| Product Summary | | Label: Uni/mercury Nashville | | UPC: 00731452699329 | | Release Date: 8/22/1995 | | Buy.com Sku: 60395591 | | Item#: MYCVW6 | Format:  CD |
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| Song Listing |  |
Disc 1
| | Song Title | Sample | | 1. My Pillow ~ Roger Miller (Country) |  | | 2. Poor Little John ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 3. Man Like Me, A ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 4. Wrong Kind Of Girl, The ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 5. Jason Fleming ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 6. World So Full Of Love, A - (previously unreleased, demo) ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 7. When A House Is Not A Home - (previously unreleased, live) ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 8. You Don't Want My Love ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 9. When Two Worlds Collide ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 10. Sorry, Willie ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 11. So Saith He The Lord - (previously unreleased, demo) ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 12. Lock, Stock And Teardrops ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 13. Ain't That Fine ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 14. Less And Less - (previously unreleased) ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 15. Chug-A-Lug ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 16. Lou's Got The Flu ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 17. Moon Is High, The (And So Am I) ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 18. Dang Me ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 19. It Takes All Kinds To Make A World ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 20. Reincarnation ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 21. Hard Headed Me ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 22. Do Wacka Do ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 23. Atta Boy Girl ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 24. Our Hearts Will Play The Music ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | Disc 2
| | Song Title | Sample | | 1. King Of The Road ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 2. As Long As There's A Shadow ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 3. You Can't Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 4. Heartbreak Hotel ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 5. Big Harlan Taylor ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 6. One Dyin' And A-Buryin' ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 7. Last Word In Lonesome Is Me, The ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 8. It Happened Just That Way ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 9. Engine Engine #9 ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 10. Kansas City Star ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 11. England Swings ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 12. I've Been A Long Time Leavin' (But I'll Be A Long Time Gone) ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 13. Husbands And Wives ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 14. Train Of Life ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 15. Dad Blame Anything A Man Can't Quit ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 16. You're My Kingdom ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 17. My Uncle Used To Love Me But She Died ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 18. Home ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 19. Absence ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 20. Ruby (Don't Take Your Love To Town) ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 21. Walkin' In The Sunshine ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 22. Million Years Or So, A ~ Roger Miller (Country) | | | 23. Pardon This Coffin ~ Roger Miller (Country) | |
(P) 1995 Mercury Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
(C) 1995 Mercury Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | KING OF THE ROAD: THE GENIUS OF ROGER MILLER chronicles Roger Miller's career from his honky-tonk beginnings in the late 1950s through his years as a country-pop superstar and, finally, Broadway composer. The box ends with Miller's own versions of his Tony Award-winning songs for the musical "Big River." The 70 tracks include eight previously-unreleased recordings. The 40-page booklet includes a long biographical essay and rare photos. | | The final track on disc 2 is followed by a 6-minute outtake of studio conversation and rehearsal. The final track on disc 3 is followed by a brief studio outtake. | | Personnel includes: Roger Miller (vocals, guitar); Willie Nelson, Ray Price (vocals); Jerry Kennedy (guitar, whistling); Ray Edenton, Chip Young, Danny Gatton, Harold Bradley (guitar); Boots Randolph (trombone); Hargus "Pig" Robbins (piano); Randy Hart (keyboards); Bob Moore (bass); Buddy Harman (drums); Buddy Killen (whistling, finger snaps); Thumbs Carllile (finger snaps); Mary Miller (background vocals). | | Producers include: Harold "Pappy" Daily, Owen Bradley, Chet Atkins, Jerry Kennedy, Chips Moman. | | Compilation producer: The Country Music Foundation. | | Principally recorded in Nashville, Tennessee between 1957 and 1985. Includes liner notes by Daniel Cooper. | | Digitally remastered by Joseph M. Palmaccio (Polygram Studios). | | Personnel: Roger Miller (vocals, guitar). | | Recording information: Los Angeles, CA (04/1957-??