From a Jack to a King

"From a Jack to a King"
Single by Ned Miller
from the album From a Jack to a King
B-side	"Parade of Broken Hearts"
Released	1957 (Did not chart). Re-released December 15, 1962
Format	Single
Recorded	1957
Genre	Country
Length	2:10
Label	Fabor
Writer(s)	Ned Miller
Ned Miller singles chronology
"Dark Moon" (1961) "From a Jack to a King" (1962) "One Among the Many" (1963)

From a Jack to a King is a country music song. Originally a crossover hit for artist Ned Miller, 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 Ned Miller. First released in 1957, Ned's version was unsuccessful, until he persuaded his label to re-release it five years later.^[1] Upon re-release, the song became a crossover hit, charting in the Top 10 on the Billboard U.S. country (#2), pop (#6), and adult contemporary (#3) charts.^[2] In addition, Miller's version reached #1 on the Irish Singles Chart, while peaking at #2 on the UK Singles Chart. Furthermore, it was the sixth most-played single of 1963 in the United Kingdom.^[3] Ned's chart success was limited after the song, however, and by the 1970s he stopped recording entirely.^[1]

The song was also recorded in 1962 by Jim Reeves on the occasion of his tour to South Africa in August and charted there that year.

Chart positions

Chart (1962)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	2
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	6
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Singles	3
UK Singles Chart	2
Irish Singles Chart	1

Ricky Van Shelton version

"From a Jack to a King"
Single by Ricky Van Shelton
from the album Loving Proof
B-side	"The Picture"
Released	December 24, 1988[4]
Format	7" single
Recorded	January 19, 1988[4]
Genre	Country
Length	2:21
Label	Columbia Nashville
Producer(s)	Steve Buckingham
Ricky Van Shelton singles chronology
"I'll Leave This World Loving You" (1988) "From a Jack to a King" (1988) "Hole in My Pocket" (1989)

In December 1988, country music artist Ricky Van Shelton 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 charts.^[5]

Chart positions

Chart (1988–1989)	Peak position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[6]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1989)	Position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[7]	52
US Country Songs (Billboard)[8]	58

Other versions

Elvis Presley recorded it in 1969 but it did not chart on Billboard. Jerry Lee Lewis also released a version of the song.^[9]Mud recorded the song in 1982.

South African singer Ray Dylan covered the song on his album Goeie Ou Country - Op Aanvraag. ^[10]

Oesch's die Dritten recorded it on their "Unser Regenbogen" CD, released March 16, 2012. This is their first all-English recording of a song, as they are a Swiss family band from near Thun, Switzerland. Melanie Oesch mastered the singing of this song in English so well, there could be more English recordings from this family in the future.

References

1. allmusic ((( Ned Miller > Biography )))
2. allmusic ((( Ned Miller > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))
3. UKMIX - Articles - Chart of All Time - 1963
4. Greatest Hits Plus (CD). Ricky Van Shelton. Columbia Records. 1992. 52753.
5. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 310.
6. "Ricky Van Shelton – Chart history" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Ricky Van Shelton.
7. "RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1989". RPM. December 23, 1989. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
8. "Best of 1989: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1989. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
9. Jerry Lee Lewis, Mercury Smashes...And Rockin' Sessions Retrieved June 20, 2012.
10. http://www.musica.co.za/cd/id/6005298026996/Ray_Dylan-Goeie_Ou_Country_-_Op_Aanvraag#contents Retrieved 10 January 2014