Wer war/ist Roger Miller ? - CDs, Vinyl LPs, DVD und mehr

Roger Miller

A Man Like Me

As a youngster, this author was introduced to country music through his grandmother, who was a real honest-to-goodness, grey haired, Granny widow living up in the hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She had one of those big ol' console stereos, ordered from Sears, and one of her favorite record albums was a compilation album of older country hits. I would sit and listen intently for hours, but one song by one artist in particular truly perplexed my fragile young psyche. The song was You Don't Want My Love (In The Summertime) and whenever the singer would start scatting the solo, sounding completely incoherent, going into a falsetto punctuated by sounds resembling Donald Duck, I just didn't know what to think.

"That's Roger Miller," my Granny explained with a chuckle, "he's CRAZY!”

And so it was that Roger Miller became the most unlikely of country music superstars. Although he led the sort of extreme wildman existence that no Grandmother could ever comprehend, he somehow was able to charm the pants off of the entire nation with his immense wit and original song style.

Miller could have made it on any one of his talents—songwriter, comedian, singer, entertainer, actor—but his hyper-active creativity couldn't be tempered until he had excelled in all of his pursuits. By the mid-1960s, Miller was hot as a pistol, with his own NBC television special, his own television show, a mantle’s worth of Grammy awards, and a string of huge hits including Chug-A-Lug, Dang Me, Engine Engine #9, and of course his career-defining hit King Of The Road.

It took less than ten years for Miller to come from nowhere to the top of the hill. Like others who achieved such monumental success, the story of how Miller got to the top was an interesting one. Until now, not much attention has been paid to Roger Miller's early recordings.  This collection attempts to rectify this situation, gathering together all of his early recordings from his very first session in 1957 up to the time that he signed with RCA-Victor in 1960.

Though Miller could lay claim to being a Texan, having been born in Ft. Worth, Texas, on January 2, 1936, his father Jean Miller died when he was only a year old, and his mother Laudene Miller had to farm her three boys out to Jean's family. Roger went to Erick, Oklahoma, to live with his Uncle Elmer and Aunt Armelia Miller, and today Erick proudly proclaims itself as 'the home of Roger Miller,' even hosting a Roger Miller museum downtown!

Roger remembered his upbringing in small town Oklahoma as "So dull you could watch the colors run."  When columnist Hedda Hopper later asked him if Erick was near anywhere, Miller replied that it was near extinction.Between working in the fields, walking three miles to school, and feeling lonely and cut off from his mother's love, life was hard for him. Nonetheless, he exhibited a bright mind from an early age, making up songs on his long walk to school.

His loneliness and isolation helped fuel the creative desire inside him. "We were dirt poor," Roger once told an interviewer. "What I'd do is sit around and get warm by crawling inside myself and make up stuff... I was one of those kids that never had much to say and when I did it was wrong. I always wanted attention, always was reaching and grabbing for attention."

Release eventually came in the form of his cousin Melva's husband, Sheb Wooley (yes, the same Sheb Wooley who later had a huge hit with Purple People Eater in 1958, and a string of hits under the pseudonym Ben Colder in the 1960s). Wooley was 15 years older than Roger, and was a powerful mentor figure to the young miscreant, encouraging him to take up music as a creative outlet.

Sheb was the first one in the family to make a dent in the music business, making records for Bullet in 1945 and MGM beginning in 1948. He moved to California in the mid-50s, and in addition to making records, he also worked as an actor in countless low-budget westerns and television shows. It must have seemed terribly exciting to young Roger, stuck in the dust bowl of the Oklahoma prairie.

Roger spent countless hours listening to the radio, from the Grand Ole Opry to the Light Crust Doughboys, daydreaming about the exciting life Sheb was living out in California. Soaking up influences from what he heard, Roger eventually declared Bob Wills and Hank Williams to be his favorite artists. When Sheb came back to Oklahoma to visit, he helped Roger by showing him chords on the guitar, and bought him his first fiddle.

Eventually wanderlust got the best of Roger, and he began traveling as far as he could run away, getting odd jobs during the day and listening to music at the honky tonks by night. His desire to become part of the professional music world led him to steal a guitar in Texas, which he reckoned was the only way he would ever be able to own one.

Upon being caught (or turning himself in, depending on which story you believe), the judge gave Roger the option of jail, or joining the Army. Though he was only 17 at the time, Roger chose the latter and was immediately shipped off to the conflict in Korea. According to Roger, "my education was Korea, Clash of '52." By the time that Roger was shipped to Fort McPherson in Atlanta, Georgia, to finish his stint in the Army, his talents as a musician had become known, and he joined his first band, the Circle A Wranglers, on fiddle. The Circle A Wranglers were an armed services outfit that already had one famous alumnus in Faron Young, who later would be one of Roger's first professional employers.

