"King of the Road" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Roger Miller | ||||
from the album The Return of Roger Miller | ||||
B-side | "Atta Boy Girl" | |||
Released | January 1965 | |||
Recorded | November 3, 1964 [1] | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 2:28 | |||
Label | Smash [2] | |||
Songwriter(s) | Roger Miller [2] | |||
Producer(s) | Jerry Kennedy [2] | |||
Roger Miller singles chronology | ||||
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Official audio | ||||
"King of the Road" on YouTube |
"King of the Road" is a song written by country singer Roger Miller, who first recorded it in November 1964. [2] The lyrics tell of the day-to-day life of a traveling hobo who, despite having little money (a "man of means by no means"), revels in his freedom, describing himself humorously and cynically as the "king of the road". It was Miller's fifth single for Smash Records. [3] The song won Miller 5 Grammy Awards in 1966.
The crossover record reached No. 1 on the US Country chart, [4] No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 on the Easy Listening surveys. [5] It was also No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart, [6] and in Norway. Miller recalled that the song was inspired when he was driving and saw a sign on the side of a barn that read, "Trailers for sale or rent". [7] This became the opening line of the song. Boney M covered the song. A track from their 1978 album Nightflight to Venus.
R.E.M. covered the song, in a shambolic, drunken, offhand rendering. 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." [8]
A comic version by English entertainer Billy Howard, "King of the Cops", was a British chart hit in 1976. [9]
In both the English and German versions of Animals United (2010), Billy the Meerkat sings this song while Across to “The Valley of Death”. [10]
"King of the Road" won Roger Miller 5 Grammy Awards at the 1966 8th Annual Grammy Awards Ceremony. It won for Best Contemporary (R&R) Single, Best Contemporary (R&R) Vocal Performance - Male, Best Country & Western Single, Best Country & Western Vocal Performance - Male & Best Country & Western Song. He also won a Grammy for Best Country & Western Album "The Return Of Roger Miller". [11]
In 2024, Rolling Stone ranked the song at #60 on its 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time ranking. [12]
Chart (1965) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Singles Chart [15] | 1 |
Norwegian Singles Chart [16] | 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 |
Dutch Top40 [17] | 14 |
Dutch Official Chart [16] | 5 |
German Official Chart [16] | 26 |
French TEF/TMP [18] | 6 |
Chart (1990) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Singles Chart [19] | 78 |
Irish Singles Chart | 8 |
UK Singles Chart [15] | 9 |
Chart (1997) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada Country Tracks ( RPM ) [20] | 74 |
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [21] | 51 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [22] Roger Miller version | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Country music singer Jody Miller (no relation) answered "King of the Road" with "Queen of the House" (1965). The song used Roger Miller's music while changing the lyrics to describe the day-to-day life of a stay-at-home mom. The words were written by Mary Taylor. [23] [24] The song was a hit, reaching number 12 on Billboard's Hot 100 and number 5 on the Hot Country Singles chart. It also won a Grammy for Female Country Vocal Performance.
Connie Francis later recorded this song on her 1966 album Live at the Sahara (1966).[ citation needed ]
The Supremes performed "Queen of the House" in their nightclub act. It can be heard on their The Supremes at the Copa (1965) album and I Hear a Symphony remastered CD, which includes their September 1966 appearance at the Roostertail in Detroit, on the second disc.[ citation needed ]
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"The Tracks of My Tears" is a song written by Smokey Robinson, Pete Moore, and Marv Tarplin. It is a multiple award-winning 1965 hit R&B song originally recorded by their group, the Miracles, on Motown's Tamla label. The Miracles' million-selling original version has been inducted into The Grammy Hall of Fame, has been ranked by the Recording Industry Association of America and The National Endowment for the Arts at No. 127 in its list of the "Songs of the Century" – the 365 Greatest Songs of the 20th Century, and has been selected by Rolling Stone as No. 50 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", among many other awards. In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked the Miracles' original recording of "The Tracks of My Tears" as "The Greatest Motown Song of All Time".
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"Queen of the House" is a song originally recorded and made commercially successful by American singer Jody Miller. It was an answer song to Roger Miller's "King of the Road". It featured lyrics written by Mary Taylor, with credit also given to Roger Miller. The song describes the day-to-day domestic duties of a housewife. It was released as a single on the coattails of "King of the Road"'s success, becoming a crossover single on the country, pop and adult contemporary charts. It led to Miller becoming the second female artist to win a country music Grammy award. An album of the same name appeared in 1965, which also featured the single.