Posted on 09/16/2006 5:58:25 PM PDT by Nita Nupress
I see if my dad can scan it. It's in one of mom's gazillion picture boxes.
I’m more than happy to answer almost any question you or anyone else has. Forgive me if my answers/comments are too long (that’s the great thing about the scroll bar).
Regarding the family, the original title and concept was “Old Friends: Fuzzy Memories of Roger Miller” (the title obviously changed, because it seemed everyone liked the ring of “Ain’t Got No Cigarettes” better because it got people thinking of singing along with Roger, the “Old Friends” reference would probably be relevant to only the hardcore Roger fans). So right from the start, the focus was on his old friends.
When I started meeting people that knew Roger, I saw their faces light up and they always had a great story to share. I could relate to that, sharing funny stories about my friends with others but I couldn’t relate to sharing stories about my family members to people that I wasn’t close to. So it just wasn’t a gut instinct to track down the family to get their memories with the exception of Sheb Wooley, because he was an entertainer and was such a huge influence on Roger, plus many people I interviewed told me I had better chat with Sheb!
I came up with this book concept because I’m a fan of Roger Miller: the entertainer, the songwriter and the character - so that’s what I was on a mission to find out more about. I also see it as there is Roger, the celebrity, and then there’s Roger, the family man. I was interested in the celebrity, thinking that his personal life (and that of his families’) is their business. Since there were a few ex-wives out there, I imagine there would be some interesting stories that could have been shared as to why marriages ended, what his kids are doing these days, how they coped with his ups and downs, etc, but that really isn’t any of our business unless you’re a family member. I never brought up anything like that to any of the interviewees like “why did that marriage end?” In fact, I never even asked any questions about the drug issues unless they brought it up first. That decision was also based on the fact that I’m a big Elvis fan and I’ve always thought that there is WAY too much detail revealed about Elvis’ relationships with his family, his diet, his sex life, even issues with his bodily functions - stuff that isn’t anyone’s business. I think poor Elvis has had a huge invasion of privacy. I hope no one considers this book an invasion of Roger’s privacy, I see it more of a “Hey, do know what an amazing guy this was?” sort of book.
Another thing was, I know as a fan (who became a fan after Roger’s passing) that it was hard on me knowing that Roger wasn’t with us creating anymore. I saw the hurt in the eyes of his friends who missed and loved him so much. There were many times when tears were held back and sometimes shed by the interviewees and that affected me too. It was often an emotional experience being there capturing their memories. I could just imagine if I were to interview Roger’s immediate family that there would be so much more hurt and I didn’t really want to be in that position. The loss of Roger to his family must have been tougher than any of us could imagine, especially when you hear his voice on the radio regularly and people are always bringing him up. Bobby Bare told me at his house, “I was sitting right where you are the last time I spoke to him”, that really hit me - it became real (if that makes any sense).
I did meet some of the family members at a Roger Miller Tribute they did in Nashville with guests KT Oslin, AJ Croce, Pam Tillis and some other kids of the big name artists including Dean. I introduced myself to Mary Miller and she was quite friendly, I contacted her previously to meeting her just to give her a heads up that I was working on the book and that if she wanted to read anything or know anything that I was up to that she could contact me anytime or get involved with the project (I didn’t want to be some guy sneaking around asking questions about her husband behind her back). I also met Dean Miller that night, I mentioned to both of them that if they’d like to participate in the book, I’d love to include them and if not, I totally understand. I never heard anything from either of them (and that’s all right, I respect their privacy) but I have heard from some cousins of Roger who really enjoyed the book, and that’s a great feeling.
Maybe if there’s a part two down the road and the family is interested in talking, it would be nice to get some clarification on the stories included in this book along with some new stories and warm memories. There’s a ton of questions I have that went unanswered that probably only the family knows the real answers to.
This is just the Psych major in me guessing but perhaps there’s also a subconscious reason that I didn’t track down the family: have you ever tried looking up a Miller in the phonebook who lives in the LA area?
Wed. = Semi-Finals for Quartets - ~50 quartets sing then 40 get eliminated and 10 make the Finals. Quartet Finals on Friday afternoon-ish. Thurs = Chorus Semi-Finals. 33 Choruses sing then 23 are eliminated and 10 choruses make the Finals which are on Sat. If all goes well, I should be singing all 4 days ;-).
PS I leave for the competition on the evening of Mon. the 9th. All competitors have a briefing and venue walk-through on Tues. I'll try to remember to send you private mail that day with the expected on-stage time(s) at least for both of the semi-final rounds.
Funny you should mention that.... I know a Miller in the LA area. He's one of my husband's best friends going back to jr. high age. But he's no relation to Roger Miller ;-).
I’m more than happy to answer almost any question you or anyone else has. Forgive me if my answers/comments are too long (that’s the great thing about the scroll bar).
In this case, "long" is good. Thanks for answering in such a forthright manner. Before I wrote the review, you said you would answer almost any question, and I see you're good for your word.
