Not everyone gets to work their dream job. Sometimes, what we love most doesn't spin out to be our careers. We have this concrete vision of what we want for ourselves. However, life doesn't always spin in our direction that way. Roger Miller had to deal with this early on in his career. His love for music didn't always feel practical and was ready to call it quits. But then, "Dang Me" came out and changed everything.
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Back in July 1965, Miller spoke with The Evening Star about his big hit "Dang Me" and his meteoric rise to success at the time. For a while, he chalked it up to pure chance. "It's just luck, I guess," Roger admits. "I'm just an entertainer. I just do what I do and whatever becomes of it is it. I don't feel any different. But I do feel thankful that one record like 'Dang Me' got attention and opened the front door to the rest of the house."
Roger Miller Nearly Switches Careers Before "Dang Me" Takes Off
However, "Dang Me" wasn't just some song he had collecting dust in the vault or some electric moment of inspiration. Instead, it was a conscious decision that, if it didn't work out, Miller was going to move on to acting. "I was going to give up music and go into acting on TV to make money to go to California. So I recorded an album with 'Dang Me' and 'Chug-a-Lug' in it," Roger recalls.
Everything else falls into place accordingly. At the time, all Miller could realistically focus on was keeping his momentum going. He looks at stardom as a finite resource, a fire that needs work to keep alive. With enough work, he could stick around for a long time. "Few things are lasting and I just hope I'm one of them," Roger says.
