YES! Roger Miller’s Classic Albums Finally Coming to Digital Realm
Sometimes one of the most frustrating aspects of being an old school country music fan is the lack of availability of some of the older titles of some of country music’s most important artists. That’s most certainly been the case with the catalog of Country Music Hall of Famer Roger Miller. Though you can pull up many of his most iconic songs such as “King of the Road” and “Dang Me,” most of them are only accessible via the dozen or so “Greatest Hits” compilations that have been licensed over the years.
Sure, if you’re a vinyl junky, maybe you’ve done well finding his full-length albums out there in the wild, but good luck listening to them on the go, while the catalog of one of the greatest songwriters ever in country music is virtually inaccessible to a newer generation of listeners. Well now that’s all about to change.
Starting on Friday, May 27th, Capitol Nashville/UMe is going to begin reissuing Roger Miller’s albums originally released on Mercury, MCA, and Smash Records, making them available for the first time via streaming and download. First up are 1970’s A Trip in the Country, 1979’s Making a Name For Myself, and Roger’s 1985 self-titled album.
Then from there, Capitol Nashville/UMe will be releasing three new titles every month this summer, marking 65 years of Roger Miller’s influence in country music, which commenced in 1957 when George Jones recorded the Roger Miller-penned “Tall, Tall Trees.” Twelve original albums altogether will be populated across the digital realm as part of the campaign.
“I’m excited that these classic albums of Rogers are being made available digitally for all to enjoy,” said Miller’s widow, Mary Miller. “As I revisit his wonderful catalog of songs, I’m reminded how much I like hearing his lighthearted ones like ‘Hey Would You Hold It Down?’ as well as how poignant his ballads are. I hope these songs bring you a laugh, a tear, but most of all, a smile.”
Roger Miller’s whimsical and touching songwriting revolutionized country music at the time. Though it was songs like “Chug-A-Lug” and “Do-Wacka-Do” that had folks in stitches and singing along, it was songs like “The Last Word in Lonesome Is Me” that left a more significant mark. In 1964, Roger Miller won a whopping five Grammy Awards, speaking to just how revered he was by his peers. Then in 1965, he won six of them.
There are many other country legends whose legacies have also yet to translate into the digital world, and it takes a lot of effort by fans, families, and labels to make it happen. But with the way back catalogs are becoming increasingly popular as today’s music just doesn’t touch people like yesterday’s, we are slowly seeing some of country music’s most important works re-emerge. And no better place to start than with the works of Roger Miller.
The titles to be released include:
May 27
Roger Miller – 1985-MCA
Making A Name For Myself – 1979
A Trip In The Country – 1970
June 24
Roger Miller – 1970
Roger Miller – 1969
A Tender Look At Love – 1968
July 29
Waterhole #3 (Code of the West) – 1967
Walkin’ In The Sunshine – 1967
Words and Music – 1966
August 26
The 3rd Time Around – 1965
Return Of Roger Miller – 1965
Roger And Out – 1964
May 26, 2022 @ 9:05 am
No CD releases? 👎👎👎
May 26, 2022 @ 11:15 am
If you want them on CD, purchase the digital version and burn it to CD yourself.
May 26, 2022 @ 11:33 am
I don’t listen to CDs, I buy CDs to have a perfect, “permanent” copy. Any CD you burn yourself may rot in 15-20 years. A factory-made CD release is the only sure way to preserve something.
May 26, 2022 @ 7:21 pm
If you cared about perfect archival, you’d be putting your stuff on tape drives and have multiple copies.
But a hard drive on your computer, and paying a subscription to a backup service like acronis will accomplish this perfectly well, much much better than your cd collection could imagine.
May 26, 2022 @ 10:00 pm
FYI–
If somebody is looking to buy a physical CD today, it’s almost certainly because he gets some enjoyment from having a manufactured item with a printed-on decal and logo and package with a booklet with essays and photographs, etc., that one can hold in ones’ hand and peruse and that are conneccted to the intangible music contained.
Taking a generic, blank CD out of a cylinrical stack of identical items, “burning it” and then writing “Roger Miller–Walking in the Sunshine/Words and Music” on it with a black magic marker and then holding that “creation” in your hand does not provide the simple pleasure describe above.
The fact that some country (and other) CD’s that were made in the 1990s or 2000s and then went out of print now sell for $300-plus on Amazon should confirm that.
May 27, 2022 @ 3:52 pm
To your last point, I plunked down $75 for a copy of the out-of-print Stoney Edwards anthology CD “Poor Folks Stick Together” after reading Trigger’s recent article about him. Thanks, Trigger! 🙂
May 27, 2022 @ 4:43 pm
That was when I first heard of Stoney Edwards–when the “Razor and Tie” label issued that CD in the ’90s and it was featured at Tower Records and I bought it there. I thought–and think–Stoney was fabulous.
May 26, 2022 @ 9:30 am
Thank you for sharing this news! We have been working with UMe on this for a couple of years. The process of getting everything digitized can be long and tedious, but it’s finally happening and we could’t be more excited!
