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King of the Road (song)

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"King of the Road"
Song
B-side"Atta Boy Girl"

"King of the Road" is a 1964 song written and originally recorded by country singer Roger Miller.[1] The lyrics tell of the day-to-day life of a struggling musician on the road (touring venue to venue) who despite struggling and being poor (a "man of means by no means") revels in his freedom, describing himself humorously as the "king of the road". In essence it is thus autobiographical. The song was Miller's fifth single for Smash Records.[2]

History

The popular crossover record hit No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 on their Country and Easy Listening surveys. It was also No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart,[3] and in Norway.

Miller recalled that the song started when he was driving and saw a sign on the side of a barn that said "trailers for sale or rent".[4]

The song has been covered by many other artists, including George Jones, Dean Martin, Jack Jones, James Booker, The Fabulous Echoes, Boney M., R.E.M. (a shambolic, drunken offhand cover about which guitarist Peter Buck later commented, "If there was any justice in the world, Roger Miller should be able to sue for what we did to this song."), Johnny Paycheck, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Boxcar Willie, Randy Travis, Rangers, James Kilbane, John Stevens, the Statler Brothers, Rufus Wainwright & Teddy Thompson, Giant Sand, Peligro, The Proclaimers, Ray Conniff Singers and The Reverend Horton Heat, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Joe Strummer during live performances. James "The King" Brown (an Elvis impersonator) performed the song for a 2001 Audi commercial on German TV.[5]

The song is featured in Wim Wenders' 1976 film Im Lauf der Zeit (In the Course of Time; English title Kings of the Road). It is also played at the beginning of Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Brokeback Mountain, Into the Wild, Traveller and in Swingers. Miller performs it in the concert film The Big T.N.T. Show. The recording by The Proclaimers is included in the film The Crossing (1990). Near the end of their official music video, the pair are shown reading a newspaper whose headline is "Roger Miller, King of Plugs".

After the major success achieved by "King of the Road", Dean Martin recorded the 1965 tune "Houston", which is similar in both lyrics and feel.

A send-up version by English entertainer Billy Howard was a British chart hit in 1976.

A German version by the band Wise Guys exists.

In both the English and German versions of Animals United, Billy the Meerkat sings the short rendition of this song walking past the other animals while carrying the gourd.

Chart performance

Roger Miller

Chart (1965) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart[3] 1
Norwegian Singles Chart 1
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles 1
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 4
Irish Singles Chart 5
Canadian RPM Top Singles 10

The Proclaimers

Chart (1990) Peak
position
U.K. Singles Chart[3] 9
Irish Singles Chart 8

Randy Travis

Chart (1997) Peak
position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[6] 74
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[7] 51

"Queen of the House"

In 1965 country music singer Jody Miller (no relation) answered "King of the Road" with "Queen of the House". The song used Roger Miller's music while changing the lyrics to describe the day-to-day life of a housewife. The words were written by Mary Taylor.[8][9] Singer Connie Francis later recorded the song on her 1966 album Live at the Sahara.

The Supremes performed the song in their nightclub act. It can be heard on their 1965 The Supremes at the Copa album, and on the I Hear A Symphony remastered CD, which includes their September 1966 appearance at the Roostertail in Detroit on the second disc.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 92. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
  2. ^ Mike Callahan, David Edwards, Patrice Eyries, and Randy Watts. "Smash Records Story". www.bsnpubs.com. Retrieved December 20, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b c Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 178. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. Cite error: The named reference "British Hit Singles & Albums" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ Roger Miller interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
  5. ^ "King of the road : der Hit aus der Audi Werbung" (in German). German National Library. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
  6. ^ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 3235." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. June 16, 1997. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  7. ^ "Randy Travis Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  8. ^ "MusicMatch guide, "Jody Miller"". Mmguide.musicmatch.com. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
  9. ^ "Digital Tradition Mirror, "Queen of the House"". Sniff.numachi.com. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
  • sample from Roger Miller official site
Preceded by Billboard Middle-Road Singles number-one single
February 10 – April 17, 1965 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single
March 27 – April 24, 1965 		Succeeded by
Preceded by UK Singles Chart number-one single
May 13, 1965 		Succeeded by
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