Roger Miller
Roger Dean Miller ( January 2, 1936 in Fort Worth, Texas; † 25 October 1992 in Los Angeles, California ) was an American country music singer and songwriter.
- 2.1 albums
- 2.2 Awards
Life
After the early death of his father Roger was raised by relatives living in Oklahoma. His childhood was marked by poverty. The only change were radio programs such as " Grand Ole Opry " and "Light Crust Doughboys ". Additional access to the country music he took over his brother- Sheb Wooley, who stood at the beginning of a career at the time.
After a brief stint in the army, where he played for a time in a country band, pulled Miller in 1957 to Nashville. Here he at first tried in vain to a recording contract. In order to gain a foothold in the music -City, he worked as a bellhop. He gradually found its way into the local scene. As a session musician he has participated in recordings of Winnie Pearl and Faron Young. For the Mercury label some unsuccessful singles were produced. Finally, he began working for the music publishing Tree Publishing to write songs.
For a time he worked in Amarillo, Texas as a firefighter. Here he met Ray Price know, the drummer in his band, the Cherokee Cowboys took him. 1958 Price scored with the book written by Roger Miller song Invitation to the Blues a Top Ten hit. Other were successful with his songs. Jim Reeves Billy Bayou even reached the top position on the country charts.
At this time the young songwriter also came in contact with Johnny Cash and his band, the Tennessee Three. The band suffered at that time strongly Cash's unreliability caused by amphetamines, so that the musicians Marshall Grant and Luther Perkins were on time, although present at many concerts, but the star was missing. Bassist Grant recalls in his book I Was There When It Happened about how Roger Miller often stepped in as a singer in such cases, and thus saved the ticket revenue. The friendship with Grant and Perkins gave Miller the early to mid 1960s, thus at least the possibility, from and to stand on the stage.
Career
After his success as a songwriter, Miller tried again as a performer. First, for Decca and then for RCA some moderately successful singles were recorded. The highest singles chart position was reached in 1961 with When Two Worlds Collide tenth place.
RCA released him from the contract and Miller moved to Hollywood, where he earned his money with appearances in television shows. In 1964 he signed with Smash label. Coinciding with his first single, Dang Me, he achieved his final breakthrough. The song held for six weeks at the top of the country charts and made it to the Top Ten on the pop charts.
The next singles were successful. In 1965, the song, which is connected to today inseparable from his name: King of the Road. It was mainly his subtle and often humorous lyrics, which brought a new quality in the country music. He was the first who told complete stories in his songs and establishing a tradition that has been continued by the likes of Kris Kristofferson and Tom T. Hall.
King of the Road is undisputed highlight of Roger Miller's career. It earned him five Grammys and other awards. The plate sales dropped soon after, his songs but were still successfully interpreted by other stars. He invested his money in a hotel chain.
The early seventies, he joined the Columbia label. But here were no significant success has been achieved. In 1973 he was elected to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. In this year also falls his work on the animated film Robin Hood, for whom he wrote substantial parts of the music and grossed. One last time he was in 1985 the focus of attention when he wrote a Broadway musical with Big River, which won him two Tony Awards.
On October 25, 1992 Roger Miller died of throat cancer. Three years later he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In Erick, Oklahoma, the town where he grew up, the " Roger Miller Boulevard" is named after him.
Best-known songs
- King of the Road
- Dang Me
- Chug -a -Lug
- Little Green Apples
- England Swings
- Engine Engine Number Nine
- In the Summertime
- Do- Wacka -Do
- You Can not Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd