| "Chug-a-Lug" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Roger Miller | ||||
| from the album Roger and Out | ||||
| B-side | "Reincarnation" [1] | |||
| Released | August 1964 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 2:04 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Roger Miller | |||
| Producer(s) | Jerry Kennedy [2] | |||
| Roger Miller singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Chug-a-Lug" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Roger Miller. The song reached number 9 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1964, becoming his second pop hit.
The song is a humorous reminiscence of youthful encounters with homemade alcoholic beverages. The expression "chug-a-lug" refers to quickly downing a drink, and the lyrics describe the singer's reaction to the extra-strong liquor. Example: "I swallered it with a smile / (sound of swallowing) / I run ten mile! Chug-a-lug, chug-a-lug / Makes you want to holler, 'Hi-dee-ho!' / Burns your tummy, don't ya know / Chug-a-lug, chug-a-lug." [3]
By July 1964, Roger Miller's monster hit "Dang Me" had run its course in radio, and "Chug-a-Lug" was hitting hard and fast. Concerned about offending their core country audience, Miller and his producer Jerry Kennedy had initially resisted releasing "Chug-a-Lug" as a single, and an alternate version of the song was produced with the word "wine" edited out. But head of Smash Records Charles Fach knew that Miller's ode to forbidden liquid pleasures would be a hit. Of the song’s success, Kennedy said: "Charles was the one who wanted 'Chug-a-Lug’, we didn't know he was testing this thing in places. He said, “The college crowd is eating up this ‘Chug-a-Lug’”. And I said, “Well, we've got our country fans to consider here.” And fortunately they loved it too." [4]
Miller said that the song was based on a true story of a friend of his who "could drink a beer in 3 seconds". [3]
| Chart (1964) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 3 |
| New Zealand (Lever) [5] | 8 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 9 |
The 7th Annual Grammy Awards were held on April 13, 1965, at Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills. They recognized accomplishments of musicians for the year 1964. João Gilberto & Stan Getz won 4 awards.
Roger Dean Miller Sr. was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actor, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping country and pop hits "King of the Road", "Dang Me", and "England Swings", all from the mid-1960s Nashville sound era.
"Me and Bobby McGee" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson and originally performed by Roger Miller. Fred Foster shares the writing credit, as Kristofferson intended. A posthumously released version by Janis Joplin topped the U.S. singles chart in 1971, making the song the second posthumously released No. 1 single in U.S. chart history after "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding. Jerry Lee Lewis also released a version reaching number 1 on the country charts in 1971. Billboard ranked Joplin's version as the No. 11 song for 1971.
"Hey Joe" is an American song from the 1960s that has become a rock standard and has been performed in many musical styles by hundreds of different artists. The lyrics tell of a man who is on the run and planning to head to Mexico after shooting his unfaithful wife. In 1962, Billy Roberts registered "Hey Joe" for copyright in the United States.
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 1964.
"I Really Don't Want to Know" is a popular song written by Don Robertson (music) Howard Barnes (lyrics). The song was published in 1953.
"Do You Want to Know a Secret" is a song by English rock band the Beatles from their 1963 album Please Please Me, sung by George Harrison. In the United States, it was the first top ten song to feature Harrison as a lead singer, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard chart in 1964 as a single released by Vee-Jay, VJ 587.
"Hey, Good Lookin'" is a 1951 song written and recorded by Hank Williams, and his version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2003, CMT voted the Hank Williams version No. 19 on CMT's 100 Greatest Songs of Country Music. Since its original 1951 recording it has been covered by a variety of artists.
"Daydream Believer" is a song composed by American songwriter John Stewart shortly before he left the Kingston Trio. It was originally recorded by the Monkees, with Davy Jones singing the lead. The single reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 1967, remaining there for four weeks, and peaked at No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. It was the Monkees' last No. 1 hit in the U.S.
Jody Miller is an American country music singer. Born Myrna Joy Miller, in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, she was raised in Blanchard, Oklahoma, the youngest of five sisters.
"Hey! Baby" is a song written by Margaret Cobb and Bruce Channel, and recorded by Channel in 1961, first released on LeCam Records, a local Fort Worth, Texas label. After it hit, it was released on Smash Records for national distribution. Channel co-produced the song with Major Bill Smith and released it on Mercury Records' Smash label. It reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks, starting the week ending March 10, 1962.
"(And You Had a) Do-Wacka-Do" is a song by American country artist Roger Miller, released in 1965. The expression "do-wacka-do" is a funny way of saying "do-like-I-do". Recorded in October 1964, the song was a lesser hit but it was one of Miller's most enduring lyric inventions.
"Silver Threads and Golden Needles" is a song written by Dick Reynolds and Jack Rhodes. It was first recorded by Wanda Jackson in 1956. The original lyrics, as performed by Jackson, contain a verse not usually included in later versions, which also often differed in other minor details.
"Dang Me" is a song by American country music artist Roger Miller, and 1964's Grammy Award winner for Best Country & Western Song. It was Miller's first chart-topping country hit and first Top Ten pop music hit, and it was a novelty song whose "jazzy instrumental section" helped make it "the quintessential example of Miller's lighthearted humor, which brought him many more hits".
"Husbands and Wives" is a song written and first recorded by American country music singer Roger Miller. Miller's original, from his album Words and Music, was released in February 1966 and was a crossover hit for him, reaching Top Ten on the U.S. country and Adult Contemporary charts, as well as Top 40 on the pop charts. Since the release of Miller's original, the song has been covered by several other artists, including The Everly Brothers, Ringo Starr, Neil Diamond, a duet between David Frizzell and Shelly West, Jules Shear, and Brooks & Dunn, whose version was a number-one country hit in 1998.
"Hey There Lonely Girl" is a song recorded in 1963, titled "Hey There Lonely Boy" in its original version by Ruby and the Romantics. It was a hit both for them and for Eddie Holman. It has been recorded by many other artists.
Roger and Out is the debut studio album of country music artist Roger Miller, which was released under the Smash Records label in 1964. The second release did not chart but the first reached #3 on country album charts and #37 on the Billboard 200, and was ultimately certified as Gold by the RIAA.
"Little Green Apples" is a song written by Bobby Russell. Originally written for and released by American recording artist Roger Miller in 1968, it was also released as a single by American recording artists Patti Page and O. C. Smith in separate occasions that same year. Miller's version became a Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and on the UK Singles Chart, while Page's version became her last Hot 100 entry and Smith's version became a No. 2 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song earned Russell two Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Best Country Song. In 2013, "Little Green Apples" was covered by English recording artist Robbie Williams featuring American recording artist Kelly Clarkson, which became a top 40 hit in Mexico.
The 3rd Time Around is the third studio album by American country music singer Roger Miller. It was released under the Smash Records label in June 1965. The record reached #1 on the country album charts and #13 on the Billboard 200, his third highest ranking on the pop albums charts, and his only #1 country album.
Robert Glen "Bobby" Doyle was an American singer, bassist, and pianist. He is best known for his early work with a young Kenny Rogers and for a brief stint with Blood, Sweat & Tears. He played piano on two tracks on BS&T's 1972 album New Blood.