It's hard not to like Roger Miller. Not only is he a great singer and musician, but extremely funny as well. More songs of his to check out include England Swings, Chug-a-lug, My Uncle Used to Love Me (But She Died), Kansas City Star, Me and Bobby McGee, and You Can't Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd.
Now I'm 66 years old and I can remember sitting in the back seat of my parents car and not only listening to this song but also singing it with my sister and brother. Really great memories!
I'm 56 years old now and still remember my best friends dad sing this song for me whenever I asked him to. I asked him often!! He never refused or was too busy!
Yes, please, Big Bad John! Great ballad of a blue collar hero. Plus, as a bit of trivia, its singer Jimmy Dean is the same one that owns the sausage company.
Mr. Ford lived in Palo Alto in the 1990s and shopped at "JJ&F", a small family owned and operated grocery store with an awesome meat department. My younger brother worked there at the time so that is how I found out. Ernie's car parked outside had a custom California license plate that said "PEAPCKR" or "PPICKER or some variation of that spelling ("Pea Picker" was his go-to word). I use to love watching him on the TV show I LOVE LUCY when he guest appeared playing the role of Lucy's rural-raised "Cousin Ernie". See him here, with Lucy in disguise as a vamp. He was funny as hell as an actor as well as being a famous singer: ua-cam.com/video/xSdBpDgfSGY/v-deo.html
My father loved Roger Miller and grew up on him. Chug a-lug, and can't roller skate in a Buffalo Herd. Brings back so many Memory's. My Dad was sent to heaven 32 years ago. Thank you .❤
To add to the Johnny Horton list "The Battle of Bull Run"; "O'Leary's Cow"; "The Sinking of the Rueben James"; "Snowshoe Thompson" Really just about anything from the album, Johnny Horton Makes History.
"England Swings" "Dang Me" and "You Can't Roller skate in a Buffalo Herd" are all great. This one is my favorite. His musical "Big River" has great songs.
4 bits = 50 cents. Thus "rooms to let, 50 cents" and "buys a 4 bit room" are two ways of saying the same thing. A "bit" was slang for an eighth of a dollar. I think it dates back to when the Spanish Dollar was essentially international currency. In order to make change, the Spanish Dollar was cut into eight pieces with each piece worth 12.5 cents. That's also where the phrase, "pieces of eight" came from.
@@davidwilliams1820 It was also used in the old cheer heard at many high school football games etc. 'Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar.. all for the (team name) stand up and hollar'
He turned Huckleberry Finn into a multi-Tony Award winning musical called Big River. There are some amazing songs in that musical including “Muddy Water” and “Waitin’ For the Light to Shine”. I listen to it frequently. He was SUCH a talented man!
"Waitin' for the Light to Shine (Reprise)" perfectly captures the key moment in the book, when Huck decides that he'd rather condemn himself to Hell than let Jim stay in captivity.
This was my father’s favorite song. My father died ten years ago at 80, but whenever I hear this song, my memory of him comes into sharp focus for a few minutes.
My father passed 8 years ago this week,at 76. He also loved Roger Miller!!! He got me listening years ago. I'm sorry for your loss. But great memories!!!🥰🤗
My dad died in October at 83, and this was one of his favorite songs. His mind was going those last few months, but I'd made a youtube playlist of Roger Miller, The Brothers Four, and some more, and his eyes would light up.
God bless you, ma'am. I'm 60, and these songs remind me of the old folks that are gone. I'm miss them -but I have my grand kids. Kind of cool how God does that for us 🙂
He was a hobo traveling around. He's renting the room for fifty cents. Two hours of work earned him enough to pay for the room, "an 8X12 four bit room". A bit was 12.5 cents, two bits was a quarter and four bits was fifty cents. Some other Roger Miller hits we "Dang Me", "Chug-a-Lug", "Engine, Engine, No. 9", and "You Can't Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd".
Yeah, these are not rooms at a Marriot. These are cheap dive rooms in a boarding house with a communal bath, etc. So a Man of the Road could travel around pick up some odd jobs. Most nights when he was flush he could get a room in a boarding house, and on the nights where he wasn't he'd sleep under the stars. Kind of amazing how cheap a man could live back in the day, but it was a life that doesn't resemble what most of us think of as living
Roger Miller... LEGEND. Songs to react to: "Dang Me," "I've Been a Long Time Leaving," "You Can't Roller Skate With a Buffalo Herd," "Chug-a-Lug," and "Atta Boy Girl" (still said to me in praise by my 82 year old dad).
This song was all about the life of a "hobo", tramp, or vagrant. A person that was homeless & traveled from town to town by "stealing" rides on freight trains. Basically he was claiming that even though he had no belongings, he was still "King of the Road". He could do odd jobs to get enough cash to get by.
