60 Years Ago: Roger Miller Records Iconic Song, Wins SIX Grammys
There’s just not many cooler cats in country music history than the King of the Road himself, Roger Miller. One of the most revered songwriters to ever ply the craft, it wasn’t his intricate weaving of verse and rhyme that made him so legendary. It was his efficiency of expression, his use of wit, his ability to evoke setting in character in just a few short phrases, and most importantly, never taking himself too seriously that resulted in some of the best songs in the history of the recorded music medium.
In his heyday, Roger Miller wrote classic songs so effortlessly, it must have been galling to his peers, composing some of his best works in under 10 minutes. Perhaps songs like “Dang Me,” “Do-Wacka-Do,” and “Chug-a-Lug” were not exactly tantamount to Shakespeare. Roger Miller wrote kids songs for adults. Then he wrote “Oo-De-Lally” for the animated Robin Hood soundtrack for kids … and adults.
But there is one song that trumps all others in the Roger Miller catalog, and it’s a song he recorded 60 years ago today. Instead of taking minutes to compose like, Miller spent months tweaking its verses and rhyme until it was perfect. It still was a simple like so many Roger Miller works, but sublime and timeless. On November 3rd, 1964, Roger Miller recorded the king of all traveling songs, “King of the Road.”
Few songs immediately transport you to a different time and place like this one. You can just imagine yourself out on Route 66 in the 1950’s, neon signs buzzing in the background, and not a care in the world. The song captured the freedom of the beatnick generation and the hippies, but also the truck drivers and hobos. “King of the Road” allows everyone to go on a road trip and escape reality for 2 minutes and 28 seconds.
How was “Kind of the Road” received in its day? It was one of the most successful and well-received songs of all time. Obviously the song became a #1 hit in country music. Strangely, it was kept out of the #1 spot on the all genre Billboard Hot 100, only making it to #4. But “King of the Road” was also an international hit, reaching #1 in the UK and Norway, #5 in Ireland and The Netherlands, and #6 in France. To this day, Roger Miller’s “King of the Road” is one of the most recognized country songs worldwide.
It’s the simplicity of the song that makes it so easily translatable, and relatable to so many. The thumping bass line drives the song. The fingers snaps done by guitarist “Thumbs” Carllile are something that anyone can snap along to. Though the last RIAA Certification for the song came in 1965 when it was Certified Gold, it’s thought that “King of the Road” has sold some 10 million copies worldwide.
But maybe the song’s greatest achievement came in 1966 at the 8th Annual Grammy Awards. Grammy voters were so smitten with “Roger Miller’s song”King of the Road” that it won a whopping five Grammy Awards single-handedly, and many also give it credit for nabbing Miller the Best Country & Western Album Grammy for The Return of Roger Miller. A six Grammy haul for one individual song ain’t bad at all.
Best Country Song
Best Country Vocal Performance, Male
Best Country and Western Recording, Single
Best Contemporary Vocal Performance, Male
Best Contemporary (Rock ‘N Roll), Single
Best Country and Western Album
The official story is that Roger Miller was inspired to write the song after seeing a Billboard in Chicago that read, “Trailers for sale or rent,” though a similar story places the inspiration for the song in Nampa, Idaho, just outside of Boise. In truth, Roger probably told lots of stories to locals, saying “King of the Road” was inspired in their municipality to make them feel special. The truth died with Roger Miller in 1992 when he passed away at the age of 56.
“King of the Road” lives on though, 60 years after it was originally recorded, taking you back to a more carefree age of cool, when bumming cigs, hopping trains, and .50-cent rooms were still a thing.
November 3, 2024 @ 11:30 am
Roger Miller was, in my eyes..and ears, the greatest example of an entertainer. He is royalty. His voice was endlessly expressive and his writing talents were unrivaled. He recorded “silly” songs, yes. But did they make you smile? Sure did. Simple is the hardest thing to write. His phrasing, humor, and ability to see and say things in such a unique manner rank him at the top of the mountain for me.
