drummer by Monday, Roger said, “By Monday, I’ll be a drummer.” And he was — for over a year.

He left RCA and went with Smash Records which went into business in February 1961, headed by Charles Fash.

Having produced hits such as Bruce Channel’s “Hey Baby” and the Angels’ “My Boyfriend’s Back”, they were eager to expand with other artists. In 1963, the label signed on Jerry Lee Lewis, James Brown, and Roger Miller.

In order to pay back a $1500 advance, Roger wrote and recorded 16 songs in four days. He wrote “Dang Me” in four minutes in a Phoenix hotel room. He also wrote “Chug-a-Lug” for that session.

His next hit for Smash was “King of the Road,” which he wrote while on the road somewhere outside of Chicago. He saw a sign that read “Trailers for Sale or Rent.” He wrote the first verse. Then, in Boise, he saw a short-cigar-smokin’ hobo on a corner near the railroad station and somehow, that jarred the rest of the lyrics. That song took 6 weeks to write.

Roger’s Grammy wins were more than any other artist, and the record remained unbroken until Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

🥳The Peak of His Fame

When Miller signed with Smash Records, a subsidiary of Mercury Records, he had more creative freedom. He started to record his own novelty songs, which showcased his clever wordplay and humor.

His first major hit was “Dang Me”, which reached number one on the country charts and number seven on the pop charts. He followed it with another number one country hit, “Chug-a-Lug”.

The same year, he released his most famous song, “King of the Road”, which became a crossover hit and an international sensation. The song won five Grammy Awards, including Best Country Song and Best Contemporary Rock ‘n’ Roll Single. It also earned Miller a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for receiving the most BMI awards for one song.

Miller continued to produce hit after hit, such as “Engine Engine #9”, “England Swings”, “Husbands and Wives”, and “You Can’t Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd”. He also appeared on television shows, such as The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Muppet Show, and Hee Haw. He also starred in some movies, such as Waterhole #3 and Lucky Luke.

Later Years and Legacy

In the 1970s, Miller’s popularity declined as country music changed and became more serious and sophisticated. He still recorded some albums, but they did not sell well. He also faced some personal problems, such as alcoholism and divorce. He married his third wife, Mary Arnold, in 1977, who helped him overcome his addiction.

In 1982, Miller had a comeback when he recorded a duet with Willie Nelson called “Old Friends”, which reached number 19 on the country charts. He also collaborated with Ray Price on an album called San Antonio Rose.

In 1985, Miller wrote the music and lyrics for a musical based on Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The musical, titled Big River, was a huge success on Broadway and won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. Miller also played the role of Pap Finn in some performances.

Miller’s songs have been covered by many artists over the years, such as Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakam, Reba McEntire, George Strait, Brad Paisley, and more.

In early 1992, Miller announced that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer after a tumor was found below his vocal cords. He underwent radiation treatment at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He also continued to perform occasionally until his condition worsened.

On October 25, 1992, Roger Miller died at Century City Hospital in Los Angeles at the age of 56. According to Wikipedia, a memorial service was held for him at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on November 4. His ashes were scattered over his ranch in Santa Fe County, New Mexico.

Roger Miller’s  Records Include:

King of the Road, Walkin’ In The Sunshine, Billy Bayou, Husbands And Wives, Dang Me, The Last Word In Lonesome Is Me, Chug A Lug, My Uncle Used To Love Me But She Died, Engine Engine #9, Kansas City Star, Do-Wacka-Do, Don’t We All Have the Right To Be Wrong, England Swings, In The Summertime, When Two Worlds Collide (his first hit), You Can’t Rollerskate In A Buffalo Herd, You Don’t Want My Love, Me and Bobby McGee (written by Kris Kristofferson, but the first successful recording was Roger’s, not Joplin’s), Kansas City Star, and Little Green Apples (written by Bobby Russell).

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IN GOD WE TRUST

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