Steve Miller was born in Wisconsin in 1943 and raised in Texas where, at the age of 12, he formed his first group – The Marksmen Combo. After studying literature at the University of Copenhagen, he moved to Chicago where he played the clubs with Muddy Waters, T-Bone Walker and Junior Wells.
In 1966 he moved to San Francisco where he formed The Steve Miller Band, which backed Chuck Berry on his Fillmore Live album. The band also made such an impression at the Monterey Festival that they were signed by Capitol for whom they recorded Children Of The Future in 1968 and the immaculate Sailor in 1969.
This acid-laced debut earned Miller his Day-Glo stripes as a psychedelic soldier in the cosmic wars. While the album was still tuned in to his blues-rock roots, he was clearly turning on in ways Robert Johnson never imagined.
While recovering from breaking his neck in a 1972 car crash, Miller reconsidered his standard blues direction and wrote a bunch of catchier songs – including stoner anthem The Joker (1973). A co-headlining tour with The Eagles and massive US success followed.
Miller retreated to a farm in Oregon following bust-ups with business partners and his girlfriend but returned in 1976 with the monster Fly Like An Eagle album which spawned a clutch of US hit singles including Rock’n Me, Take The Money And Run and the title track.
The fans (and the American FM radio stations for which he seemed tailor-made) got more of the same a year later when Book Of Dreams (1977) achieved similar success. In fact, Miller had laid down the two platinum albums in one almighty set of sessions.
After another extended retreat, Miller produced a solid collection, Circle of Love (1981).
Steve Miller
Vocals, guitar
Boz Scaggs
Guitar
Lonnie Turner
Bass
Jim Peterman
Organ, vocals
Tim Davis
Drums
Nicky Hopkins
Keyboards
Bobby Winkleman
Bass, vocals
Ross Valory
Bass
Jack King
Drums, vocals
Gerald Johnson
Bass, vocals
Dicky Thompson
Keyboards
Roger Alan Clark
Second drums
John King
Drums
Les Dudek
Guitar, vocals
Gary Mallaber
Drums
David Denny
Guitar, vocals
Byron Allred
Keyboards
Norton Buffalo
Harmonica, vocals
Kenny Lewis
Guitar
John Massaro
Guitar