November 4, 2024 @ 10:25 am
Roger Miller was one of the greatest musical artists USA ever produced.
A shame he’s mostly remembered as a novelity act because of two songs, and not for the true force he was up until ca.1970. His voice, instantly recognizable, is up there with Haggard, Dean Martin and Ray Price. As comfortable with the rowdy backwoods as in the uptown halls.
Waylon became philosophical when he and Roger witnessed a nice sunrise, waiting for the downers to work. Waylon suggested it might be a god out there after all, creating such beauty.
– Yeah, imagine what he could’ve done if he had money, quipped Roger.
November 3, 2024 @ 11:41 am
Roger Miller is one of the most talented and underrated legends of country music, and he died way too soon like many of the greats. Through articles like this one, one can hope that his legend will be remembered for years to come.
I know I mention his major contribution to “Big River” in almost every Roger Miller comments section, but please set a calendar reminder for June 2, 2025 and consider doing an article on the 40th anniversary of his historic sweep of the 1985 Tony Awards. From everything I’ve found, he had zero prior experience with Broadway, and he took his talents to the next level to pull off such an amazing feat with an incredible score that has aged like fine wine.
November 3, 2024 @ 12:45 pm
I always thought, as a kid, the rooster had such a great voice and should’ve been a singer. Lo and behold, I find out much later who Roger Miller is / was. Very similar to learning about Jerry Reed’s virtuosity after growing up with Smokey & The Bandit.
November 3, 2024 @ 12:47 pm
It should be duly noted that Roger’s six-Grammy haul for “King Of The Road” and the rest was the largest single-artist haul in Grammy history up until Michael Jackson’s THRILLER, so Roger held that record for a whopping eighteen years.
As for the truth about the origins of “King Of The Road” dying when Roger did at an all-too-early age…well, the old saying from the 1962 John Ford Western film classic THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE applies: “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend”.
November 5, 2024 @ 6:06 pm
One of my favorite songs and one of my favorite movies.
November 3, 2024 @ 1:03 pm
King of the Road succeeds musically due to a few interesting techniques. On the surface, its a simple three chord banger in A. But in the final verse, it changes keys to B-flat. For anyone wishing to play and sing the song, you can do it using a capo, and slide up one fret as you start to sing “I know every engineer on every train…” Anyhow, its a fun technique to change keys mid-song because it adds a little pizazz and sophistication to the sound.
Walk The Line by Cash did this also, changing keys 3 times! Dixieland Delight by Alabama also changes keys. I don’t notice this technique used as much these days, I think its an overlooked technique in songwriting, and has become ignored in the age of soulless computer generated music.
If memory serves me right, Miller would grin and exaggeratedly move the capo while performing the song live, as a comedic little touch, as if hes saying to the audience, look what I just did, Hah!. Another thing that makes this song great, is it has such a catchy verse hook in addition to having a catchy chorus. Its an instant sing-along for anybody in their late 40s or over. The cadence of the song with the little walk up to the A chord, and the finger snap cements the deal. Honestly, anyone busking out there ought to learn this one, its a crowd pleaser every-time. Ive seen Lower Broadway performers in Nashville get an entire audience to sing along. Classic song.
November 3, 2024 @ 7:02 pm
Modulations in country songs kinda went the way of the dinosaurs – like 7th chords. Another example is Conway Twitty’s ‘Love to Lay You Down’ modulated down a whole step 3 times. I think country music overdid the whole modulation thing and if it’s done too early in a song it feels very unearned and corny, but done right it elevates the song.
Another cool example of modulation is “You’re the reason God made Oklahoma” where it keeps switching keys for each turn of the duet partner. Maybe someone can correct me if that’s a true modulation or just a key change but it utilizes the same trick of changing keys after the 5 chord I believe.
November 3, 2024 @ 1:14 pm
Awesome song. And roger was one of the best artist ever.
November 3, 2024 @ 1:45 pm
Roger Miller is one of my favorites.
