King of the Road (song)


"King of the Road" is a song written by country singer Roger Miller, who first recorded it in November 1964.
The lyrics tell of the day-to-day life of a vagabond hobo who, despite being poor, revels in his freedom, describing himself humorously and cynically as the "king of the road". It was his fifth single for Smash Records.

History

The popular crossover record hit No. 1 on the US Country chart, No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 on the Easy Listening surveys. It was also No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart, 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". This would become the opening line of the song.
The song has been covered by many other artists, including George Jones, Dean Martin, Val Doonican, Jack Jones, James Booker, The Fabulous Echoes, Boney M., R.E.M., Johnny Paycheck, Glen Campbell, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Boxcar Willie, Randy Travis, Rangers, James Kilbane, John Stevens, the Statler Brothers, Rufus Wainwright & Teddy Thompson, Giant Sand, Peligro, The Proclaimers, Ray Conniff Singers, The Reverend Horton Heat, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Jim White. James "The King" Brown performed the song for a 2001 Audi commercial on German TV. Of R.E.M.'s version, a shambolic, drunken, offhand rendering, guitarist Peter Buck would later comment, "If there was any justice in the world, Roger Miller should be able to sue for what we did to this song."
The song was performed live by Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Marty Stuart, Dwight Yoakam and Dolly Parton during Miller's posthumous induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame at the 1995 CMA Awards ceremony.
The song is featured in Wim Wenders' 1976 film Im Lauf der Zeit. It is also played at the beginning of , Brokeback Mountain, Into the Wild, Traveller, and Swingers. Miller performs it in the concert film The Big T.N.T. Show. The recording by The Proclaimers is included in the film The Crossing. Near the end of their official music video, the pair are shown reading a newspaper whose headline is "Roger Miller, King of Plugs".
The song appears in an episode of the Super Dave TV show, where Super Dave Osborne sings along to Miller's recording of the song, while sitting at a piano mounted on top of his tour bus. The bus eventually goes into a low tunnel, slamming into the piano and Osborne and pushing them off the bus and onto the ground.
A send-up version by English entertainer Billy Howard was a British chart hit in 1976.
A German version by the band Wise Guys exists, the parody referring to speeding on the Autobahn.

Chart performance

Roger Miller

The Proclaimers

Randy Travis

"Queen of the House"

singer Jody Miller answered "King of the Road" with "Queen of the House". 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.
Connie Francis later recorded the song on her 1966 album Live at the Sahara.
The Supremes performed the song in their nightclub act. It can be heard on their The Supremes at the Copa album and I Hear a Symphony remastered CD, which includes their September 1966 appearance at the Roostertail in Detroit, on the second disc.