PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Country and Western Singer Roger Miller

PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Country and Western Singer Roger Miller¹ Had Many Hit Songs
By Paul Thompson

Broadcast: Sunday, October 02, 2005

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

I'm Shirley Griffith.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Sarah Long with the VOA Special English program, PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Today we tell about music writer and performer² Roger Miller.

 
 
(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

The name of that song is "Dang Me." It was written and recorded by Roger Miller in Nineteen-Sixty-Five. It was not the first song he had written, but it was his first huge hit record. In fact, the recording³ of "Dang Me" helped Roger Miller win five of the National Academy⁴ of Recording Arts and Sciences Grammy Awards. One of those awards was the Grammy for best new country and western artist.

Before "Dang Me" became a hit record, few people outside the music business knew the name Roger Miller. Yet he had been working his way to the top of the music business since he was a boy.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Roger Dean⁵ Miller was born January Second, Nineteen-Thirty-Six in the western city of Fort⁶ Worth, Texas. His father died when Roger was only one year old. His mother became sick soon after. Roger was sent to live with his uncle in Erick, Oklahoma.

VOICE TWO(cont):

Roger Miller had a difficult childhood. Most of his days were spent working on his uncle's farm, picking cotton. He was a lonely and unhappy child. Roger began writing songs because he loved the music he heard on the radio. He also learned⁷ to play the guitar and the violin, sometimes called a fiddle⁸. Much later, he learned to play the drums. Music helped the young Roger escape the hard work on his uncle's cotton farm.

VOICE ONE:

Roger left the farm when he was still very young. He traveled from town to town in the west. He worked at any job he could find during the day. At night, he went to music clubs and drinking places where country and western bands played. These places provided⁹ him with a music education. Roger Miller entered the United¹⁰ States Army at the age of seventeen. He was sent to an army base near Atlanta, Georgia.

In Atlanta, he played with a music group called "The Circle "A" Wranglers¹¹." When he left the Army, Roger moved to the home of country music in Nashville, Tennessee.

VOICE ONE(cont):

At first, he worked in a hotel. Stories say he would sing there for anyone who would listen. He soon got several jobs playing his violin. And he began writing songs for other singers.

VOICE TWO:

Roger liked writing songs. He also wanted to perform his own songs on the stage. He recorded several records, but they were not popular and did not sell many copies. In Nineteen-Sixty, Roger recorded a song called "You Don't Want My Love." Today, the song is better known¹² as "In the Summer Time." It is the first song he wrote and sang that became popular.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO (cont):

"In the Summer Time" sold many copies. It showed record company officials that Roger Miller was a good performer.

VOICE ONE:

On January Tenth, Nineteen-Sixty-Four Roger Miller agreed to record sixteen songs. One of those songs was "Dang Me." It became his first number one selling record. It was a hit with country music fans and with popular music fans too. It sold millions of copies.

Another funny song recorded at the same time also became a major hit. It is called "Chug-a-lug".

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Roger Miller became extremely¹³ popular as the result of the success of "Dang Me" and "Chug-A-Lug". He began appearing on television. His records sold by the millions. But it was another record that made him extremely famous. Roger often told the story about how he wrote his most famous song. He was driving late at night near the middle western city of Chicago. He saw a sign near the road. Written on the sign were the words, "Trailers for Sale or Rent."

VOICE TWO(cont):

The words stayed in his head and would not go away. Later, he used those words as the opening of his most famous song, "King of the Road." Like many of his other songs it was popular with country fans and with popular music fans as well. It is played often on radio stations throughout¹⁴ the United States.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Rocco Landesman once taught at the School of Drama¹⁵ at Yale University. He really liked Roger Miller's music. Mister¹⁶ Landesman wrote several letters asking if Roger could write the music for a play that would appear on Broadway in New York. The story would be taken from Mark Twain's famous book, "Huckleberry Finn."

Roger agreed to write the music for the show called "Big River." It opened on Broadway in April of Nineteen-Eighty-Five. It was a big hit. "Big River" received seven Tony Awards. Roger Miller won two for the music he wrote.

VOICE ONE(cont):

The most popular song from the show is called "River in the Rain." The song is about the Mississippi River. Roger sings it here.

(MUSIC)

Roger Miller died of lung cancer Nineteen-Ninety-Two. People who knew him say his songs expressed the way he felt about life…full of pure excitement and joy.

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

This Special English program was written by Paul Thompson and produced by Caty Weaver¹⁷. This is Shirley Griffith.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Sarah Long. Listen again next week for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA program on the Voice of America.

1 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

2 performer   

n.执行者，表演者

参考例句：

• He was the greatest performer we have ever seen.他是我们所见过的最伟大表演者。
• He is a good performer on the cricket field.他是个出色的板球手。

3 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

4 academy   

n.(高等)专科院校；学术社团，协会，研究院

参考例句：

• This is an academy of music.这是一所音乐专科学院。
• I visited Chinese Academy of Sciences yesterday.我昨天去访问了中国科学院。

5 Dean   

n.(大学)院长，系主任，教务长

参考例句：

• The students much like the new dean.学生们很喜欢这位新系主任。
• Who is the dean of the Foreign Languages Department?外语系主任是谁？

6 fort   

n.要塞，堡垒，碉堡

参考例句：

• The fort can not be defended against an air attack.这座要塞遭到空袭时无法防御。
• No one can get into the fort without a pass.没有通行证，任何人不得进入要塞。

7 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

8 fiddle   

n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动

参考例句：

• She plays the fiddle well.她小提琴拉得好。
• Don't fiddle with the typewriter.不要摆弄那架打字机了。

9 provided   

conj.假如，若是；adj.预备好的，由...供给的

参考例句：

• Provided it's fine we will have a pleasant holiday.如果天气良好，我们的假日将过得非常愉快。
• I will come provided that it's not raining tomorrow.如果明天不下雨，我就来。

10 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

11 wranglers   

n.争执人( wrangler的名词复数 )；在争吵的人；（尤指放马的）牧人；牛仔

参考例句：

12 known   

adj.大家知道的；知名的，已知的

参考例句：

• He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。
• He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。

13 extremely   

adv.极其，非常，极度

参考例句：

• The film is extremely good,I just cannot miss it.这部电影太精彩了，我非看不可。
• The old man was extremely difficult to get along with.这个老人极难相与。

14 throughout   

adv.到处，自始至终；prep.遍及，贯穿

参考例句：

• These magazines are sold at bookstores throughout the country.这些杂志在全国各地书店均有发售。
• Guilin is known throughout the world for its scenery.桂林以山水著称于世。

15 drama   

n.戏剧；戏剧艺术

参考例句：

• He acted his part very well in the French drama.他在这出法国戏剧中演得很成功。
• The college published a drama review.学院出版了一份戏剧评论刊物。

16 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

17 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。