You said, "I did meet some of the family members at a Roger Miller Tribute they did in Nashville with guests KT Oslin, AJ Croce, Pam Tillis and some other kids of the big name artists including Dean."
And being the curious person that I am, I found:
Event to raise funds for Nashville’s Table
By Colleen Creamer
October 15, 2002
A concert honoring the songs of Roger Miller, slated for Oct. 19 at Belcourt Theatre, will benefit Nashville’s Table and Empty Bowls. The fund-raising concert will feature Hal Ketchum, K.T. Oslin and Dean Miller, A.J. Croce, Greg Barnhill, Quinn Loggins and others.
http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section=9&screen=news&news_id=16795
Honesty is always a good thing. Your parents taught you well. ;-)
I came up with this book concept because I’m a fan of Roger Miller: the entertainer, the songwriter and the character - so that’s what I was on a mission to find out more about. I also see it as there is Roger, the celebrity, and then there’s Roger, the family man. I was interested in the celebrity, thinking that his personal life (and that of his families’) is their business.
And actually, I thought you did a great job of staying out of Roger's family business. That's one of the reasons I was glad you let Roger's friends speak instead of filling white space with your own words. Without knowing Roger personally, there's only so much you could've said without crossing into that fuzzy grey area that becomes Roger Miller's private business. You took the high road.
If any of Roger's family was made uncomfortable by his friends' stories, I would hope that they have the ability to step back a minute to put things in a different context -- to reflect on just who "Roger Miller, the family member" was to people. One hundred of Roger's friends just told us: He was a musical genius.
And when it involves genius, there is no stopping the documentation process. Documentation of genius must be done. If it were never done we would have empty history books. In the case of "Roger Miller, the entertainer," you were just the first one who saw the necessity.
By the way, none of my family members have 100 famous and semi-famous friends who would say, "It's about time he got his own book." But just so you'll know, if they ever do, I'll be the one who writes the book, so you won't have to. ;-)
Thank you! I'll put it on my calendar so I won't forget!
Oh, and something else I wanted to say:
Anyone who can work Jesus into an interview with the press like you did gets my vote.
Is there a web link to that interview that you know of? I would love to have it.
Sincerely,
Nita NuPress :-)
bump for later
My manager posted some of that interview regarding Jesus/Roger (it was a a short reference) on www.alternativecountrymusic.com
I don't know if what I said even made sense but here's that part, again taken from the Take Country Back magazine:
When I asked Lyle what makes Roger Miller so endearingly 'real' and iconic in the same breath, Style’s answer is quick and poignant.
“Roger Miller was himself all the time. I've been told that by many people. He was the same person on stage as he was offstage, which is unlike many celebrities who put on an act for the audience and media but aren't so nice in real life. I guess that could make Roger "iconic" because that's the same way Jesus was from what I've read: he practiced what he preached, and he was the same to people if he was preaching to mass crowds, hanging out with friends, even on the cross. You got to respect and admire that.”
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I spent two years in a minor seminary, I don't know if all those religion classes paid off or not.
Don't worry about scanning it if it's a hassle. But if it's handy someday, I'd love to see the JC photo.
Thanks!
Is there anyone out there that met Roger or perhaps seen him in concert?
If so, could you share a few stories from that experience? Like when/where, and perhaps anything specific from that experience?
I'd love to hear about it!
Do you guys know if there is a "country music" ping list anywhere? Or anything that would be close, however remotely, like "music," "entertainment," etc.?
Years ago, there was a link you could visit that had a list of all the FR ping lists. Know anything about that?
Bump for stories.
Do either of you guys know anything about a "music" ping list around this place?
There are a couple of leads here, although I don't see one directly on point.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1692671/posts?page=222#222
Back in 1966 or 1967, my brother and I were in junior high school in South Carolina. We were never far from a transistor radio or two or three. When we weren't listening to sports, we had the radio tuned to the local Top 40 station and were grooving on the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Dave Clark Five and the rest of the popular rock music. We bought rock 45s for a dollar and stacked them on a record player, listening to them over and over.
My father was into Dixieland Jazz. His friends included famous musicians and jazz producers. He had invested in a pretty cool Hi-Fi and had a huge collection of Dixieland albums. He even recorded a weekly jazz program that preempted the rock and roll on the rock station I listened to.
One day, Dad brought home a Roger Miller album. For a season, the generation gap was gone in our home as we listened to and sang King of the Road, England Swings, Chug a Lug, etc. over and over.
Roger Miller then came to town for a concert. I remember that Dad, my brother, and I attended (the rest of the family may have been there, but I don't remember). The concert was great. Roger put on a lively show, singing all the famous tunes. Several years later, I started going to rock concerts, but I always listed Roger Miller's as the first concert I went to. It still is one of the fondest memories.
Some time after the Roger Miller concert, I found out that my dad was disappointed in the concert because Roger Miller was so obviously drunk during the concert. I, at the ripe age of 12 or 13, did not notice he was drunk and thought the performance was great.
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