Yay!!! One of my all time favorite songs. Its so much fun, love the classics. I also suggest Don Williams I Believe in You if you like this one. Its got super sweet lyrics and you will both love it i think. Edit after watching, this is a kickass karaoke song. Drunk people somewhere in the world are singing it right now.
Glad you love it. This is an example of the real essence of real country music. A collaboration with the singer and the music complimenting each other, not each playing in different directions. "Rooms to let" means for rent. And, Roger Miller was a major deal in Country Music during his career, at one time winning every Grammy award in one sweep.
Absolute legend, he also voiced Alan-a-Dale( the singing rooster) in Disney's Robin hood, so he sang Oo-De-Lally, Whistle stop and not in nottingham in one of the best Disney classic movies
Oh my goodness!! The songs of my childhood. Probably the first song my brother learned to sing when he was three- waaaaay back in the 60’s. We had an album with Can’t Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd and Dang Me …. I could probably play it and know every word 50 years after hearing it.
It's a song about about a hobo with no money and he ain't got anything but he knows everything about surviving so he's the "King of the Road" I agree with others. " Chug-a-Lug" And "Dang Me" are a must!
"One Dyin' And A Buryin'" is a great Roger Miller song that gets overlooked among the bigger hits like "Dang Me", "Chug-A-Lug", "You Can't Rollerskate (In A Buffalo Herd)", a lot of fun records. He was also the character of the Rooster in Disney's Robin Hood where he did a couple of songs including "Whistle-Stop" which was later sped-up and released as "The Hamster Dance" which kids of a certain age know very well since it was played in heavy rotation on Radio Disney.
Roger Miller was one of Oklahoma's great talents. He was a song writer, singer, actor, story teller. He was very funny on talk shows. He also worked on Broadway. Dean Martin did a cool version of King of the Road you should listen to. A true artist & talent.
You must hear the female answer from Jody Miller: 'Queen of the house' ... and if you like the piano in the background, you must hear the song from Jim Lowe: 'Green Door' from 1956 with a crazy spinet solo... I promise you, you will love it! ... nice greetings from munich/germany 🙂
This song is a classic in every sense of the word. One of 1965's best. For your next Roger song, you have to do "Dang Me". It's one that'll stick in your brain forever. Roger was an incredibly successful musician in his time. He won 11 Grammys AND a Tony Award. He's in the Country AND Songwriters Hall of Fame. Sadly, he died relatively young, at 56, of lung cancer. (He was a prodigious smoker.) But this song will never lose its cool.
"Rooms to let, .50 cents" Back in the day, people--usually widows-- would "let" or rent out rooms with no frills (and didn't allow smoking) "aint got no cigarettes"; in order to make money to get by. I think Roger is referencing migrant traveling men that rode the rails (trains) from place to place to find work wherever they could during the Depression.
I used to run around singing this while I was playing as a kid 60+ years ago. Worked at it till I knew ALL the words. "To let" is the same as rent only it was used more with family & close friends...
Roger Miller was incredibly talented. In addition to working with Disney on Robin Hood, he wrote the music & lyrics for Big River (which he also acted in), winning the Tony Award for Best Original Score. Have y'all done The Statler Brothers yet? Flowers on the Wall was my Mama's favorite. She actually took me to the rodeo one year because they were the musical act ❤
@@barbaraburton8914 For you "Flowers on the wall" fans Home Free does an awesome cover of that song. If you haven't heard it you ought to give it a listen.
Yes you definitely need to get more in-depth into Rodger Miller. He's a storyteller his songs are fun and young kids love his music. I was born in 1968 my dad would play this and his car all the time in the seventies good memories thanks for playing it
Roger did lots of good songs, most of them silly, funny stuff like “dang me” & “chug-a-lug”, but he was also the very first to record a song written by Kris Kristofferson called “me & Bobby McGee”, which ended up being recorded by many, including as you know, Janis Joplin. For the serious side of Roger, check out “husbands & wives”, “when two worlds collide”, or my favorite Christmas song ever “old toy trains” a song he wrote as a gift to his son when he couldn’t afford to buy him a gift.
Definitely old time smooth! Even when it came out, playing on the car radio, my Momma said it sounded old fashioned, in the very best way! Haven't heard this in ages, thank you so much! 😽💋🎶
This song was about being a hobo, a transient, a traveling homeless person & telling about the way he lived. Many of Mr. Miller's songs seemed to be about ignoring adversity & making the best of what you have.
It was a thing in the post depression and then post WWII eras. Transients are seen in almost all black & white movies and jumping the railcars was the way to get around. My uncle suffocated in a refrigerator car when he was 19 in Iowa as he made his way from Indiana to California 'riding the rails'. It was a hard life (duh.. poverty, et al) but for some it was (and is) a way of life.
