Roger Miller – King of the Road

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

King of the road by roger miller us vinyl a-side.png
By Smash Records / Mercury Records – Public Domain, Link

“King of the Road”
One of A-side labels of the US release
Single by Roger Miller
from the album The Return of Roger Miller
B-side“Atta Boy Girl”
ReleasedJanuary 1965
RecordedNovember 1964
GenreCountry
Length2:28
LabelSmash
Songwriter(s)Roger Miller
Producer(s)Jerry Kennedy
Roger Miller singles chronology
Do-Wacka-Do
(1965)”King of the Road
(1965)”Engine Engine #9
(1965)

King of the Road” is a song written by country singer Roger Miller, who first recorded it in November 1964. The lyrics tell of the day-to-day life of a hobo who, despite being poor (a “man of means by no means”), revels in his freedom, describing himself humorously and cynically as the “king of the road”. It was Miller’s fifth single for Smash Records.

History

The popular crossover record hit No. 1 on the US Country chart, No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 on the Easy Listening surveys. It was also No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart, and in Norway. Miller recalled that the song was inspired when he was driving and saw a sign on the side of a barn that read, “Trailers for sale or rent”. This would become the opening line of the song.

The song has been covered by many other artists, including George JonesDean MartinVal DoonicanJack JonesJames BookerThe Fabulous Echoes

Boney M

Boney M. – King of the Road (Dublin 1978)

R.E.M

R.E.M. – King of the Road

Johnny Paycheck

Johnny Paycheck – King of the Road

Glen Campbell

Glen Campbell & Roger Miller – Good Times Again (2007) – King of the Road (19 Feb 1969) w/ intro

Alvin and the ChipmunksBoxcar WillieRandy TravisRangersJames KilbaneJohn Stevensthe Statler BrothersRufus Wainwright & Teddy ThompsonGiant Sand, Peligro, The Proclaimers

Ray Conniff Singers

King Of The Road

The Reverend Horton HeatJerry Lee Lewis, and Jim White.

James “The King” Brown (an Elvis impersonator) performed the song for a 2001 Audi commercial on German TV. Of R.E.M.’s version, a shambolic, drunken, offhand rendering, guitarist Peter Buck would later comment, “If there was any justice in the world, Roger Miller should be able to sue for what we did to this song.”

https://youtu.be/dhD0a6u7gmQ

“King of the Road” was performed live by Merle HaggardWillie NelsonMarty StuartDwight Yoakam and Dolly Parton during Miller’s posthumous induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame at the 1995 CMA Awards ceremony.

Roger Miller – King of the Road-(Country music hall of fame) –

The song is featured in Wim Wenders‘ 1976 film Im Lauf der Zeit (In the Course of Time; English title Kings of the Road). It is also played at the beginning of Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky BobbyBrokeback MountainInto the Wild (2007), Traveller (1997), and Swingers (1996). Miller performs it in the concert film The Big T.N.T. Show. The recording by The Proclaimers is included in the film The Crossing (1990). Near the end of their official music video, the pair are shown reading a newspaper whose headline is “Roger Miller, King of Plugs”.

Miller’s recording appears in an episode of the Super Dave TV show, where Super Dave Osborne (Bob Einstein) sings along while sitting at a piano mounted on top of his tour bus. The bus eventually goes into a low tunnel, slamming into the piano and Osborne and pushing them off the bus and onto the ground.

Super Dave – King Of The Road

A send-up version by English entertainer Billy Howard was a British chart hit in 1976.

Billy Howard – King Of The Cops

A German take by the band Wise Guys exists, the parody referring to speeding on the Autobahn.

Wise Guys – King of the road

“Queen of the House”

Country music singer Jody Miller (no relation) answered “King of the Road” with “Queen of the House” (1965). The song used Roger Miller’s music while changing the lyrics to describe the day-to-day life of a stay-at-home mom. The words were written by Mary Taylor.

Queen Of The House – Jody Miller

Connie Francis later recorded this song on her 1966 album Live at the Sahara (1966).

Connie Francis sings Jody Miller’s QUEEN OF THE HOUSE

The Supremes performed “Queen of the House” in their nightclub act. It can be heard on their The Supremes at the Copa (1965) album and I Hear a Symphony remastered CD, which includes their September 1966 appearance at the Roostertail in Detroit, on the second disc.

The Supremes – Queen Of The House

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