Converting The Skeptics: Roger Miller

Let's start off by admitting that I don't know if anyone reading this newsletter is actually skeptical of Roger Miller. His box set is called "The Genius Of Roger Miller," after all. But I find that his name gets mentioned a little less often than some other 20th century country titans, and during my (way late!) RM initiation I was repeatedly left slack-jawed by his wit, his sound and his sheer weirdness — the kind of freaky originality that everyone assumes has always been a no-go in country music.

He burned fairly bright and hot, fanning his own eccentric flame with no shortage of narcotics while becoming an unlikely pop-crossover sensation (we're always having them in country, it seems) with songs like (of course) "King Of The Road" which — it's worth noting — is more jazz than it is country (much like its snappy predecessor "Sixteen Tons"...perhaps fodder for another post). (Compelled to include Gerry Mulligan's version!) To whatever degree KOTR is characteristic of Miller's work in its efficiency and effortlessness, it's very much the tip of the iceberg when it comes to his wide-ranging catalog: the deepest pathos and the most absurd novelties coexist, sometimes in the same song. As a person with a weakness for songwriting that could be for children, Miller is right up my alley (along with his biggest hits, which have a winking, novelty bent, you are likely familiar with his songs and voice-acting from Disney's Robin Hood); as a writer who loves an anomalous pop sensation, the timeless quality of his sound and writing keeps me coming back. Anyway, what follows are a few favorites — what are yours?

"I've Been A Long Time Leavin' (But I'll Be A Long Time Gone)," Roger Miller: You might know Waylon's take on this one; it rounds off some of the strangeness that I found so compelling when I first heard Miller's version. Nobody can really replicate the vocal acrobatics Miller is doing here — as far as country-folk singer-songwriter stuff goes, this is basically avant-garde. Every time I listen, I'm still startled by how unexpected and modern it sounds.

"The Moon Is High (And So Am I)," Roger Miller: To me, this song is basically punk rock. I don't really understand why every modern Americana act hasn't covered it in all its gritty, weird, rock n' roll glory. Miller went from writing songs for country hitmakers to dropping this on his very first album — the '60s were wild and Roger Miller was wilder.

"A World So Full Of Love," Roger Miller: Pretty much a perfect country song, in the sense that it is absolutely gutting. Friend of the newsletter David Forsyth did a wonderful cover of it.

"Tall, Tall Trees," Roger Miller: Miller co-wrote this classic country love song with George Jones long before he was a solo star, and Alan Jackson successfully reprised it 40 years later. The combination of humor, self-deprecation and sincerity is everything I want from a country love song; Jones and Jackson's versions might have Miller beat in terms of straight vocal prowess, but Miller's personality and style make his take so endearing.

"River In The Rain," Roger Miller: Again, Miller's songwriting gift just stretched so far beyond being country music's wild man. Joshua Hedley's version is also great.

"You Can't Rollerskate In A Buffalo Herd," Roger Miller: This is a man who has multiple songs about suicidal ideation, bringing a silly and genuinely upbeat reminder to keep your chin up. The many faces of Roger Miller!

"Little Green Apples," Roger Miller: The rare Miller hit that he didn't write; again, his spareness and lack of affect just sound so contemporary (as does the classic song itself).