You’re right, that’s exactly what we did, sat around the fire and sang songs like this. Everyone knew the tune, and after one hearing, remembered every word. So much fun in simpler times.
I was about 9 years old when this came out in '65. My father used to sing and play guitar (just for his own enjoyment), and this was one of his favorites. I probably heard him sing it at least 2-3 times a week for many years. BTW, In this context "Room to let" = "Rooms to rent". Current usage is not all that common but not archaic, either. Most often heard in the form of "sub-let", as in when somebody rents out a property that they themselves lease from somebody else.
My brother and two of his friends sang this, as a joke, at a talent contest, no instruments, just voices, harmony and snapping their fingers -- and they won the talent contest was in 1971, and still a popular song.
After this, now you need to hear "Winchester Cathedral", "Can't Rollerskate In A Buffalo Herd" and "Dang Me". All great, fun songs by the incomparable Roger Miller
My mom and my grandmother really love/loved this song. Your selection of older music really surprises me. You pick some things that aren't necessarily the most well known but they're always interesting. Thank you and looking forward to more.
This song was written in Caldwell Idaho, just down the road from my home town. Roger Miller and Tennessee Erny Ford were regular visitors to the state. Met them both and they acted like they had known us forever. Great artists.
One of these days you'll have to check out The Highwaymen which is a super group consisting of Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson. If you do, play their self-titled single called the Highwaymen
He was born in Texas, but grew up in Oklahoma. He was the first singer to cover Kristofferson's Me and Bobby McGee. His last hit was with Willie Nelson and Ray Price called Old Friends. He stole a guitar when he was young, but felt so guilty he returned it the next day. He went into the army instead of jail and was sent to Korea. George Jones helped him get his start in music. He wrote so many songs, my favorites are this one, Chugalug, Dang Me and Engine Engine number 9.
"To let" means to rent. This song was huge to a kid back in the early sixties. Easy lyrics to learn. Not hard at all to sing. Although the line about cigarettes wasn't too great for a kid to hear. Miller died of throat cancer at 56.
DebJorgo, I remember listening to this song on my shiny ruby red transistor radio with only one ear bud in my ear at that time they only made one for some strange reason or so I thought which I didn't mind a bit!!!! I thought that it was pretty cool back then! I got the radio from my sister who was two years older then I and I thought it was the coolest thing ever!!!! Well anyway my sister put it in my Easter basket from the Easter Bunny!! Pretty darn awesome!
Roger is worth a deep dive into. One of my favorites is when he was the Porter Wagoner show. It's got two songs on it. In The Summertime and he plays fiddle on Porter's signature song Y'all Come. If you want a sad one, One Dying and a Burying. If you want an uptempo sad song, Atta Boy Girl.
I adore Roger Miller. “The Moon is High and So am I”, “Hard Headed Me”, “Chug-A-Lug”, “My Uncle Used to Love Me (But She Died)”, not to mention the entire soundtrack to Disney’s Robin Hood. He’s an absolute gem.
This was my 11 year old son's favorite song when he was like 5 or 6! He used to run around singing it all the time and would constantly have Alexa playing it. Haven't heard it in a while, but still love it!
Roger was one of the greatest lyricists period! Nobody could touch him and he always added music to fit perfectly! One of my biggest influences as my tunes have a ROGER tag on many of them.
Roger Miller also sang quite a few songs and narrated the Walt Disney Classic "Robin Hood". Here's the opening of the movie: ua-cam.com/video/xnFzPxhEFDM/v-deo.html He also had an all time favorite back in the day "You Can't Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd", it's short, but cute! ua-cam.com/video/ZbAq_fVWO4k/v-deo.html - A very witty man - thanks so much for this reaction!!
Roger Miller brings back a lot of childhood memories. My mom bought an album of his and we listened to it all the time. I especially remember this song, England Swings and Dang Me.
Roger Miller was one of the best song writers of all genres. Listen to Husbands and wives. Never been a better song. So well crafted. Saw his broadway play in New York. Only broadway play I have ever seen. Big River was based on Huckleberry Finn. I think it was 1985. You guys do a good job. I enjoy your enthusiasm.
It's a celebration of the 1930's depression-era benevolent hobo (hand-to-mouth) lifestyle...hopping trains, taking handouts, pushing a broom for a room, and the like.
It's hard not to like Roger Miller. Not only is he a great singer and musician, but extremely funny as well. More songs of his to check out include England Swings, Chug-a-lug, My Uncle Used to Love Me (But She Died), Kansas City Star, Me and Bobby McGee, and You Can't Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd.
