"From a Jack to a King" is a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

song. Originally a crossover hit for artist

Ned Miller Henry Ned Miller (April 12, 1925 – March 18, 2016) was an American country music singer-songwriter. Active as a recording artist from 1956 to 1970, he is known primarily for his hit single "From a Jack to a King", a crossover hit in 1962 which ...

, who also wrote "Dark Moon", "A Falling Star", and many other country songs. It has been covered extensively by country music artists.

Ned Miller version

The original version was recorded by

. First released in 1957 by both Fabor Records (for regional audiences) and

Dot Records Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In 1956, the company moved ...

(for national distribution), Miller's version was unsuccessful until he persuaded his label to re-release it five years later. allmusic ((( Ned Miller > Biography )))/ref> Upon re-release, the song became a crossover hit, charting in the Top 10 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' U.S. country (#2), pop (#6), and adult contemporary (#3) charts. allmusic ((( Ned Miller > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))/ref> In addition, Miller's version reached #1 on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

, while peaking at #2 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. Furthermore, it was the sixth-most-played single of 1963 in the United Kingdom. Miller's chart success was limited after the song, however, and by the 1970s he stopped recording entirely. The song was also recorded in 1962 by

Jim Reeves James Travis Reeves (August 20, 1923July 31, 1964) was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well known as a practitioner of the Nashville Sound. Known as "Gentleman ...

on the occasion of his tour to South Africa in August and charted there that year.

Chart positions

Ricky Van Shelton version

In December 1988, American

artist

Ricky Van Shelton Ricky Van Shelton (born January 12, 1952) is an American retired country music singer. Active between 1986 and 2006, he charted more than 20 singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts. This figure includes 10 Number One hits: "Somebod ...

released his own version of "From a Jack to a King". Shelton's version became his fifth consecutive Number One on the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

charts.

Chart positions

Year-end charts

Other versions

Bill Anderson covered the song on his 1963 album ''Still'', released by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

recorded it in 1969 but it did not chart in ''

''.

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

also released a version of the song.

Mud A MUD (; originally multi-user dungeon, with later variants multi-user dimension and multi-user domain) is a Multiplayer video game, multiplayer Time-keeping systems in games#Real-time, real-time virtual world, usually Text-based game, text-bas ...

recorded the song in 1982. South African singer

Ray Dylan Jacobus Frederick Jersich better known by his stage name Ray Dylan (born in Odendaalsrus, South Africa, on 15 August 1978) is a South African singer who sings in Afrikaans and English. Dylan recorded his debut album ''New Kid In Town'' in 2002, ...

covered the song on his album ''Goeie Ou Country - Op Aanvraag''.

Oesch's die Dritten Oesch's die Dritten is a Yodel Volksmusik family group from the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland. It consists of its lead vocalist and yodeler Melanie Oesch (born 14 December 1987), her mother Annemarie (born 8 February 1963), her father Hansueli ( ...

recorded it for their ''Unser Regenbogen'' CD, released March 16, 2012. Sung by Melanie Oesch, it was the Swiss family band's first recording of a song in English. Dutch country singer Ben Steneker released his single of "From a Jack to a King" in 1963.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:From a Jack to a King 1962 singles 1988 singles Ned Miller songs Bill Anderson (singer) songs Elvis Presley songs Jerry Lee Lewis songs Ricky Van Shelton songs Steve Buckingham Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Norway Columbia Records singles 1957 songs Songs written by Ned Miller