Roger Miller on the Grand Ole Opry, Part Two

Technically, this is the wrong image, but it'll do as a placeholder

Roger Miller - "King Of The Road/Dang Me"

As I said last week:
     Today's selection comes from the record library of WCON in Cornelia, GA, where it was presumably played once, filed away, and forgotten until a few years ago, when I bought it in a stack of 50 or so Opry episodes at the J&J Flea Market in Athens.

      While neither the record nor the track listing sheet are dated, in his introduction on Program No.  231 (two weeks earlier), Bill Monroe had said that Miller would  have a TV show in the Fall, which dates this to somewhere between January and September 1966. On this episode, Roger is introduced by Hank Locklin, the host of the week. I've never found a lot of information about this syndicated version of the Opry, so I welcome any further data from you folks out there in Radioland.     These are the only appearances by Roger on the Opry that I have, but I'll probably be digging into them for some other surprises sooner or later. Don't touch that dial!

Sinister Saturday...

They're coming to GET you...

Lloyd Thaxton and Billy Strange Pay Tribute To The Great Man

Lloyd Thaxton (1927-2008) did a variety of things in his long career, but he's best remembered for The Lloyd Thaxton Show, an American Bandstand-style music show that he hosted from 1961-67 in Los Angeles, with the last three years nationally syndicated. Here are some videos for you to check out if you're interested. He also has his name stuck on a number of records that that he had little or nothing to do with, including albums by the Challengers, the Knickerbockers, and Round Robin. The album pictured above is in a similar vein, being mostly instrumentals by Billy Strange... but not entirely! Unlike the other "Thaxton" albums, Lloyd actually turns up on both the album and a single drawn from it.

Lloyd Thaxton - "Tennessee Ska"

Unlike Bandstand, Thaxton's show also included comedy routines and sketches, and that's the side of Lloyd on display here, in a novelty tune that, despite its title, has no traces of anything resembling blue-beat. Lloyd and Roger Miller were pals (read about that in this 2006 posting from Thaxton's still-extant blog), and he pays tribute to his pal here both in tone and through both name-checking and directly quoting him.

Lloyd Thaxton (Presents) Billy Strange And Orchestra - "Chug-A-Lug"

The beloved West coast studio musician kingpin (and cousin of Glenn "Frankenstein" Strange!) gives us an instrumental rendition of Roger's hit.

Swiped from Mr. Thaxton's blog

BONUS! If you want to hear the rest of the album, fellow WFMU family member Kliph Nesteroff has it posted at his blog here.

Blassie, King Of Men

The legendary Fred Blassie manhandles Dick Van Dyke, while Mary Tyler Moore and Mel Cooley look on, trembling fear. From "The Twizzle," a 1962 episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Matt Fiveash Live On Ichiban!

Fiveash & Debbie D

I'm happy to announce that starting tomorrow at 1 PM EST, Ichiban All-Star, Matt Fiveash will be coming to you live on the Rock 'n' Soul webstream.  Tune in every Thursday from 1-3 PM or catch him in the archives while you're at work and getting paid.

And don't forget about Ted Barron, live on Wednesday 8-10 PM, me on Friday 3-5 PM and Dr. Filth and Greg Cartwright for the Saturday night dance party, live from the Admiral in scenic Asheville, NC, rock time - until.

Tassel Twirler Tuesday!

Say_There!

Roger Miller Meets Dino

King Of The Road Motor Inn

Don't Rock the Jukebox

From Billboard, Nov. 20, 1965

The Ballad Of Roger Miller

Homer & Jethro - The Ballad Of Roger Miller (2:33)

You know you've really made it when Homer & Jethro point their satirical daggers at you.

Weeki Wachee

Marlin and the Mermaids - At Weeki Wachee 

More!

Roger on Tour

My late friend Kurt Neiburg, former proprietor of Sound Trax Records in Clemson, SC, once told me about seeing Roger Miller live at an outdoor show on Bowman Field there when he he was a teen-ager*. As he described it, Roger was pretty drunk, and played his whole set while sitting precariously balanced on a stool. Thanks to Billboard's Music on Campus special issue (3/19/66; apparently not included in Google Books' Billboard archives) I can now confirm that Kurt attended this show on Monday, March 28, 1966. He would have been 13 at the time (Kurt, not Roger). It seems odd that they would have held an outdoor event like this on a Monday, but that's what he told me, and I'm afraid that follow-up questions aren't an option. I did check to see if I could find any corroborative evidence, but neither the local nor the college paper there are archived online, and I don't feel like traveling 80 miles and back again to check the microfilm for you folks. Sorry.

*Kurt also saw the Electric Prunes at the Anderson (SC) Civic Center, but I have no corroborative evidence to share at this time.