Hey! Never heard someone else mention Can't Roller-skate In a Buffalo Herd. Thought that song was hilarious as a real little kid.
You all forgot "Dang Me"
ua-cam.com/video/bcGU8OUXCDE/v-deo.html&ab_channel=trwiebe
"Dang Me"
Don't forget, Do-Wacka-Do.
Now I'm 66 years old and I can remember sitting in the back seat of my parents car and not only listening to this song but also singing it with my sister and brother. Really great memories!
Me too
My favorite song when I was 4 years old!
I'm 56 years old now and still remember my best friends dad sing this song for me whenever I asked him to. I asked him often!! He never refused or was too busy!
I'm 65 and I remember listening to it on my RCA AM radio (six tubes!) on WABC 770 NYC. Great memories.
I did, too!
Now add these "story" songs to your list from close to the same time period. "Sixteen Tons" by Tennesse Ernie Ford" and "Big Bad John" by Jimmy Dean.
Or Don Williams
Yes, please, Big Bad John! Great ballad of a blue collar hero. Plus, as a bit of trivia, its singer Jimmy Dean is the same one that owns the sausage company.
Mr. Ford lived in Palo Alto in the 1990s and shopped at "JJ&F", a small family owned and operated grocery store with an awesome meat department. My younger brother worked there at the time so that is how I found out. Ernie's car parked outside had a custom California license plate that said "PEAPCKR" or "PPICKER or some variation of that spelling ("Pea Picker" was his go-to word).
I use to love watching him on the TV show I LOVE LUCY when he guest appeared playing the role of Lucy's rural-raised "Cousin Ernie". See him here, with Lucy in disguise as a vamp. He was funny as hell as an actor as well as being a famous singer: ua-cam.com/video/xSdBpDgfSGY/v-deo.html
Both are good. I would also add Marty Robbins Big Iron or El Paso.
@@jeffgalus8454 right on
He's singing about being a classic hobo, a harmless drifter cruising around the country where ever the wind blows him! Great song! Great reaction!
Except the harmless hobo may pick locks “when no one’s around.” 😆
I love Roger Miller and he’s often hilarious as well as great! Try “Chug-a-Lug” or “Dang Me”.
or his song Oo-de-lally is good
2 more great songs for sure!
Dang me, Dang me, they oughta take a rope and hang me! LOL
Chug a Lug was the other one I couldn’t think of!!
Dang me is fun
My father loved Roger Miller and grew up on him. Chug a-lug, and can't roller skate in a Buffalo Herd. Brings back so many Memory's. My Dad was sent to heaven 32 years ago. Thank you .❤
Don't forget about My Uncle use to love me but she died, that was a funny song too!
@@jamestaylor4843 I love that song! And "Do-Wacka-Do."
Johnny Horton is a great story teller: "North to Alaska"; "Battle of New Orleans", and "Sink the Bismark". History in a song, and smooth!
Also, When It’s Springtime In Alaska.
Yes battle of new Orleans
Love Johnny Horton ❤.
For a full history class try "Tell Me Why You Like Roosevelt" sung by Sid Selvidge.
Johnny Horton was really great! Good suggestions
To add to the Johnny Horton list "The Battle of Bull Run"; "O'Leary's Cow"; "The Sinking of the Rueben James"; "Snowshoe Thompson" Really just about anything from the album, Johnny Horton Makes History.
Miller was a musical genius.
Love Roger Miller, so many Light hearted/novelty songs. "You Can't Roller skate in a Buffalo Herd" was one of my favorites!
YES!!! This song is hilarious 😂
That is a great song and brings back such great memories
I hope they play England swings! I wish there was video of Roger Miller, he would make the best faces!
@@donnabeaudin9114 Actually I'd kind of forgotten that tune! It was great!
You can't go l swimming' in a baseball pool, etc etc lol
My dad died in 1967 when I was five. I don't have many memories, but I do remember he loved this song.
"England Swings" "Dang Me" and "You Can't Roller skate in a Buffalo Herd" are all great. This one is my favorite. His musical "Big River" has great songs.
Grew up listening to hits album and watching his TV show. Always liked Dang Me
Such a great old tune, I love this song!
“To let” means “to rent.” I love this song. A real oldie but goodie.
The song has a lot of slang. To let. Four bits. Old stogies. Man of means. Box cars (as a form of free transportation). Etc etc.
Yeah, you still hear of people “subletting” a room in their home. But rarely hear “let” on its own.
@@JRoss707 We use to let over here in the UK to mean for rent. You see to let signs on houses and apartments all the time here.
4 bits = 50 cents. Thus "rooms to let, 50 cents" and "buys a 4 bit room" are two ways of saying the same thing.