May 26, 2022 @ 3:15 pm
Will any of the albums have bonus tracks?
August 26, 2022 @ 1:34 pm
All albums are straight reissues – no extra or bonus tracks.
May 26, 2022 @ 9:32 am
YESSS!!! Been a LOONG time comin. So stoked.
May 26, 2022 @ 9:46 am
Hey, Rog’ what should we name the new album?
Fuck it, Roger Miller works.
May 28, 2022 @ 6:30 pm
Even funnier is titling an album “Words and Music by Roger Miller” and then putting “Heartbreak Hotel” on it.
Seriously, this is great. I grew up with the “Golden Hits” LP and still have my cassette of the self titled MCA album. Now, if we can get Disney to reissue the story and songs album of “Robin Hood”…
May 26, 2022 @ 10:13 am
That’s awesome
May 26, 2022 @ 11:33 am
Great to hear! Interesting they are working backwards chronologically. I think I prefer the mid to late 60s era but I haven’t heard the full later albums.
May 26, 2022 @ 11:45 am
Wow what good timing I was just looking to dig more into his discography but was then saddened that most of it was unavailable!
I’ve only ever truly knew his hits so getting to hear these will be a treat! Can’t wait!
May 26, 2022 @ 11:49 am
Great to see these getting a digital release. The 1985 self-titled album is great: it features a number of tunes Roger penned for “Big River” (a Broadway adaptation of Huckleberry Finn) including the wonderful “River in the Rain” — which was memorably covered by Alison Krauss on her “Windy City” album from a few years back.
May 26, 2022 @ 3:41 pm
That’s great news. I will definitely be listening to those.
May 26, 2022 @ 4:44 pm
It should also be said that Roger’s six Grammy wins for the year 1965 were the most won by any single act in any genre during one Grammy awards show, a record that wasn’t broken for eighteen years (!), until Michael Jackson absconded with, I believe, twelve of them for the year 1983 (all related to his album THRILLER, of course).
And quite frankly, it is astonishing that he should have had such an amazing amount of crossover success during the years 1964 and 1965, from “Dang Me” to “England Swings”, which were otherwise dominated by The Beatles. It was quite a remarkable career the man had, including his great Americana musical BIG RIVER; and I think he passed away far too early.
May 26, 2022 @ 6:10 pm
His work for Robin Hood is his best stuff.
May 27, 2022 @ 7:53 am
I’m enjoying listening to ATrip In The Country from 1970. Somehow I didn’t realize that Tall Tall Trees was originally a Roger Miller song. I was only 7 years old when this album was released, but I remember hearing Roger on the AM radio all the time back then. I’m so glad that many of these older albums are finally being released. Now if they’d only release Gilleys LP’s on streaming platforms!
August 26, 2022 @ 2:42 pm
Tall Tall Trees was co-written by George Jones and Roger Miller. George recorded it first and released it as a Mercury single in 1957. Although the record failed to chart it became a favorite with many George Jones fans.
Epic-Legacy has been doing a good job finally making Mickey Gilley’s original Epic albums from 1979-1986 available as downloads. Most were not previously released on CD. Here’s what is currently available:
The Songs We Made Love To [1979]
Mickey Gilley [1979]
That’s All That Matters To Me [1980]
You Don’t Know Me [1981]
Put Your Dreams Away [1982]
Fool For Your Love [1983]
You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me [1983]
Too Good To Stop Now [1984]
Ten Years Of Hits [1984]
Live! At Gilley’s [1985]
I Feel Good (About Lovin’ You) [1985]
One And Only [1986]
A double-sized Essential set is also available with almost all of his single hits. Still to be re-released are his 1974-1978 Playboy albums and his final Epic LP from 1987 “Back To Basics.”
August 26, 2022 @ 3:20 pm
Thanks so much for your reply. I’m very pleased to see that more of Gilley’s albums are available on streaming services.
May 27, 2022 @ 10:25 am
This is, of course, great news, though like many here, I’m one of those tactile individuals who would rather have a CD copy with booklet, artwork, etc. The one album I would really love to see remastered in digital format is Dear Folks, Sorry I Haven’t Written Lately from 1973. It has some brilliant songs (“The Animal Of Man,” a re-recorded version of “Uncle Harvey’s Plane” that’s better than the original, “What Would My Mama Say”), and it’s the last solo album of his to crack the charts with a Top-20 single (“Open Up Your Heart”). It’s his only album on Columbia, so it’s pretty well fallen through the cracks. Still, any news about Roger is good news.
May 27, 2022 @ 9:09 pm
Of all the country artists to NOT have their back catalog available on CD, Roger Miller is the biggest head scratcher. Mostly because his fans were not just the core country listeners but included a huge number of mainstream pop fans as well. His original albums sold significantly across the board. For years I fully expected Bear Family to give him their boxset treatment but alas they just have a couple of single Roger Miller CD’s are in their catalog. Given his impact on the genre it’s a mystery to me why they never did a boxset for Roger.
