![]() He cut Bobby McGee and is was like having Dylan do it to have Roger cut it, you have to understand he was Huge, I was singing his songs before I even got to Nashville …Kris Kristofferson Roger was the guy responsible for making country music cool to the pop music world. Roger Miller is right up there with Mark Twain and Steven Foster, real America originals Roger was the guy everyone wanted to write like. ![]() Quotes about Roger Miller from other singers songwriters “A Man Like Me – The Early Years” released in 2006 features Roger’s earliest recordings for Starday & Decca. “King Of The Road” released in 1990 contains all of his RCA Victor sides and 8 Smash singles. To Bear Family’s credit they did issue two single Roger Miller CD’s. I’ve seen some reasonably priced used copies on eBay. However all of the songs from the 1970 “A Trip In The Country” album were included on the 1991 Mercury compilation CD “The Best Of Roger Miller Vol. All are only being released as digital downloads. The Roger Miller albums mentioned in the above article are not being issued on CD or vinyl. For an unexplained reason many tracks on that set were taken from mono tapes instead of the stereo recordings. It had most of his Smash/Mercury singles along with random album tracks. Mercury’s 3-CD set was really more of a career sampler. Yes Mercury did issue a 3-CD Roger Miller set in 1995 but I was referring to a comprehensive Bear Family type boxset that would include a significant portion of his recorded catalog covering multiple labels with unreleased tracks and especially all of his excellent Smash & Mercury albums. And no better place to start than with the works of Roger Miller. But with the way back catalogs are becoming increasingly popular as today’s music just doesn’t touch people like yesterday’s, we are slowly seeing some of country music’s most important works re-emerge. There are many other country legends whose legacies have also yet to translate into the digital world, and it takes a lot of effort by fans, families, and labels to make it happen. In 1964, Roger Miller won a whopping five Grammy Awards, speaking to just how revered he was by his peers. Though it was songs like “Chug-A-Lug” and “Do-Wacka-Do” that had folks in stitches and singing along, it was songs like “The Last Word in Lonesome Is Me” that left a more significant mark. ![]() Roger Miller’s whimsical and touching songwriting revolutionized country music at the time. I hope these songs bring you a laugh, a tear, but most of all, a smile.” “As I revisit his wonderful catalog of songs, I’m reminded how much I like hearing his lighthearted ones like ‘Hey Would You Hold It Down?’ as well as how poignant his ballads are. “I’m excited that these classic albums of Rogers are being made available digitally for all to enjoy,” said Miller’s widow, Mary Miller. Then from there, Capitol Nashville/UMe will be releasing three new titles every month this summer, marking 65 years of Roger Miller’s influence in country music, which commenced in 1957 when George Jones recorded the Roger Miller-penned “Tall, Tall Trees.” Twelve original albums altogether will be populated across the digital realm as part of the campaign. First up are 1970’s A Trip in the Country, 1979’s Making a Name For Myself, and Roger’s 1985 self-titled album. ![]() Starting on Friday, May 27th, Capitol Nashville/UMe is going to begin reissuing Roger Miller’s albums originally released on Mercury, MCA, and Smash Records, making them available for the first time via streaming and download. Sure, if you’re a vinyl junky, maybe you’ve done well finding his full-length albums out there in the wild, but good luck listening to them on the go, while the catalog of one of the greatest songwriters ever in country music is virtually inaccessible to a newer generation of listeners. Though you can pull up many of his most iconic songs such as “King of the Road” and “Dang Me,” most of them are only accessible via the dozen or so “Greatest Hits” compilations that have been licensed over the years. That’s most certainly been the case with the catalog of Country Music Hall of Famer Roger Miller. Sometimes one of the most frustrating aspects of being an old school country music fan is the lack of availability of some of the older titles of some of country music’s most important artists.
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