A "bit" was slang for an eighth of a dollar. I think it dates back to when the Spanish Dollar was essentially international currency. In order to make change, the Spanish Dollar was cut into eight pieces with each piece worth 12.5 cents.
That's also where the phrase, "pieces of eight" came from.
@@davidwilliams1820 It was also used in the old cheer heard at many high school football games etc. 'Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar.. all for the (team name) stand up and hollar'
He turned Huckleberry Finn into a multi-Tony Award winning musical called Big River. There are some amazing songs in that musical including “Muddy Water” and “Waitin’ For the Light to Shine”. I listen to it frequently. He was SUCH a talented man!
"Waitin' for the Light to Shine (Reprise)" perfectly captures the key moment in the book, when Huck decides that he'd rather condemn himself to Hell than let Jim stay in captivity.
one of my faves. "Muddy Water" is my heart...
This was my father’s favorite song. My father died ten years ago at 80, but whenever I hear this song, my memory of him comes into sharp focus for a few minutes.
I have Dad memories of this song too.❤
My dad was the same age as yours. He died 7 years ago at 83. My parents had this record too.
John McNally and NEPatsFan And All of You that have lost a Loved One: So Sorry for Your Loss💔
My father passed 8 years ago this week,at 76. He also loved Roger Miller!!! He got me listening years ago. I'm sorry for your loss. But great memories!!!🥰🤗
My dad died in October at 83, and this was one of his favorite songs. His mind was going those last few months, but I'd made a youtube playlist of Roger Miller, The Brothers Four, and some more, and his eyes would light up.
Whoever recommended this track, pat yourself on the back. GREAT SONG, EVEN BETTER ARTIST!!!
OMG! My father used to sing this when I was really young! I'm 62, and he passed away when I was 9! Best memories of him!
God bless you, ma'am. I'm 60, and these songs remind me of the old folks that are gone. I'm miss them -but I have my grand kids. Kind of cool how God does that for us 🙂
@@johnathandavis3693 yes it is! And I play a lot of oldies for them and they love it!
Roger Miller wrote a musical called ‘Big River’. He won 7 awards for this.
He was a hobo traveling around. He's renting the room for fifty cents. Two hours of work earned him enough to pay for the room, "an 8X12 four bit room". A bit was 12.5 cents, two bits was a quarter and four bits was fifty cents. Some other Roger Miller hits we "Dang Me", "Chug-a-Lug", "Engine, Engine, No. 9", and "You Can't Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd".
The old alma mater cheer. 2 bits, 4 bits, 6 bits, a dollar, all for State U stand up and holler
Which is why "two-bit" became a synonym for "worthless" - only worth a quarter, after all.
Yeah, these are not rooms at a Marriot. These are cheap dive rooms in a boarding house with a communal bath, etc. So a Man of the Road could travel around pick up some odd jobs. Most nights when he was flush he could get a room in a boarding house, and on the nights where he wasn't he'd sleep under the stars. Kind of amazing how cheap a man could live back in the day, but it was a life that doesn't resemble what most of us think of as living
Let's not forget "England Swings Like a Pendulum Do".
@@ronaldjeffrey8712 Bobbies on bicycles, two by two...
He won 11 Grammys in 2 years as Country artist. Un heard of at time.
Oh wow!!! A real oldie but goodie!!! I love when you do a song I liked but had forgotten all about it!! God Bless you all!!
I like that about this channel 🙋🏻♀️
Digging deep to bring this one. Thanks!
OMGGGGG! Roger Miller was my mother's next door neighbor in Eric, Oklahoma! He and my Aunt Bernice were classmates!😊
My favorite Roger Miller song from my childhood was You Can't Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd. My dad played a lot of Roger Miller.
Roger Miller... LEGEND. Songs to react to: "Dang Me," "I've Been a Long Time Leaving," "You Can't Roller Skate With a Buffalo Herd," "Chug-a-Lug," and "Atta Boy Girl" (still said to me in praise by my 82 year old dad).
This song was all about the life of a "hobo", tramp, or vagrant. A person that was homeless & traveled from town to town by "stealing" rides on freight trains.
Basically he was claiming that even though he had no belongings, he was still "King of the Road".
He could do odd jobs to get enough cash to get by.
Great description of what I always thought the song was about.
Exactly!
50 cents would have been a lot for a hobo. Most hobos slept for free.
Yep. Ridin' the rails.
Rooms to let 50 cent is basically saying 50 cents to rent.
This is one of the first songs I remember hearing as a kid. Roger Miller was like a favorite uncle and he was everywhere.
Yay!!! One of my all time favorite songs. Its so much fun, love the classics.
I also suggest Don Williams
I Believe in You if you like this one. Its got super sweet lyrics and you will both love it i think.