/1985); Nashville, TN (04/1957-??/1985); Reno, NV (04/1957-??/1985); Spicewood, TX (04/1957-??/1985). | | Released three years after Roger Miller's death, this comprehensive 1995 three-disc box set, issued by Mercury Nashville, covers the entire span of the country-pop performer's career. The collection begins with a handful of early recordings, weepy honky-tonk tunes from the late '50s such as "My Pillow" and "A Man Like Me." That sound would soon give way to the Texan singer/songwriter's more easy-going style (see the swooning "When Two Worlds Collide"), one that Miller perfected during his '60 heyday with classic pop-tinged songs such as the silly "Dang Me" and the vagabond classic "King of the Road." Ideal for devoted fans, the anthology features plenty of lesser-known numbers, and even finds Miller singing a couple of tunes from his final major project, the 1985 Broadway musical BIG RIVER. | | The subtitle of Mercury Nashville's three-disc box set King of the Road is "The Genius of Roger Miller," a sentiment that listeners only familiar with his deliberately silly smashes would dispute, but as this three-disc, 70-track set plays out, it becomes clear that this is hardly hyperbole. If genius is a unique voice, either in writing or delivery, Miller certainly qualifies. If genius is an artist who displays a depth and variety of material, Miller fills the bill. If genius is creating a body of work unlike no other, Miller certainly fits the bill. Miller's genius lay in his command of small details, unassumingly witty wordplay, and seemingly effortless songcraft. Apart from "King of the Road," which developed an iconic status separate from his career, his hits were so funny, so easy, that it seemed his music was too light to withstand such an exhaustive retrospective, but that's hardly the case. Miller's hits were often wonderful, often the pinnacle of his talents, but look closer and it becomes clear that they happened to be the songs that were the singles; he often wrote songs that could have been as big as his hits, but weren't released as singles, or were tucked away on records to be discovered by diligent fans. It's a testament to his talent that not all of these are featured on this otherwise comprehensive box set; the 1991 Country Tunesmith collection alone contains many great songs that could have made the cut. They are missed, as are Miller's brilliant songs from Walt Disney's 1973 animated adaptation Robin Hood ("Not in Nottingham" is as lovely as anything he's done), but that doesn't mean that King of the Road doesn't work as a retrospective -- it just means that, like other great artists, he has more than enough great music to fit onto three CDs. The three CDs are filled with wonderful music -- songs that prove Miller is one of the great country songwriters, capable of songs wrenching in either their humor or pain, and one of the most distinctive voices in the genre. Needless to say, it's essential to any serious country collection. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine |
Musical Guests | | Danny Gatton | | Willie Nelson | | Ray Price | | Boots Randolph |
| | Artist Overview | | Though he's known largely as a writer of novelty songs, due to such hits as "Dang Me," "Chug-A-Lug," and "England Swings," Roger Miller was in fact one of the finest country songwriters of the '60s and '70s, and an important influence on the progressive country movement. Blending country with jazz, blues, and pop, he utilized unusual harmonic and rhythmic devices in his sophisticated songcraft, creating timeless, widely covered gems ("King of the Road," "Husbands and Wives") that have been tackled by everyone from Dean Martin to Giant Sand. In the '80s, he wrote the songs for the musical BIG RIVER, which became a huge Broadway success. Sadly, Miller died of cancer in 1992 at the age of 56. |
| | Compilation Appearances |
| | Associated Artists and Works |
| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 08/22/1995 | | Original Release Date : 1995 | | Catalog ID : 526993 | | Label : Mercury Nashville | | Number of Discs : 3 | | Runtime : 162m : 33s | | Studio/Live : Mixed | | Mono/Stereo : Mixed | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00731452699329 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | Musician (7/96, p.95)
- "...There's depth all over in this three-disc career overview....gonzo entertainment that still resounds with unmistakable substance." |
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