I prefer higher quality audio files. The three Roger Miller reissues are now available in 16 and 24 bit FLAC files at us.7digital.com Several other Roger Miller albums and many other country artists are available in those formats on that site as well.
August 24, 2022 @ 2:36 pm
I agree with you that much of Roger Miller’s early material is still criminally unavailable, however I want to correct you re: a box set for Roger Miller. There is one out there. It’s called “King Of The Road.” It has three discs in it along with a bound book. The only problem (for me) is it’s still too short! My big problem with Miller material right now is trying to hustle a copy of the newly reissued “A Trip To The Country.” I just heard about it on Fresh Air, tried to order up a copy of it from Barnes and Noble without success. I’m gonna try my independent dealer and see what happens. If I only get vinyl I’ll burn my CD copy but I’m hoping for a double hit by getting the CD version along with my vinyl. Overall, I’m hoping that Roger Miller’s music has a resurgence among his many fans, some of whom have no idea just how great a songwriter he actually was.
August 24, 2022 @ 4:23 pm
Yes Mercury did issue a 3-CD Roger Miller set in 1995 but I was referring to a comprehensive Bear Family type boxset that would include a significant portion of his recorded catalog covering multiple labels with unreleased tracks and especially all of his excellent Smash & Mercury albums. Mercury’s 3-CD set was really more of a career sampler. It had most of his Smash/Mercury singles along with random album tracks. For an unexplained reason many tracks on that set were taken from mono tapes instead of the stereo recordings.
The Roger Miller albums mentioned in the above article are not being issued on CD or vinyl. All are only being released as digital downloads. However all of the songs from the 1970 “A Trip In The Country” album were included on the 1991 Mercury compilation CD “The Best Of Roger Miller Vol. 1 – Country Tunesmith” Mercury 314 848 977-2. I’ve seen some reasonably priced used copies on eBay.
To Bear Family’s credit they did issue two single Roger Miller CD’s. “King Of The Road” [BCD 15477] released in 1990 contains all of his RCA Victor sides and 8 Smash singles. “A Man Like Me – The Early Years” [BCD 16760] released in 2006 features Roger’s earliest recordings for Starday & Decca.
June 3, 2022 @ 1:49 pm
Does anyone know where the digital releases will be available for purchase?
June 3, 2022 @ 7:38 pm
iTunes and Amazon should have both.
August 26, 2022 @ 4:30 pm
If you want audio files of a higher quality than mp3 (such as wav or flac) they are available at us7digital or qobuz.
us7digiital offers them at a bit cheaper price.
June 5, 2022 @ 7:20 pm
Now if only UMG would get around to reissuing the missing pieces from Jerry Jeff Walker and Tanya Tucker’s MCA catalog
June 8, 2022 @ 12:39 pm
Brilliant jazz guitarist Lenny Breau, long deceased, used to perform a solo guitar jazz arrangement of king of the road.
Great tune.
September 2, 2022 @ 1:01 pm
Dear Friends, Sorry I Haven’t Written Lately was dropped today September 2! Here’s hoping they release every Roger Miller album they possibly can asap!!
July 22, 2023 @ 10:41 pm
Quotes about Roger Miller from other singers songwriters
Roger Miller is right up there with Mark Twain and Steven Foster, real America originals Roger was the guy everyone wanted to write like. Roger was the guy responsible for making country music cool to the pop music world. He cut Bobby McGee and is was like having Dylan do it to have Roger cut it, you have to understand he was Huge, I was singing his songs before I even got to Nashville …Kris Kristofferson
I loved his writing, a lot of people don’t really know Roger, Don’t know how good he really was, Roger never did get the recognition he deserved for being the writer that he really was, Roger was mostly known for his novelty songs, but he was probably one of the bets ballad writers there ever was. ……Willie Nelson
Roger was the most unique human being I have ever met…..Buck Owens
Roger was lost between the rock field the pop field and the country field They didn’t know what category to put him in……Waylon Jennings
He was a phenomenal thinker and truly worthy of having the term Genius applied to his musical prowess, It’s not over used when applied to Roger Miller. In my opinion I just think he’s a true song writing genius a lyrical genius as good as Johnny Mercer or Cole Porter …Dwight Yoakam
I admired him as much as you could admire anybody…..Merle Haggard
He was the most talented and gifted person of the centuty…..Mickey Newbury
Roger Miller was the most spontaneously creative person I ever met…Jimmy Dean
Roger had genius…Mel Tillis
Roger was the closest to a genius I’ve ever known, because he could do things with the English language that were almost unbelievable….Bill Anderson
I don’t think Roger has ever had just dues. OK they put him in the hall of fame.That’s nice but there’s so much more to Roger. He did it all, ….Buddy Killen
Roger was just one of those unexplainable, once-in-a-lifetime, God sent phenomenon….Marty Stuart
He’s one of the best song writers I’ve ever heard. He wrote with quality even his novelty songs like “Dang Me” and “Chug a Lug” but when you get to songs like :Husbands and Wives’ and “When Two Worlds Collide” he just wrote from one spectrum to another…….Curly Putnam