Edit after watching, this is a kickass karaoke song. Drunk people somewhere in the world are singing it right now.
I like Circle Driveway!!
Don Williams voice is just dreamy! I love his duet with Emmylou!
Glad you love it. This is an example of the real essence of real country music. A collaboration with the singer and the music complimenting each other, not each playing in different directions. "Rooms to let" means for rent. And, Roger Miller was a major deal in Country Music during his career, at one time winning every Grammy award in one sweep.
Roger Miller doesn't have a bad song! He was a favorite of my grandma's, so I know all the lyrics. Thank you! 😁❤️
When I was a small boy, this stuff was blasted from the big bench front seats.
Absolute legend, he also voiced Alan-a-Dale( the singing rooster) in Disney's Robin hood, so he sang Oo-De-Lally, Whistle stop and not in nottingham in one of the best Disney classic movies
Oh my goodness!! The songs of my childhood. Probably the first song my brother learned to sing when he was three- waaaaay back in the 60’s. We had an album with Can’t Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd and Dang Me …. I could probably play it and know every word 50 years after hearing it.
Growing up with this song since this was one of my Dad's favorite. Thanks for the memories.
It's a song about about a hobo with no money and he ain't got anything but he knows everything about surviving so he's the "King of the Road" I agree with others. " Chug-a-Lug" And "Dang Me" are a must!
"One Dyin' And A Buryin'" is a great Roger Miller song that gets overlooked among the bigger hits like "Dang Me", "Chug-A-Lug", "You Can't Rollerskate (In A Buffalo Herd)", a lot of fun records. He was also the character of the Rooster in Disney's Robin Hood where he did a couple of songs including "Whistle-Stop" which was later sped-up and released as "The Hamster Dance" which kids of a certain age know very well since it was played in heavy rotation on Radio Disney.
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
I forgot about "One Dyin' And A Buryin.'" Another favorite.
Roger Miller was one of Oklahoma's great talents. He was a song writer, singer, actor, story teller. He was very funny on talk shows. He also worked on Broadway. Dean Martin did a cool version of King of the Road you should listen to. A true artist & talent.
Actually, he was from Fort Worth. Starting out....he did do some gigs in Oklahoma.
@@hokep61 Home town is Erick OK
@@landenchantment I used to stop at the Loves truck stop at exit 7 when I drove a semi.
Born in Ft. Worth, Miller grew up on a farm outside Erick, Oklahoma
You must hear the female answer from Jody Miller: 'Queen of the house' ... and if you like the piano in the background, you must hear the song from Jim Lowe: 'Green Door' from 1956 with a crazy spinet solo... I promise you, you will love it! ... nice greetings from munich/germany 🙂
Roger Miller taught us that, "You can't roller skate in a buffalo herd." 😉♥
“But you can be happy, if you’ve a mind to.” 😁
Can't change film with a kid on your back, either.
Roger Miller was a great songwriter, singer, musician and Broadway Musical writer :) This song was a huge 'crossover hit' in 1964 :)
This song is a classic in every sense of the word. One of 1965's best. For your next Roger song, you have to do "Dang Me". It's one that'll stick in your brain forever. Roger was an incredibly successful musician in his time. He won 11 Grammys AND a Tony Award. He's in the Country AND Songwriters Hall of Fame. Sadly, he died relatively young, at 56, of lung cancer. (He was a prodigious smoker.) But this song will never lose its cool.
AWW. This songs brings back memories of riding in my daddy's pickup when I was little. He loved this song.
God, I remember listening to this with my Dad in his truck just both of us jamming😜. Keep this up y’all 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Roger Miller was country music royalty and an absolute Genius!!!
Gotta react to 'Dang Me'
"Rooms to let, .50 cents" Back in the day, people--usually widows-- would "let" or rent out rooms with no frills (and didn't allow smoking) "aint got no cigarettes"; in order to make money to get by. I think Roger is referencing migrant traveling men that rode the rails (trains) from place to place to find work wherever they could during the Depression.
Another 😊of Roger Miller's great ones is You Cant Roller Scate in a Buffalo Herd.
I used to run around singing this while I was playing as a kid 60+ years ago. Worked at it till I knew ALL the words.
"To let" is the same as rent only it was used more with family & close friends...
Me too....lol
Love Roger Miller. Great musician, singer, and comedian. Can’t Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd, England Swing, Dang Me so many greats
Roger Miller was incredibly talented. In addition to working with Disney on Robin Hood, he wrote the music & lyrics for Big River (which he also acted in), winning the Tony Award for Best Original Score.
