"Old Toy Trains" | ||||
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Single by Roger Miller | ||||
B-side | "Silent Night" | |||
Released | late 1967 | |||
Length | 2:02 | |||
Label | Smash | |||
Songwriter(s) | Roger Miller | |||
Producer(s) | Jerry Kennedy | |||
Roger Miller singles chronology | ||||
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"Old Toy Trains" (sometimes titled "Little Toy Trains") is a Christmas song written and originally recorded by American musician Roger Miller. It was released in late 1967 as a single for Smash Records. Since the original recording, the song has also been covered by various other artists including Miller's son Dean Miller (for whom the song was written), as well as Toby Keith.
Roger Miller wrote "Old Toy Trains" in 1967 for his son, Dean Miller. Released on Smash Records late in the year, the song ended an eight-year ban on Christmas single releases by the label. [1]
An uncredited review in Billboard gave Roger Miller's original version a positive review, saying that "Miller has composed one of his most moving and touching ballads for all ages which he performs to perfection." [2]
Glen Campbell recorded the song for his 1968 album That Christmas Feeling .
Raffi recorded the song for his 1983 album Raffi's Christmas Album.
The Statler Brothers recorded the song for their 1985 album Christmas Present .
Toby Keith covered the song for the 2000 multi-artist album A Country Christmas 2000. [3] Keith's rendition spent two weeks on the Hot Country Songs charts that year, peaking at number 57. [4]
Two years later, Universal South Records released a version that incorporated Roger Miller's original vocals with those of Dean Miller. [5]
Scott Miller recorded the song for his 2010 EP Christmas Gift.
Violinist André Rieu performed the song with vocalists Mirusia Louwerse, Carla Mafioletti (with Guitar) and Kimmy Skota on his 2012 DVD Home for the Holidays.
Nick Lowe recorded the song for his 2013 Christmas album Quality Street: A Seasonal Selection for All the Family.
Canadian Inuk singer Susan Aglukark recorded a version that appears in her 2013 album Dreaming of Home with additional Inuktitut lyrics.
Pentatonix covered the song for their 2023 compilation album The Greatest Christmas Hits .
"Petit garçon" | ||||
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Single by Garou and Ryan | ||||
Released | 2014 | |||
Length | 2:53 | |||
Songwriter(s) | Roger Miller (music) Graeme Allwright (French lyrics) | |||
Producer(s) | Dominique Blanc Francard | |||
Garou singles chronology | ||||
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Ryansingles chronology | ||||
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The tune has been popular in other languages, notably it was translated to French and recorded in 1968 just one year after the English version by the New Zealand / French singer songwriter Graeme Allwright as "Petit Garçon" (meaning "little boy") in French.
It was covered in French by Greek singer Nana Mouskouri in 1972 as one of the tracks of her album Pour les enfants'(for children).
In 2014, the song was adopted as the official tune for the annual French charity event Téléthon 2014. The Canadian French singer Garou that year's main campaign sponsor (parrain) recorded Graeme Allwright's French version "Petit garçon" with Ryan, a young French singer for official release. The song was included in Garou's new album It's Magic released 1 December 2014 in France. [6] During the Téléthon, Garou sang it live accompanied by Hélène Ségara and tennisman and singer Yannick Noah.
Chart (2000-2001) | Peak position |
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U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks | 57 |
Chart (2014) | Peak position |
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France (SNEP) [7] | 3 |
Roger Dean Miller Sr. was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping country hits "King of the Road", "Dang Me", and "England Swings".
Toby Keith Covel, known professionally as Toby Keith, was an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. In the 1990s, he released his first four studio albums—Toby Keith (1993), Boomtown (1994), Blue Moon (1996), and Dream Walkin' (1997)—and Greatest Hits Volume One under Mercury Records. These albums all earned gold or higher certification and had several top ten singles, including his chart-topping debut "Should've Been a Cowboy".
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Elvis' Christmas Album is the third studio album and first Christmas album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley on RCA Victor, LOC -1035, a deluxe limited edition, released October 15, 1957, and recorded at Radio Recorders in Hollywood. It has been reissued in numerous different formats since its first release. It spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart, and was the first of two Christmas-themed albums Presley would record, the other being Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of Christmas, released in 1971. The publication Music Vendor listed Elvis' Christmas Album on their singles charts for two weeks in December 1957 – January 1958, with a peak position of No. 49.
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"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.
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Roger Dean Miller Jr. is an American country singer, known professionally as Dean Miller. He is the son of Roger Miller, a country pop artist who had several hit singles from the 1960s through the 1980s. Dean Miller has recorded three studio albums, in addition to charting four singles on the Hot Country Songs charts and writing singles for Trace Adkins and Terri Clark. His highest-peaking single as a performer was "Nowhere, USA", which reached No. 54 in 1997. He has had many songs recorded by artists including George Jones, Trisha Yearwood, and Jamey Johnson.
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