''The 3rd Time Around'' is the third studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American

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, o ...

singer

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 and pop hits " King of the Road", " Dang Me", and "Engl ...

. It was released under the

Smash Records Smash Records was an American record label founded in 1961 as a subsidiary of Mercury Records by Mercury executive Shelby Singleton and run by Singleton with Charlie Fach. Fach took over after Singleton left Mercury in 1966. Its recording artis ...

label in June 1965 (see

1965 in country music This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 1965. Events * January — Leo Fender, founder of Fender Guitars, sells his company to a subsidiary of Columbia Records for $13 million. * February 17 — "The Tennessee Waltz ...

). The record reached #1 on the country album charts and #13 on the ''Billboard'' 200, his third highest ranking on the pop albums charts, and his only #1 country album. Four singles were released from the album: "Engine Engine #9," "One Dyin' and a Buryin'", "

Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and ...

", and "The Last Word in Lonesome Is Me". The first three all peaked in the top 10 on the Country singles chart. "Engine, Engine #9" was also a top 10 crossover hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and

Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by st ...

as was "Kansas City Star" on the latter chart. "The Last Word in Lonesome Is Me" did not fare as well. It was later recorded by

Eddy Arnold Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the '' Billboard'' c ...

, whose version was a #2 country hit in 1966, and by NFL quarterback

Terry Bradshaw Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL). Since 1994, he has been a television sports analyst a ...

, whose version was also a hit on the country charts. ''3rd Time'' was cited as a return to the "

honky tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, or tonk) is both a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons and the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ( tack piano) ...

roots" of Roger Miller.

Background

After releasing material during the two-day session that brought forth his debut album, and some of the tracks from '' The Return of Roger Miller'', another album from the extra cuts recorded at the session were compiled with a few other songs to produce ''The 3rd Time''. Miller wrote all twelve of the songs on the album, with assistance from

Buddy Killen William Doyce “Buddy” Killen (November 13, 1932 – November 1, 2006) was an American record producer and music publisher, and a former owner of Trinity Broadcasting Network and Tree International Publishing, the largest country music ...

on "I'll Pick Up My Heart (And Go Home)."

Reception

Upon its release, ''Billboard'' designated ''The 3rd Time Around'' a "Spotlight Pick" and identified it as "another hot contender full of clever original compositions."

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

gave the album five stars, lauding it for the "extra effort" put in "to make it sound fresh and different." The publication observed that "at least half of the dozen titles here are among his most famous." The tracks "Swiss Maid," "Big Harlan Taylor", and "The Last Word in Lonesome Is Me" were cited as presenting a "range of themes and characters" consistent with Miller's "individualistic style." "Kansas City Star" was described as a "

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

-flavored classic."

Track listing

Chart positions

Singles

Personnel

*Roger Miller - guitar, vocals *Ray Edenton –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

Buddy Harman Murrey Mizell "Buddy" Harman, Jr. (December 23, 1928 – August 21, 2008) was an American country music session musician. Career Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Harman played drums on over 18,000 sessions for artists such as Elvis Presley, Jerry ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

Bob Moore Bob Loyce Moore (November 30, 1932 – September 22, 2021) was an American session musician, orchestra leader, and double bassist who was a member of the Nashville A-Team during the 1950s and 1960s. He performed on over 17,000 documented record ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gu ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:3rd Time Around 1965 albums Roger Miller albums Albums produced by Jerry Kennedy Smash Records albums