“River in the Rain” is one of my favorites and Allison Krauss recorded a fantastic version of it on her Windy City album.
November 5, 2024 @ 1:13 pm
Joshua Hedley covered that one too recently!
Man, that Windy City album though is just plain awesome all the way through!
November 3, 2024 @ 2:13 pm
I’ve always liked the original version of “Me and Bobbie McGee”. At the end of the song he just cuts loose and the mariachi horns really add to the festive nature at the end of the song.
November 3, 2024 @ 4:08 pm
The original version of Me and Booby McGee was sung by Kris Kristofferson and he also wrote it.
November 3, 2024 @ 4:37 pm
Krisrofferson indeed wrote it, but Miller was the first to record it.
November 3, 2024 @ 4:53 pm
Good catch.
Changing durection a bit, R.E.M. did a wonderfully drunken, sloppy version of it that was included in their BSides/Outtakes record Dead Letter Office.
November 3, 2024 @ 5:24 pm
That was the first version of “King of the Road” I knew, and I find that with its ramshackle quality it gives an alternative spin to the original which nevertheless stays true to its freewheeling spirit.
November 3, 2024 @ 3:40 pm
Roger Miller is undeniably a criminally underrated country singer and composer, though to my hearing “King of the Road” is not the reason why. It’s not a bad song by any stretch, of course, but its popularity notwithstanding, it does not match the immortal songs sung by actual hobos during the golden age of hoboing (late 1800s to the Depression).
These include “Big Rock Candy Mountain” and “Hallelujah I’m a Bum” (the funniest of them all) or — going back to the Reconstruction era — the harrowing song (actually a whole family of related songs) known variously as “900 Miles,” “Reuben’s Train,” “Old Reuben,” and more. The Osborne Brothers’ 1950s hit “Ruby, Are You Mad at Your Man?” is Cousin Emmy’s rewrite devoid of the railroad elements. The song lives on even now in the repertoires of a number of bluegrass bands. A splendid oldtime banjo version appears (as “What’s Gonna Become of Me”) on the brand-new Smithsonian Folkways release Things Done Changed by Black songster Jerron Paxton.
November 3, 2024 @ 4:07 pm
For those that keep Grammy scores, how many times has the same single won Best Country and Western Recording, Single & Best Contemporary (Rock ‘N Roll), Single?
I don’t believe Roger Miller was ever under rated. It just took him awhile to catch on. 🙂
November 3, 2024 @ 5:37 pm
Certainly not underrated by those who appreciate first-rate songwriting, but largely forgotten in other ways.
I have concluded that his name and contribution are fading, for one reason, because I run into younger country fans who’ve never heard of him. In fact, the opposite practically never happens. In my observation Miller’s uniquely adult intelligence, urbane wit, and memorable goofiness are halfway down the memory hole. I say that with no joy whatever.
By the way, the first cover of “Me and Bobby McGee” was Gordon Lightfoot’s, I think. If there’s one before that, I haven’t heard it and will happily stand correction.
November 4, 2024 @ 2:29 am
Roger Miller winning the Grammy;s for country was fine, but honestly, Roger Miller winning those Rock & Roll Grammy Awards was more a function of the “adults” who were running the Grammys not having a clue about what was going on in rock and roll than anything legitimate.
In the category of Best Vocal Performance, Male, Roger Miller lost to Frank Sinatra’s “It Was A Very Good Year.” And in the category of Record Of The Year, Roger Miller lost to “A Taste Of Honey” by Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass. And in the category of Song Of The Year, “King of the Road” lost to “The Shadow Of Your Smile,” (Love Theme From \”The Sandpiper\”, sung by Tony Bennett. Those were the categories that the “adults” cared about or considered important.
But in the “Rock & Roll” categories, Roger Miller won “Song of the Year” over “Yesterday” (the Beatles), “It’s Not Unusual” (Tom Jones) and “What The World Needs Now Is Love” Jackie DeShannon
Not the Grammys finest hour or anything that stands the test of time. Like in 1989, when the first Grammy Award for Hard Rock/Metal went to Jethro Tull and the metal community considered it to be bullshot.
