"Queen of the House" is a song originally recorded and made commercially successful by American singer

Jody Miller Myrna Joy "Jody" Miller (November 29, 1941 – October 6, 2022) was an American country music singer. "Home of the Brave" and "Queen of the House" are her well-known albums. She is a recipient of the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal ...

. It was an

answer song An answer song, response song or answer record, is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer son ...

Roger Miller Roger Dean Miller Sr. (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping Country music, country and pop hits "King of the Road (song), Ki ...

's " King of the Road". It featured lyrics written by Mary Taylor, with credit also given to Roger Miller. The song describes the day-to-day domestic duties of a housewife. It was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

on the coattails of "King of the Road"'s success, becoming a crossover single on the country, pop and adult contemporary charts. It led to Miller becoming the second female artist to win a country music

Grammy award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

. An album of the same name appeared in 1965, which also featured the single.

Background and composition

In 1965, Roger Miller recorded his self-penned song called "King of the Road". It described the lifestyle of a

hobo A hobo is a migrant worker in the United States. Hoboes, tramps and bums are generally regarded as related, but distinct: a hobo travels and is willing to work; a tramp travels, but avoids work if possible; and a bum neither travels nor works. E ...

and it became a number one country song and top five pop song. It would become one of his signature tunes and would be recorded by many other artists. In its wake would come an

called "Queen of the House". Answer songs were songs written in reply (or response) to another song made popular by another artist. "Queen of the House" described a housewives domestic duties, including taking care of four children, dirty floors and bathtubs. Mary Taylor was a singer–songwriter signed to Capitol Records at the time. After hearing "King of the Road", she composed "Queen of the House". A friend of Roger Miller's, Taylor called Miller on the phone after composing it. Miller insisted that she cut the song herself, but she was unable to because she already had a single out on the national charts.

Recording

Mary Taylor's producer brought the song to the attention of Jody Miller's producer, Steve Douglas. Douglas had not achieved much production success and was encouraged to cut the track with Jody Miller (no relation to Roger Miller). Up to that point, Jody Miller had been a

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

artist at the Capitol label. She had one single make the American pop charts called "He Walks Like a Man". However, it was only a minor success and she had yet to achieve stardom. At first, odyMiller did not believe the song was right for her. Its characteristic finger snaps evoked the

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

style of singer

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

(who was also at Capitol). However, she eventually succumb to recording the song. "Queen of the House" was recorded by Miller at

Capitol Studios Capitol Studios are recording studios located at the landmark Capitol Records Tower in Hollywood, California. The studios, which opened in 1956, were initially the primary recording studios for the American record label Capitol Records. While t ...

, located in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

. The session was held in March 1965, with Steve Douglas producing the track.

Release and chart performance

"Queen of the House" was released as a seven-inch vinyl single by Capitol Records in April 1965. The North American version included "The Greatest Actor" on its

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

". Equal credit was given to Roger Miller and Mary Taylor for the song's composition. According to Jody Miller, "Queen of the House" received "instant airplay" from radio stations and the record could not be made "fast enough". The song climbed to the number 12 position on the American ''

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 ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

chart, her highest peak on that chart in her career. It became her first single to make the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Songs 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 ...

chart, climbing to the number five position there. It also reached number four on the ''Billboard'' adult contemporary charts. The single was included on Miller's second studio album which was also titled '' Queen of the House''. The country

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

success of "Queen of the House" led to a new career path for Miller. She would end up recording as a country artist as the decade progressed, having success at

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

in the 1970s with several more popular country songs. Miller's recording led to her winning

Best Female Country Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance was first awarded in 1965, to Dottie West. The award has had several minor name changes: *From 1965 to 1967 the award was known as Best Country & Western Vocal Performance - Female *In 1 ...

at the

8th Annual Grammy Awards The 8th Annual Grammy Awards were held March 15, 1966, at Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville and New York. They recognized accomplishments of musicians for the year 1965. Roger Miller topped off the Grammys by winning 5 awards, whereas Herb Alpert a ...

in 1966. The same night, Roger Miller took home five Grammy awards, including two for "King of the Road".

Track listing

7" vinyl single (North America) * "Queen of the House" – 2:18 * "The Greatest Actor" – 2:30 7" vinyl single (Greece) * "Queen of the House" – 2:18 * "Home of the Brave" – 2:50

Charts

Weekly charts

Accolades

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Best Country Vocal Performance, Female The Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance was first awarded in 1965, to Dottie West. The award has had several minor name changes: *From 1965 to 1967 the award was known as Best Country & Western Vocal Performance - Female *In 1 ...

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References

{{Jody Miller 1965 singles 1965 songs Answer songs Capitol Records singles Jody Miller songs Songs written by Roger Miller