Ain't Got No Cigarettes: Memories of Music Legend Roger Miller

My head | Nita Nupress

[Wyatt's Torch]

His influences were wide ranging. R.E.M. did a cover of King of the Road on their Dead Letter Office record of B-Sides. Impromptu version that was quite good.

[Nita Nupress]

Hey, nice seeing you again, too! Thanks for the link. That one I knew about, but many people don't so thanks for posting it. For anyone who doesn't know, that's the website that his widow keeps up for his fans. It has a lot of bio information on it also.

[Nita Nupress]

I was thinking it was a summer replacement show, but it wasn't. It just wasn't on for very long - just one season in the fall of 1966. Wonder why he liked Arthur Godfrey so much, lol.

I may be wrong, but I don't think he got to choose his own guests. Maybe Lyle knows more, I don't know.

[wordsofearnest]

On to "Dang Me"

[wordsofearnest]

LOL

[backhoe]

Artist/Band: Miller Roger
Lyrics for Song: Dang Me
Lyrics for Album: All Time Greatest Hits
Well here I sit, gettin' ideas
Ain't nothing but a fool would live like this
Out all night and runnin' wild
Woman sittin' home with a month old child

CHORUS:
Dang me, dang me
They oughta take a rope and hang me
High from the highest tree
Woman would you weep for me.

Just sittin' around drinkin' with the rest of the guys
Six rounds bought, and I bought five
Spent the groceries and half the rent
Like fourteen dollars and twenty seven cents.

(CHORUS)

They say roses are red and violets are purple
Sugar is sweet and so is maple surple
Well I'm the seventh out of seven sons
My pappy was a pistol
I'm a son of a gun.

(CHORUS)

---

I guess it's age and the wisdom alleged to come with it, but Roger's lyrics seem a lot funnier, and more poignant, than I recall them seeming as a child/teenager.

[wordsofearnest]

As I think back I remember hearing him on the radio all the time. Mom (RIP) and Dad listened to country music all the time, so we cut our teeth on some of this music. I loved his TV show but the one I really remember is the "Jimmy Dean Show"

[mrestyle]

No problem sharing some of the stuff left on the cutting room floor. A ton of work when into those interviews too and it was sad to have to drop them. I had to cut out a ton on bizarre and funny stories along the way too because of the space issue. The publisher didn't think this book should be longer than the Bible.

I do have a "Word" version of the book. It has a word count on it, but I can't figure out how to just count the number of words without going one by one in the find section.

I imagine it's a lot. If you know how to do it, let me know, take a guess and I'll let you know if you're right.

[mrestyle]

Where did you get this list from? I've got a similar list from Mason Williams who worked on the show but it included Bobby Darin. Bobby's historian didn't know anything about that appearance and no one can find a copy.

If anyone out there has a copy of any of those Roger Miller Shows from the 60s, please contact me, I'll trade you some amazing stuff!

I hear tell that you can go to the museum of broadcasting in NYC and watch the first Roger Show with guest Bill Cosby. If you go, sneak in a video camera and contact me!

The show should have been an ongoing series but it seemed too much was happening all at the same time for Roger, add to that mixture things that people were taking that shouldn't have been taking and you have a potential train wreck. In fact, Roger blew up the train set on the last show because he didn't want anyone else using the set.

I'm dying to see those shows.

When researching at the Country Music Hall of Fame, I had a few days access to the video vaults and saw some unreal things. That would be the best place to work, thousands of video tapes in storage (none of the RM show from the 60s though).

[mrestyle]

"His mind worked in such strange ways," he said. "He told me once that he could tell he was gettin' older because he could still jump as high, he just couldn't stay up as long."

- amazing quote by Kenny, that should have been in the book but he never expressed any interest in participating, so I didn't push it with him. I usually checked two, maybe three times max and then I just left them alone. I'll be seeing him in a few months so maybe I'll see if I can chat with him for the possible part two.

[I. Ben Hurt]

I don't have the book yet but it sounds great. I'm relieved I wasn't dreaming about watching his tv show. I have sheet music of a lot of his songs and think I will go now and play "Little Green Apples" on the piano.