November 3, 2024 @ 6:41 pm
Being black,I wouldn’t have been permitted to stay in Route 66 hotels in the 50’s (which is why “The Green Book For Negro Travelers” was a necessity for us until the end of legal segregation in 1966),but “King Of The Road” summons Depression-Era image of railroad hobos going from town to town,ostensibly seeking work,but sometimes evading labour using ingenious devices.(My industrious father was one such man,hoboing across Canada in the early 30’s,becoming the Middleweight Champion of three of his Ontario and Quebec lumber camps-yes,he was a 5’7″,155-pond black lumberjack).
Indeed,Miller was one of the cleverest Country singer/songriters,conjuring images of a good ol’ Country boy’s life and behaviour.( How many people remember the unrelated Jody Miller’s answer song “Queen Of The House” about the life of the wife of an inveterate good timer ?)
RIP,Roger,your fans are numerous and VERY appreciative !
November 4, 2024 @ 12:08 pm
Interesting. The first release of “(“Get Your Kicks) On Route 66”–and still the most famous–was by Nat King Cole in 1946–the year before Jacke Robinson “broke the color bar” in MLB. Cole did not raise those issues in the song–which is probably why it was a big hit–on both the Race Records chart and then the broader Billboard chart, as well.
November 3, 2024 @ 7:08 pm
Private John Q is another great song of his to listen to beyond Chug a Lug and King of the Road. He was such a master songwriter and had such an incredible sense of humor. You can see on old TNN tapings on Youtube how Willie, Waylon, Kristofferson revered his songwriting – which says enough right there.
Much to the chagrin of Luke Bryan, there is a reason that people value the opinions of those old drugged up cowboys.
November 4, 2024 @ 1:06 am
It doesn’t seem all that surprising that “King of the Road” didn’t make it to #1 on the rock and pop chart. The #1 songs in the Hot 100 in 1965 were songs like “Ticket to Ride,” “Eight Days a Week,” “Yesterday” and “Help!” by the Beatles, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and “Get Off of My Cloud” by the Rolling Stones, “Stop! In the Name of Love” by the Supremes, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'” by the Righteous Brothers and “My Girl” by the Temptations. It’s more surprising that a song featuring nothing more than a guy with a plain vocal, a guy snapping his fingers and a guy lightly strumming an acuoustic guitar could make it to #4.
But I checked further and “King of the Road” is listed as the #12 song for the full year 1965, beating out more than half the songs that did make it to #1. But here’s the one that really threw me for a loop: The #1 song for the full year, 1965 never made it to #1 either. Huh? Sounds impossible, but the #1 song for the year was “Wooly Bully” by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs.”Wooly Bully” peaked at #2.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Year-End_Hot_100_singles_of_1965
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Billboard_Hot_100_number_ones_of_1965
November 4, 2024 @ 6:09 am
And the Great steeler player Buddy Emmons switched to play Bass for Roger for about 6 years (That says a lot), They were great friends and had a similar sense of humus.
November 4, 2024 @ 10:35 am
We should all appreciate humus, in my opinion.
Very earthy and necessary for the whole eco system. 😉
November 5, 2024 @ 5:09 am
Thanks Sofus for the correction and humor on humus, and I do like humus on my bagels!
November 4, 2024 @ 8:53 am
As talented a songwriter as Roger Miller was, he often lacked the discipline to complete his partially-written songs. Usually the need for money provided him motivation to finish his compositions. But King Of The Road was an exception.
In Don Cusic’s Roger Miller biography “Dang Me,” and other accounts I’ve read, the King Of The Road story is related this way:
Roger saw the “Trailers For Sale Or Rent” sign while driving to Chicago to catch a flight. He thought the line would sound good in a song. He wrote the first verse in a Boise, Idaho hotel room. Although he realized that he had a great concept for a song, writer’s block prevented him from completing it. As a visual aid, Roger purchased a small statuette of a hobo in an airport gift shop and stared at it until inspiration returned. Roger described that process as “induced labor” as it took several weeks from start to completion. The song was finally finished in Kitchener, Ontario Canada.