Have y'all done The Statler Brothers yet? Flowers on the Wall was my Mama's favorite. She actually took me to the rodeo one year because they were the musical act ❤
I loved Counting Flowers on the Wall! I can remember all the words even now. It's about the height of boredom and nothing to do.
Big River is some of my favorite music. It's simply superb.
@@barbaraburton8914 For you "Flowers on the wall" fans Home Free does an awesome cover of that song. If you haven't heard it you ought to give it a listen.
@@spiderdog7599 I will. Thanks
Yes you definitely need to get more in-depth into Rodger Miller. He's a storyteller his songs are fun and young kids love his music. I was born in 1968 my dad would play this and his car all the time in the seventies good memories thanks for playing it
Roger did lots of good songs, most of them silly, funny stuff like “dang me” & “chug-a-lug”, but he was also the very first to record a song written by Kris Kristofferson called “me & Bobby McGee”, which ended up being recorded by many, including as you know, Janis Joplin. For the serious side of Roger, check out “husbands & wives”, “when two worlds collide”, or my favorite Christmas song ever “old toy trains” a song he wrote as a gift to his son when he couldn’t afford to buy him a gift.
Roger Miller was also the rooster in Disney's Robin Hood. I've always loved his sound.
Alan A. Dale!
Definitely old time smooth! Even when it came out, playing on the car radio, my Momma said it sounded old fashioned, in the very best way! Haven't heard this in ages, thank you so much! 😽💋🎶
Both of my parents sang and whistled this tune.. I've always loved it.. I listen to it often, especially when missing my parents..
One of my favorites of his is "You Can't Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd"! Oh, and he's a hobo!
Amber nailed it! It's a sing-along song! We began every family vacation with this song when I was growing up.
Roger Miller is a great hilliarious artist, You Can't Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd is a funny song.
Roger Miller was huge
LOOOOVE this song! Reminds me of my grandparents!🥰🥰
This song was about being a hobo, a transient, a traveling homeless person & telling about the way he lived. Many of Mr. Miller's songs seemed to be about ignoring adversity & making the best of what you have.
It was a thing in the post depression and then post WWII eras. Transients are seen in almost all black & white movies and jumping the railcars was the way to get around. My uncle suffocated in a refrigerator car when he was 19 in Iowa as he made his way from Indiana to California 'riding the rails'. It was a hard life (duh.. poverty, et al) but for some it was (and is) a way of life.
@@MadMax-pu1kj Zactly.
Its what the lyrics invoke that make you bvb think. Yes. Like that he befriends the train engineers so he doesn't get hassled hopping a ride.
@@MadMax-pu1kj the transient on a train from Pee Wee's Big Adventure still makes me laugh every time.
Exactly
"England Swings" by Roger Miller, a massive hit.
You’re right, that’s exactly what we did, sat around the fire and sang songs like this. Everyone knew the tune, and after one hearing, remembered every word. So much fun in simpler times.
His voice is so smooth and he gets you involved in the music 🎶 another song “Dang Me”
I was belting this at the top of my lungs during your reaction. Such a fun song.
I was about 9 years old when this came out in '65. My father used to sing and play guitar (just for his own enjoyment), and this was one of his favorites. I probably heard him sing it at least 2-3 times a week for many years. BTW, In this context "Room to let" = "Rooms to rent". Current usage is not all that common but not archaic, either. Most often heard in the form of "sub-let", as in when somebody rents out a property that they themselves lease from somebody else.
I was born in ‘68…but same in my case…to this day, one thing I most regret is never learning to play the guitar from my dad.
My brother and two of his friends sang this, as a joke, at a talent contest, no instruments, just voices, harmony and snapping their fingers -- and they won the talent contest was in 1971, and still a popular song.
I only know this song as my Dad used to play the record and sing along. I still know every word and every time I hear it it reminds me of my Dad ❤️
My dad had many of Roger Millers albums. I love his music
Jay/Amber, he did pretty well on the Billboard Hot 100 chart as well as the Billboard Hot 100 Country chart! A crossover artist as they say.
I've no doubt that anyone of a certain age watching this is singing along and thoroughly enjoying themselves.
You should give "Can't roller skate in a buffalo herd" a try.
After this, now you need to hear "Winchester Cathedral", "Can't Rollerskate In A Buffalo Herd" and "Dang Me". All great, fun songs by the incomparable Roger Miller
My mom and my grandmother really love/loved this song. Your selection of older music really surprises me. You pick some things that aren't necessarily the most well known but they're always interesting. Thank you and looking forward to more.
Proof that sometimes simple is perfect.
You have to listen to his song “Dang Me”.
Higher than the highest treeeeeeee
Lordy won't you weep for meeeee
This song was written in Caldwell Idaho, just down the road from my home town. Roger Miller and Tennessee Erny Ford were regular visitors to the state. Met them both and they acted like they had known us forever. Great artists.