Roger Miller A Man Like Me - The Early Years
Read more at: https://www.bear-family.com/miller-roger-a-man-like-me-the-early-years.html#
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Weitere Informationen zu Roger Miller auf de.Wikipedia.org

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King Of The Road (CD)
Roger Miller: King Of The Road (CD) Art-Nr.: BCD15477

Sofort versandfertig, Lieferzeit** 1-3 Werktage

1-CD mit 24-seitigem Booklet, 29 Einzeltitel. Spieldauer ca. 64 Minuten. Die ultimative Roger-Miller-Zusammenstellung! Diese CD enthält die ungemein seltenen und zu Unrecht von RCA damals ignorierten Aufnahmen sowie die besten seiner...
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A Man Like Me - The Early Years
Roger Miller: A Man Like Me - The Early Years Art-Nr.: BCD16760

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1-CD-Album mit 36-seitigem Booklet, 17 Einzeltitel, Spieldauer 38:10 Minuten. Die frühesten und seltensten Aufnahmen eines der größten US-Musik-Stars! Songs von verschiedensten Labels – das gelingt nur Bear Family! Grandiose Hillbilly-...
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Greatest Hits (LP)
Roger Miller: Greatest Hits (LP) Art-Nr.: LPCN2073

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​(Pickwick) 13 tracks
12,95 €
The Masters (CD)
Roger Miller: The Masters (CD) Art-Nr.: CDEAB030

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(1998/Eagle) 20 tracks (45:24) nice price offer collection of original master recordings licensed fom BMG.
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King Of The Road - England Swings (7inch, 45rpm, BC, CS)
Roger Miller: King Of The Road - England Swings (7inch,... Art-Nr.: 45872860

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A - King Of The Road B - England Swings
9,95 €
Dang Me - Chug-A-Lug (7inch, 45rpm)
Roger Miller: Dang Me - Chug-A-Lug (7inch, 45rpm) Art-Nr.: 872858

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(Smash) 2 tracks, Single (7 Inch) auf SINGLES RECORDS von Roger Miller - Dang Me - Chug-A-Lug 7inch, 45rpm
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The Best Of Vol.2  - King Of The Road (CD)
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die letzten 2 verfügbar
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(Polygram US) 20 tracks - new sealed stock
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King Of The Road - A Tribute To Roger Miller (2-CD)
Roger Miller & Various: King Of The Road - A Tribute To Roger Miller... Art-Nr.: CD538321110

Artikel muss bestellt werden

(BMG) Zwei CD-Set. Diese 37 Titel umfassende Veröffentlichung enthält Künstler aller Genres, die einem der größten Songwriter/Performer aller Zeiten - Roger Miller - Tribut zollen. Zu den Gastkünstlern gehören Willie Nelson, Dolly...
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Do-Wacka-Do - You Can't Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd (7inch, 45rpm, BC, CS)
Roger Miller: Do-Wacka-Do - You Can't Roller Skate In A... Art-Nr.: 45COL4815

die letzten 1 verfügbar
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A - Do-Wacka-Do B - You Can't Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd
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Singer, Songwriter - The Early Years 1957-1962 (2-CD)
Roger Miller: Singer, Songwriter - The Early Years 1957-1962... Art-Nr.: CDJAS3670

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(2015/Jasmine) 52 Tracks, original Mercury, Starday, Decca, RCA Victor, Capitol, Challenge und Big Top Aufnahmen. Eine einzigartige Retrospektive der Arbeit des Roger Miller, der sowohl ein Country Music Superstar war, als auch einer der...
16,95 €
Engine Engine #9 -  England Swings (7inch, 45rpm, BC, CS)
Roger Miller: Engine Engine #9 - England Swings (7inch,... Art-Nr.: 45COL4344

die letzten 2 verfügbar
Sofort versandfertig, Lieferzeit** 1-3 Werktage

A - Engine Engine #9 B - England Swings
9,95 €
The Best Of Roger Miller - Volume One - Country Tunesmith (CD)
Roger Miller: The Best Of Roger Miller - Volume One - Country... Art-Nr.: CD897723

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(PolyGram Records) 21 tracks
19,95 €
King Of The Road - Little Green Apples (7inch, 45rpm, SC)
Roger Miller: King Of The Road - Little Green Apples (7inch,... Art-Nr.: 45OLD9480

nur noch 1 verfügbar
Sofort versandfertig, Lieferzeit** 1-3 Werktage

(Old Gold Records) 2 tracks
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King Of The Road (CD)
Roger Miller: King Of The Road (CD) Art-Nr.: CD154785

die letzten 1 verfügbar
Sofort versandfertig, Lieferzeit** 1-3 Werktage

(Delta Music) 11 tracks
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Roger Miller: Country Legends (CD) Art-Nr.: CD675121

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(St. Clair) 10 tracks
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King Of The Road (CD)
Roger Miller: King Of The Road (CD) Art-Nr.: CDGT722722

die letzten 1 verfügbar
Sofort versandfertig, Lieferzeit** 1-3 Werktage

(Gusto Records) 10 Tracks
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King Of The Road - Wooly Bully (7inch, 45rpm)
Roger Miller / Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs: King Of The Road - Wooly Bully (7inch, 45rpm) Art-Nr.: 45ARC03482

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(ARC Records) 2 tracks Side A - King Of The Road, Roger Miller Side B - Wolly Bully, Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs
9,95 €