King of the Road (song)

For the Fu Manchu song, see King of the Road (album).

"King of the Road" is a song written by country singer Roger Miller, who first recorded it in November 1964.^[2] The lyrics tell of the day-to-day life of a traveling hobo, who despite having little money (a "man of means by no means"), revels in his freedom, describing himself humorously and cynically as the "king of the road". It was Miller's fifth single for Smash Records.^[3] The song won Miller 5 Grammy Awards in 1966.

"King of the Road"
One of A-side labels of the US release
Single by Roger Miller
from the album The Return of Roger Miller
B-side	"Atta Boy Girl"
Released	January 1965
Recorded	November 3, 1964 [1]
Genre	Country
Length	2:28
Label	Smash[2]
Songwriter(s)	Roger Miller[2]
Producer(s)	Jerry Kennedy[2]
Roger Miller singles chronology
"Do-Wacka-Do" (1965) "King of the Road" (1965) "Engine Engine #9" (1965)
Official audio
"King of the Road" on YouTube

History

The crossover record reached number one on the Billboard US Country chart,^[4] number four on the Billboard Hot 100, and number one on the Easy Listening surveys.^[5] It was also number one in the UK Singles Chart^[6] and in Norway. Miller recalled that the song was inspired when he was driving and saw a sign on the side of a barn that read, "Trailers for sale or rent".^[7] This became the opening line of the song.

In June 1966, Richard Pryor performed the song on the premiere episode of Kraft Summer Music Hall.^[8]

A comic version by English entertainer Billy Howard, "King of the Cops", was a British chart hit in 1976.^{[citation needed]}

In 1987, R.E.M. covered the song and included it on their Dead Letter Office compilation album. Guitarist Peter Buck later commented, "If there was any justice in the world, Roger Miller should be able to sue for what we did to this song."^[9]

"King of the Road" won Roger Miller five Grammy Awards at the 1966 8th Annual Grammy Awards Ceremony. It won for Best Contemporary (R&R) Single, Best Contemporary (R&R) Vocal Performance - Male, Best Country and Western Single, Best Country and Western Vocal Performance - Male & Best Country and Western Song. He also won a Grammy for Best Country and Western Album The Return of Roger Miller.^[10]

Critical reception

In 2024, Rolling Stone ranked the song at number 60 on its 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time list.^[11]

Personnel

Credits:^[12][13]

• Roger Miller – vocals
• Buddy Killen – guitar
• Thumbs Carllile – finger snaps
• Bob Moore – double bass
• unknown – piano, drums, tambourine

Charts

Roger Miller

Chart (1965)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart[14]	1
Norwegian Singles Chart[15]	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	1
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	4
Irish Singles Chart	5
Canadian RPM Top Singles	10
Dutch Top40[16]	14
Dutch Official Chart[15]	5
German Official Chart[15]	26
French TEF/TMP[17]	6

The Proclaimers

Chart (1990)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart[18]	78
Irish Singles Chart	8
UK Singles Chart[14]	9

Randy Travis

Chart (1997)	Peak position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[19]	74
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[20]	51

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[21] Roger Miller version	Silver	200,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

"Queen of the House"

Country music singer Jody Miller (no relation) answered "King of the Road" with "Queen of the House" (1965). The song used Roger Miller's music while changing the lyrics to describe the day-to-day life of a stay-at-home mom. The words were written by Mary Taylor.^[22][23] The song was a hit, reaching number 12 on Billboard's' Hot 100 and number five on the Hot Country Singles chart. It also won a Grammy for Female Country Vocal Performance.