One of these days you'll have to check out The Highwaymen which is a super group consisting of Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson. If you do, play their self-titled single called the Highwaymen
I grew up listening to this song. My mama loved Roger Miller. She would have been 100 this year.
"My uncle used to love me but she died" is a classic
Yes! a chicken ain't a chicken till it's lickin' good fried 🎶
He was born in Texas, but grew up in Oklahoma. He was the first singer to cover Kristofferson's Me and Bobby McGee. His last hit was with Willie Nelson and Ray Price called Old Friends. He stole a guitar when he was young, but felt so guilty he returned it the next day. He went into the army instead of jail and was sent to Korea. George Jones helped him get his start in music. He wrote so many songs, my favorites are this one, Chugalug, Dang Me and Engine Engine number 9.
"To let" means to rent. This song was huge to a kid back in the early sixties. Easy lyrics to learn. Not hard at all to sing. Although the line about cigarettes wasn't too great for a kid to hear. Miller died of throat cancer at 56.
DebJorgo, I remember listening to this song on my shiny ruby red transistor radio with only one ear bud in my ear at that time they only made one for some strange reason or so I thought which I didn't mind a bit!!!! I thought that it was pretty cool back then! I got the radio from my sister who was two years older then I and I thought it was the coolest thing ever!!!! Well anyway my sister put it in my Easter basket from the Easter Bunny!! Pretty darn awesome!
I forgot to mention that although I never knew what 'let" really meant but I sang it like I knew what it meant anyway!! 😊
This was a # 1 hit on the Billboard charts.
Roger is worth a deep dive into. One of my favorites is when he was the Porter Wagoner show. It's got two songs on it. In The Summertime and he plays fiddle on Porter's signature song Y'all Come. If you want a sad one, One Dying and a Burying. If you want an uptempo sad song, Atta Boy Girl.
Thank you, this song brought me to country music when I was 5 or 6 years old, and it is still a favorite of mine.
Try Johnny Horton's "Sink the Bismarck" or "Whispering Pines" or "The Battle of New Orleans". Loved those songs from the 50s when I was a kid.
No Broadway. His first big Hit. One of many. He wrote many hit songs. One of the most taletned singer/Song writers ever.
You’re right, Amber…if you know it you want to sing it..my family always jumped in to belt it out (even though we always groaned at my dad :}
Husband’s and Wife’s is my favorite Roger Miller Sony.
You really should do his song - Chug-a-Lug. Classic
I remember this song from my childhood, so glad you found him!
Speaking of Broadway, Roger Miller wrote a great musical called "Big River" based on Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn."
Every year at our family reunion we sing this song together. Loads of fun
I love this song, it's one of my go to karaoke songs. Randy Travis also does a really good version of this song
I adore Roger Miller. “The Moon is High and So am I”, “Hard Headed Me”, “Chug-A-Lug”, “My Uncle Used to Love Me (But She Died)”, not to mention the entire soundtrack to Disney’s Robin Hood. He’s an absolute gem.
This was my 11 year old son's favorite song when he was like 5 or 6! He used to run around singing it all the time and would constantly have Alexa playing it. Haven't heard it in a while, but still love it!
Roger was one of the greatest lyricists period! Nobody could touch him and he always added music to fit perfectly! One of my biggest influences as my tunes have a ROGER tag on many of them.
Roger Miller also sang quite a few songs and narrated the Walt Disney Classic "Robin Hood". Here's the opening of the movie: ua-cam.com/video/xnFzPxhEFDM/v-deo.html He also had an all time favorite back in the day "You Can't Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd", it's short, but cute! ua-cam.com/video/ZbAq_fVWO4k/v-deo.html - A very witty man - thanks so much for this reaction!!
Roger Miller brings back a lot of childhood memories. My mom bought an album of his and we listened to it all the time. I especially remember this song, England Swings and Dang Me.
Roger Miller was one of the best song writers of all genres. Listen to Husbands and
wives. Never been a better song. So well crafted. Saw his broadway play in New York. Only broadway play I have ever seen. Big River was based on Huckleberry Finn. I think it was 1985. You guys do a good job. I enjoy your enthusiasm.
Saw "Big River" on Broadway back in 1985 with Daniel Jenkins and the late Ron Richardson. Scored many Tony awards for Roger! Deservedly so!
Roger's "You Can't Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd" worth it lol.
It's a celebration of the 1930's depression-era benevolent hobo (hand-to-mouth) lifestyle...hopping trains, taking handouts, pushing a broom for a room, and the like.
I have one that will even pull at his heart strings..lol. Red Sovine "it will come back" and Teddy Bear" and " flowers for momma"