![]() ![]() Once there, he met with Chet Atkins, who asked to hear Miller, and even loaned him his guitar after learning that he did not own one. Career Nashville songwriterĪfter his discharge, Miller traveled to Nashville to begin his musical career. Burns from the musical duo Homer and Jethro, persuaded him to head to Nashville after his demobilization. While Miller was stationed in South Carolina, an army sergeant whose brother was Kenneth C. He later quipped, "My education was Korea, Clash of '52." Near the end of his military service, while stationed in Atlanta, Georgia, Miller played fiddle in the "Circle A Wranglers," a military musical group started by Faron Young. He chose to enlist in the Army to avoid jail. When he was 17, he stole a guitar out of desperation to write songs however, he turned himself in the next day. He began to run away and perform in Oklahoma and Texas. Wooley, Hank Williams, and Bob Wills were the influences that led to Miller's desire to become a singer-songwriter. Wooley taught Miller his first guitar chords and bought him a fiddle. He listened to the Grand Ole Opry and Light Crust Doughboys on a Fort Worth station with his cousin's husband Sheb Wooley. ![]() Miller was a member of the National FFA Organization in high school. One of his earliest compositions went: "There's a picture on the wall. ![]() Miller was an introverted child, and would often daydream or compose songs. He received his primary education at a one-room schoolhouse. He would later say he was "dirt poor" and that as late as 1951 the family did not own a telephone. Īs a boy, Miller did farm work such as picking cotton and plowing. Thus, Roger grew up on a farm outside Erick, Oklahoma with Elmer and Armelia Miller. Unable to support the family during the Great Depression, Laudene sent each of her three sons to live with a different one of Jean's brothers. Jean Miller died from spinal meningitis when Roger was only a year old. Roger Miller was born in Fort Worth, Texas, the third son of Jean and Laudene (Holt) Miller. The Roger Miller Museum in his home town serves as a tribute to Miller. His songs continued to be recorded by younger artists, with covers of " Tall, Tall Trees" by Alan Jackson and " Husbands and Wives" by Brooks & Dunn, each reaching the number one spot on country charts in the 1990s. Miller died from lung cancer in 1992, and was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame three years later. Later in his life, he wrote the music and lyrics for the 1985 Tony-award winning Broadway musical Big River, in which he also acted. ![]() He later started a recording career and reached the peak of his fame in the late-1960s, but continued to record and tour into the 1990s, charting his final top 20 country hit "Old Friends" with Willie Nelson in 1982. His most recognized tunes included the chart-topping country/pop hits " King of the Road", " Dang Me" and " England Swings", all from the mid-1960s Nashville sound era.Īfter growing up in Oklahoma and serving in the United States Army, Miller began his musical career as a songwriter in the late 1950s, penning such hits as " Billy Bayou" and "Home" for Jim Reeves and "Invitation to the Blues" for Ray Price. Roger Dean Miller (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known for his honky tonk-influenced novelty songs. Roger Millerīill Anderson, George Jones, Dean Miller, Willie Nelson, Johnny Paycheck, Minnie Pearl, Ray Price, Jim Reeves, Sheb Wooley, Dwight Yoakam, Faron Young For other people named Roger Miller, see Roger Miller (disambiguation). ![]()
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