God didn't make little green apples and it don't rain in Indianapolis in the summertime. There's no such thing as Doctor Suess, Disneyland, and Mother Goose is no nurs-'ry rhyme.

And when myself is feeling low, I think about her face aglow to ease my mind.

Words and music to Little Green Apples was by Bobby Russell. They used to determine how popular songs were before records, etc., by the amount of sheet music sold.

Thanks again.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

My husband is a song writer and choral music arranger (I help publish his stuff), and I appreciate a clever and well-written song, no matter what genre it is. "King of the Road" is one of those songs that sticks in one's head and has a very singable melody line and lyrics easily memorized by the avg. person. That makes it a good song in my book. :-)

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

PING for some music lovers.

[Rte66]

I don't recall the name of the website, but it had "tv" in it. You had already been there, lol - it had a little forum-like section where you could post questions and hope someone would answer.

Yours was the only post and no one had answered yet - asking the same things as here, if anyone had video of any of the RM shows.

Mason was another Okie, like Roger. Okies always try to keep up a little with other Okies, you see. Now that I'm back in Texas, I don't hear as much about the others.

[mrestyle]

Yeah, I'm a man on a mission for them old TV shows. I think the list I have is the correct one because they are photocopies of the actual producer/writer notes (song lists, jokes, etc).

I was hoping to include a full discography and info about the TV show in the book but there just wasn't enough space. I had to cut out about 200 pages in total so it didn't make sense adding another 20 only to have them cut too. So I think the stuff that made it in (300+ pages) is the cream.

[Rte66]

I noticed that Mason's website said he wrote 16 scripts for The Roger Miller Show, even though only 7 shows were listed as having aired, on that other site.

Best of luck in your search.

[Eagle9]

It's good to you again, Nita. I was up late last night (insomnia) and just happened to see this thread. You did a fantastic job with your book review. I am buying this book.

I saw Roger Miller numerous times on Johnny Carson and remember how easily their conversations flowed. I can't remember all the other programs that I happened to see Miller appear on, except Hee Haw. In the 1990s, his name seemed to pop up often on the Ralph Emory show during interviews with people who had met or worked with him.

The second link I posted was supposed to be to Albums but somehow I messed it up.

[Senator Pardek]

Oh good grief - I saw SRV live and I live "more south" right now than you do ;)

[Nita Nupress]

Oh good grief - I saw SRV live and I live "more south" right now than you do ;)

So how is your adjustment period going? How many times have you been called 'Yankee?' And are you even going to tell me what state you're in?

[Nita Nupress]

Your albums link reminded me of just how many times his albums were released by off-name companies. I'm sitting here looking at names like Bear, Laserlight, Hilltop, K-Tel, etc. It's enough to make your head spin, especially when someone is trying to make a purchase. (Also, how all of this relates to copyright laws).

Lyle, do you know anything about this website that Eagle9 linked? I'm wanting to order that Bear CD but haven't yet simply because I don't want to get ripped off. From what I understand, the Bear CD has many of Roger's early releases and is one of the few that are not repetitious.

In fact, let me put you further on the spot, here. ;) If you were going to advise someone on which 2 or 3 Roger Miller CDs to buy, which ones would you say?

THIS one, for sure, which would be my personal choice for #1 (but not from Amazon):

King Of The Road: The Genius Of Roger Miller [BOX SET]
(It's much cheaper at his official website)

One last thing, just because I feel like venting: It's truly maddening to me that his early albums have not been remastered and released. There's one of them where he sang all those songs he wrote for other people (George Jones, Faron Young, etc.). "A Trip in the Country," I think. It may be on the ones you mentioned earlier from the '70s, I don't know.

Anyway, for whatever reason, they haven't been remastered to CD, which is why Roger Miller has largely been forgotten to an entire generation of younger people. He's arguably the best songwriter of all time, and my kids probably don't even know who he is.

Which reminds me... When they come home to visit, I'm hiding my Roger Miller CDs or they may disappear!!