Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

MILLER, Roger

(b 2 Jan. '36, Fort Worth TX; d 25 Oct. '92) A gentle genius whose skill at composing catchy tunes with clever lyrics made him the most popular country-pop singer of the '60s. He was raised by an aunt and uncle in Erick, Oklahoma, a town so small 'that the city limit signs are back to back'. He learned guitar, banjo and fiddle; joined US Army and served in Korea; auditioned for Chet Atkins, playing guitar in one key and singing in another. He worked as a bellboy in a hotel and wrote songs: his 'Invitation To The Blues' was a top 20 country hit '58 by Ray Price (Patti Page also covered it); got a writing contract and songs were covered by Jim Reeves, George Jones, Ernest Tubb; he played fiddle for Minnie Pearl, drums for Faron Young, bass for Price; recorded for Starday '58--60, had country hits on RCA '60--63: 'You Don't Want My Love' was no. 16 (Andy Williams covered it for a minor pop hit); 'When Two Walls Collide' (co-written with Bill Anderson) was a no. 6 country hit, 'Lock Stock And Teardrops' made top 30. Signed with Smash (Mercury subsidiary) and hit big with charming, singable humour: 'Dang Me' '64 and 'King Of The Road' '65 were no. 1 country ('King' was covered hundreds of times), 'Chug-A-Lug', 'Engine Engine No. 9' and 'England Swings' were all top ten pop: he collected eleven Grammys '64--5, a record that will probably never be broken. 'One Dyin' And A Buryin'', 'Kansas City Star', 'Husbands And Wives', 'Walkin' In The Sunshine' were all top ten country, top 40 pop '65--7; his droll humour was evident in 'You Can't Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd' and 'My Uncle Used To Love Me But She Died'. He helped to discover other songwriters such as Bobby Russell ('Little Green Apples'), Kris Kristofferson ('Me And Bobby McGee'); he appeared on Johnny Carson, Andy Williams, Steve Allen TV shows; had his own NBC series '66; worked on film soundtracks Waterhole 3 '67 and Disney's cartoon Robin Hood '73. He never equalled his mid-'60s success, but pleased fans with albums on Columbia (Sorry I Haven't Written Lately '74, Supersongs '75, Old Friends '82 with Willie Nelson), RCA/Windsong (Off The Wall '78); other LPs incl. Painted Poetry on Starday, Dang Me on Smash. He wrote a musical show Big River '85 based on Mark Twain, won ten Tony awards '85. His songs are still being revived by k. d. lang, Ricky Van Shelton, Alan Jackson, Randy Travis etc; his son Dean Miller is a successful songwriter, signed to Capitol '96.