Customer Reviews

From a Jack to a King

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Ned Miller was responsible for the composition of "Dark Moon" recorded by the underappreciated Bonnie Guitar and also Gale Storm. Not much later Ferlin Husky (most notably) had a hit with "A Fallen Star". Ned finally got his recognition from the rerelease of "From A Jack to A King" that he had recorded during the same period as when the others had hits with the songs he had penned. Here you get to hear his version of "Dark Moon". His "Invisible Tears" is a cleverly-written, well-performed song also done up instrumentally by Ray Conniff and studio singers the same year. A heart-tugging "One Among the Many" went unappreciated but Ned still would occasionally have a song hit the charts. He did not like public performances however and reportedly was not well-promoted by record companies when he refused to tour. Born in 1925, Ned finally left the public arena and was last known to be living in Las Vegas. This package is well worth having and transcends being simply "country music".

Ned is best remembered for international pop smash, From a jack to a king, which was a top ten hit in Britain and America. That song rightly opens this collection but closer inspection reveals much of interest to country music fans.

Apart from the opening track here, this set also includes Ned's own recording of Dark moon (a song that was an American top ten hit for both Bonnie Guitar and Gale Storm), Invisible tears (a country hit for Ned and a minor American pop hit for Ray Coniff) and Do what you do do well (a minor pop hit in Britain and America and a top ten country hit).

Among the other tracks here are those that made up his 1963 LP, From a jack to a king. Many of the songs had western themes including Cry of the wild goose, Billy Carino and Stagecoach, but the album also included Just before dawn (one of Ned's best apart from the famous songs) and Ned's cover of Mona Lisa, so the LP was not exclusively a western-themed album.

Based on his two biggest hits, this album had a few surprises in store for me - but they were all nice surprises. If you enjoy traditional country music, Ned 's music is well worth hearing.

Great to hear the old songs again ,well worth the money .Ned Miller is a legend .From a Jack to a King I bought it for that song alone.Brilliant.

What an absolute great album. I bought the original Fabor label "From A Jack to a King" whemn I was Nashville in 1989 and it has been one of my treasured albums. This one is superb. Only missing "Whistle Walking Home" which was a monor hit here ion Tasmania back in 1964

I have long been familiar with Ned's biggest hit "From A Jack to a King" and it has only been recently that I've learned more of this sadly under-appreciated singer-songwriter.

All in all this is a very good album.

Clearly, this compilation offers only the songs Ned recorded while under contract to the Fabor label between 1957 and 1965. Then again, these WERE his best years as a performer.

Born Henry Ned Miller at Raines, Utah on April 12, 1925, he made a big splash as a songwriter in 1957 when Gale Storm and Bonnie Guitar both had smash hits for the Dot label with his Dark Moon, and Bonnie also scored that same year with another Miller-penned hit, Mister Fire Eyes.

Ned also released two singles that year for Dot, including the original version of From A Jack To A King. Neither, however, charted, and before the year was out he had transferred to Fabor. Success as a performer didn't come there either, at least not for a number of years, although Roll O'Rollin' Stone should have sold better, in my humble opinion.

In fact, it wasn't until he tried again with From A Jack To A King in late 1962 that his own records began to sell and be heard/played in chart numbers. In February 1963 it peaked at # 2 Country and # 6 Billboard Pop Hot 100 b/w Parade Of Broken Hearts, and he was on his way. Later that year he scored again with One Among The Many (# 27 Country in June b/w The Man Behind The Gun), and Another Fool Like Me (# 28 Country in September b/w Magic Moon). The following year Invisible Tears became a # 13 Country hit for Miller in June, and a # 131 Hot 100 "Bubble Under" b/w Old Restless Ocean, while on the pop charts The Ray Conniff Singers took it to # 54.

In 1965 he had another crossover with Do What You Do Do Well, which peaked at # 7 Country and # 52 Hot 100 pop in February b/w Dusty Guitar. At the same time, Ernest Tubb took it to # 29 Country. The royalties were really rolling in as other artists such as Hank Snow, Leon McAuliff, Jean Shepard, and Porter Wagoner were also recording his songs, with the biggest hit being scored by Sonny James who had a # 1 Country in 1965 with Behind The Tear.

It was also in 1965 that Miller moved to Capitol Records where he would chalk up another five charters - none of which, unfortunately, appear in this compilation. These were Whistle Walkin' (# 28 Country in 1965 b/w Two Voices, Two Shadows, Two Faces), Summer Roses (# 39 Country in July 1966 b/wRight Behind These Lips), and Teardrop Lane (# 48 Country in November 1966 b/w Lorraine). In 1967, Hobo went to # 53 Country in May b/w Echo Of The Pines, and Only A Fool stalled at # 61 Country in February 1968 b/w Endless. After switching to Republic Records his last charter was in 1970 when The Lover's Song rose to # 39 Country in May b/w Cold Grey Bars. It too is missing from this set.

Although it would have been nice if this CD had included ALL his hits, as I said earlier those that are included were definitely his best and, in addition, you get all of the Fabor B-sides. It would appear that the missing gems are not yet available on CD, so if you want to hear them you might have to search out Amazon's auctions for the 1966 Capitol LP, The Best Of Ned Miller, and Republic's Ned Miller Is Back, released in 1970. Good luck.

This is the most awesome album I have ever owned. I love every song on it. I keep reading that Ned Miller wasn't a singer he was a song writer. I think he has the most awesome voice in country music today. What a talent the country music world lost when he left the business. I love his singing on ballads and he can sing the fast songs just as well. This album contains so many wonderful songs. I think my favorite songs on this album are Dusty Guitar, Dark Moon, Invisible Tears & From a Jack to a King. This should be a must have album for any country music fan.

Thanks again to Bear Family Records for a fantastic job at providing a huge collection of original recordings by one of the more obscure Country Music Artists. The sound quality on this CD is superb; hard to believe these tracks were recorded nearly 4 decades ago! Ned is not a a household name, and while this is partly due to Ned's own personality and lack of self-promotion, he did not have a huge selection of hits. But, included here are: the title track ("From a Jack to a King"), "Invisible Tears" (a true classic), and "Do What You Do Do Well". I'm sure many of the tracks here will be brand new to the listener, but they are well worth a listne and repeat play. A small booklet providing background notes is also provided, courtesy of Bear Family Records, of course.

Again, moving beyond the "greatest hits" stuff, Bear Family gives us 31 excellent reasons why Ned Miller was a popular singer. You have to hear cuts such as "Man Behind The Gun" done in the writer's interpretation to get a true understanding of the man's work. Maybe Bear Family will do a comprehensive box set on Ned, but until then, this is a must have.