“Answer” songs rarely launch careers.
These records — far more common in the ’60s than today — “answered” hit records of the day, responding to a current hit in theme and sound in hopes of riding the coattails of an established record.
Most of these novelty songs vanished quickly, but there were rare exceptions. Kitty Wells’ “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” was an answer to Hank Thompson’s “The Wild Side of Life.”
In 1964 Roger Miller’s “King of the Road” was a monster record that cemented his reputation and career. Jody Miller answered with “Queen of the House,” a domestic take on Roger Miller’s big hit. It broke into both the pop and country charts and established her career.
Due to be released next month is the Complete Epic Hits, a collection of ’70s recordings for that label. It’s a reminder of a time when artists actually had the time to record a body of work and when slightly countrified pop hits were staples of the genre. Her Epic hits included such top-five records as “He’s So Fine, “Baby I’m Yours” and “There’s A Party Goin’ On, plus covers of “House of the Rising Sun” and (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.” This is a thorough retrospective illustrating Miller’s range and Billy Sherrill’s production skills. It also documents an era in which country and pop began to meld.