Roger considered it the best song that he had ever written.
The role of TV variety shows in that era added significantly to the song’s massive popularity. The catchy, easy to sing, up-tempo tune was frequently performed on those programs by performers of all stripes, including Roger as a guest star. That provided the song additional exposure alongside already significant radio airplay. Dozens of artists across multiple genres recorded the song as album tracks adding even greater awareness. Jody Miller (unrelated to Roger) recorded a female “answer song,” “Queen Of The House” with parody lyrics that also became a big hit to further expose the original song’s finger-snapping melody. All of that exponentially increased the song’s popularity and were additional factors leading to Roger winning those multiple Grammy Awards.
Jody Miller- Queen Of The House:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-b2QRScS3A
November 4, 2024 @ 10:23 am
Didn’t see anyone else mention Where Have All the Average People Gone so i thought I’d drop it in. Hearing that song made me realize Roger Miller had more that just the funny songs.
November 4, 2024 @ 10:37 am
Written by Dennis Linde, partially as a reply to “Where have all the flowers gone”.
November 6, 2024 @ 6:47 pm
Another unusual and touching Roger Miller performance was his 1969 recording of a Bobby Russell song. Roger had a hit with Bobby’s “Little Green Apples” the previous year. Released during the height of the Viet Nam War, “Vance” hit home for many Gold Star families. The 4:35 length likely kept it from climbing higher than #15 on the Billboard Country chart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEFgajcAd0g
November 4, 2024 @ 10:29 am
I can’t forget Roger’s story about him working at a service station in Amarillo back in the day. An obviously wealthy woman pulled into the station in her new Cadillac, got out, walked over to Miller and said, “Do you have a rest room?” The noise of all the air compressors and other machines that were running made it difficult for Miller to hear her very well. He thought she said, “Do you have a whisk broom?” His response was, “Just back it up over here, lady, and we’ll blow it out with the air hose.
November 4, 2024 @ 5:28 pm
Cole did not raise racism issues in 1946 because not only would whites not bought “Get Your Kicks On Route 66”,he could have face recriminations such as beatings or worse by whites,which the Montgomery,Ala.-born Cole well knew. (In 1956,Cole was stabbed by Klansman Asa F.Carter during a performance in Cole’s hometown.Carter,who later adopted an Indigenous persona and sold childen’s books,fooled Oprah into recommending one of his tomes before his true identity became known and Oprah rescinded her recommendation of his books).
November 4, 2024 @ 5:31 pm
Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs,one of my favourite boyhood acts,were a VASTLY underrated 60’s group.
November 4, 2024 @ 6:08 pm
I was born in December of 64 – a little over a month after this was recorded – my father was a musician and huge Roger Miller fan and always played his records in the house – this is the first song I ever knew all of the words to – though (at 3-4 years old) I had to ask my dad what a “stogie” was…I still play this song almost every night I take the stage and it is always a crowd favorite! What an original artist he was.
November 5, 2024 @ 3:29 am
“King of the Road” helped me get through a bad acid trip in the early 70s. Kept humming it to myself as I walked back and forth along a desert beach on the Oregon coast.
November 5, 2024 @ 3:30 am
“deserted” beach I meant to say.
November 5, 2024 @ 8:17 am
Some long winded praise for Roger Miller up in here. Which is wonderful. I’ll keep mine short and sweet. He was an absolute genius songwriter who made it possible to sprinkle lyrics with some meandering nonsense. He could hide pain in a laugh. I think the song “My Uncle Used to Love Me, But She Died” is the one that hooked me. It has a raspy punk element to its delivery, and when you find out the fact that he was raised by his Aunt and Uncle, and his Aunt died prematurely. Then you get it.