Customer Reviews

Ain't Got No Cigarettes: Memories of Music Legend Roger Miller

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a great book full of many people's memories of Roger Miller. I think the author was right to comment very little on each person's recollection; one's memories shouldn't be open for comment from someone who wasn't there. Mr. Style interviewed a WIDE range of people who had, at one time or another, a connection to Roger. The author really did his homework and it shows. This book is a must have not just for fans of Roger Miller, but for anyone who enjoys reading about the goings on in the music and entertainment industry.

It's surprising to note that despite his fame, AIN'T GOT NO CIGARETTES: MEMORIES OF MUSIC LEGEND ROGER MILLER is the first book to cover his life. Miller's rise to fame was sudden and sensational - unprecedented by any songwriter in Nashville in the 1960s - and his hits reached far beyond country audiences to involve mainstream listeners. AIN'T GOT NO CIGARETTES uses interviews from celebrities and everyday listeners alike to provide stories about the legend from his peers, friends, and fans. A powerful celebration of his life evolves.

I'm a big fan of Waylon Jennings and picked it up because it was one of the last interviews Waylon gave. In the process I became a way bigger fan of Roger Miller. Previously I was only familiar with King of the Road and some of those hits from the sixties.

A movie needs to be made on Roger Miller, he was outragious and hugely talented. An interesting character study.

Despite another review I read here, I enjoyed the fact that it wasn't just focused on Roger. I mean if I was the guy who caught the last of the outlaw feud with Tompall and Waylon, I'd be an idiot not to include that in this book. Also, he explains out right that he kept things in there music fans would probably be interested in, if you're not interested, skip it! It's not going to make a difference to your enjoyment of the Roger stories. I don't think any of those stories were included to fill space, it's quite longer than the average book. I see them as a bonus!

After searching online, this is the only book on Roger Miller and I think it's a great one. It's not just for Miller fans by any means, it made me a Miller fan! I mean I liked him before but I didn't start looking for old albums of his until now. It's for fans of all kinds of music, not just country, and fans of the people that were interviewed in the book, it's stuff I've never read them talk about before.

If you liked the WALK THE LINE movie, you'll love this book. My Dad is reading it now and calls me almost everyday to share a laugh or story he liked from the book.

I thought the interviews were the perfect length and taught me a lot about a guy that hasn't been written or talked about as much as he should.

Well worth picking up the book, over three hundred pages of great stories on Roger Miller and the people interviewed.

I don't read too many books other than some others on country music. I must say out of all that I've read, this one sticks out the most. It kept me interested all the way threw. Usually I'll read a book and put it away for a week or so but not this one, I got threw it in a week which is a record for me.

I never knew much about Roger Miller but always liked "king of the road" it turns out Roger is a fascinating artist and hugely respected by everyone in the music business.

I also saw a side of the people in the book I really liked and never knew. Tompall Glaser, Bobby Bare, Mel Tillis and those guys are really neat people and the author let them tell their stories too.

I've got to say, great book! It made me a bigger fan of Roger, I bought the boxed set after reading this and a bunch of stuff from other people in the book just because they seemed like good people, and talented too.

You won't regret getting this for your bookshelf!

It's surprising to note that despite his fame, AIN'T GOT NO CIGARETTES: MEMORIES OF MUSIC LEGEND ROGER MILLER is the first book to cover his life. Miller's rise to fame was sudden and sensational - unprecedented by any songwriter in Nashville in the 1960s - and his hits reached far beyond country audiences to involve mainstream listeners. AIN'T GOT NO CIGARETTES uses interviews from celebrities and everyday listeners alike to provide stories about the legend from his peers, friends, and fans. A powerful celebration of his life evolves.

Diane C. Donovan

California Bookwatch

When you think of Roger Miller, you automatically think of Genuis. whether his Awesome song writing skills/ideas, stage performance, look at life or sense of humor.

No wonder you don't see people following his style. He is truly a hard act to follow.

It is a shame that there is not enough information about Roger in the market. in terms of websites, DVDs (only 1), books.

I did buy the book hoping that I would get to know more about the Genuis of Rog. I did laugh out loud several times.

I truly did enjoy the book.

I was hoping though I would have more interviews from His widow Mrs. Mary Miller, his son Dean, George Jones.

I only hope that Mrs. Miller would write a book about Roger, better yet hope she come out with audio CDs about his days with her and the stories of him.

Anyway, The book is highly recommended for the Roger Miller fans, or any country music fan who appreciates classical Country.

Afterall, there are very limited of sources of knowing Roger.

Finally, Do yourself a favor and purchase Roger Miller's:

1. King of the Road: The Genuis of Roger Miller (CD Box Set).

2. Roger Miller: King of the Road (DVD).

Thanks,

Nawaf

This book is a must have for any country music fan out there! I was amazed at how honest everyone was about Roger, their own live's and the country music industry. The stories shared are pivitol moments in country music and are also very entertaining (I found myself laughing out loud). This book is a must read!

"When you've got a name like Lyle E. Style, your only career options are playing point guard for the Kentucky Colonels circa 1973 or chronicling country music, and readers should be grateful that Style has chosen the latter path. In this collection of Q. and A.'s with dozens of illustrious country artists and fixtures of the Nashville scene, he ostensibly recounts the life of the musician and raconteur Roger Miller, of "King of the Road" and "Dang Me" fame, who died of cancer in 1992. But through a quirk of deliberate or accidental genius, what Style has actually assembled is a living document of country music in its hootin', hollerin' outlaw heyday, when the D.J. Captain Midnight ruled the airwaves, Tootsie's Orchid Lounge was the ultimate hangout and everyone, it seems, was on cocaine -- even the mimes. Along the way, Style learns some unprescribed uses for diet pills, discovers that Miller's King of the Road Hotel may have been owned by the mob and reignites an old feud between Tompall Glaser and Waylon Jennings. As Mel Tillis says, "they're all characters or they wouldn't be in the business."

- Dave Itzkoff, New York Times Book Review, June 4 2006

I have read or am reading several biography's of country music stars of the past including Merle Haggard, Bill Anderson, George Jones, Ernest Tubb, etc., etc.and can say with all honesty this book by Mr. Style is the best. I felt like I knew Roger Miller a little better after hearing what his peers had to say about him. Their message all seemed to say the same, i.e. "Roger Miller was a genius". I second that motion!!

I would like Mr. Style to consider using his talent God gave him and write some more books that us country fans need to have written. How about Ray Price, Wynn Stewart, Tony Booth, Kitty Wells, just to name a few. I'm sure he could do justice to any country music star he chose to bring to life.

Those who knew Roger Miller without exception call him a genius -- that is, if everyone not included in this book agrees with those who are. This compilation of Roger Miller stories is funny and insightful into the life of a singer-songwriter who told someone he had just written a song while the other person was singing. On a Nashville Family Reunion show, Bill Anderson, another songwriting genius, said, "We could tell Roger Miller stories all night. Everybody has a Roger Miller story." The book's author, Lyle E. Style (who never answered the question of whether that's his real name--but it couldn't be, right?), has collected Roger Miller stories from an assortment of Miller's friends, associates and acquaintances. The book is easy reading, the vignettes short, mostly only a page. The picture that emerges of Miller is that of a man who -- as Humphrey Bogart allegedly once said about himself -- is "two drinks" ahead of the rest of the world. His friends describe the ups and downs of his career, his personal unhappiness till he married Mary, who became a stabilizer. He reinvented himself when he needed to, becoming a successful Broadway playwright and composer. He died much too soon with genius yet untapped. If you are a Miller fan or a country music junkie like me, you'll like this book.