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With songs such as "Take the Money and Run," "Rockin' Me," “Jet Airliner,” "The Joker," “Fly Like An Eagle,” "Livin' in the USA" and "Abracadabra" to his credit, blues/rock singer-songwriter-guitarist Steve Miller is one of the cornerstones of classic rock. Born on October 5, 1943 in Milwaukee, WI, he grew up in a home frequented by musicians such as Charles Mingus, Les Paul and T-Bone Walker. Miller formed his first band at age 12 with friend Boz Scaggs. After stints in Madison, WI and Chicago, IL blues bands, he moved to San Francisco in 1966.
The Steve Miller Band (known initially as the Steve Miller Blues Band) emerged from San Francisco’s summer of love with a sound that was distinctively different from its peers. Forty years hence, the band has sold a cumulative 25 million records and is still a mainstay of the summer concert season – as fresh and vibrant as ever, melding rock, blues, jazz and pop in its own inimitable, improvisational style and attracting a fervent, multi-generational following.
Capitol Records released their first album, Children of the Future, in 1968. A series of Top 40 albums followed, but a 1972 automobile accident sidelined Miller for nearly a year. He returned with a tighter, more pop-oriented style on The Joker (1973, now certified Platinum), which peaked at 2 while the title cut hit 1.
Fly Like An Eagle followed in 1976. It reached 3 and yielded four Top 40 singles, including the chart-topping "Rockin' Me." The album became the band’s biggest-selling studio album, spent nearly two years on the Billboard 200 and is currently quadruple Platinum. 1977’s Book of Dreams hit 2 and is now triple Platinum. Tracks from the two albums were collected on a single disc in 1978 for Greatest Hits: 1974-78, which is currently certified 13x Platinum.
Abracadabra (1983, Platinum) reached 2 and its title cut was the 1 selling single worldwide that year while the 1987 single "I Want to Make the World Turn Around," from Living in the 20th Century, topped the AC singles chart for five weeks. Young Hearts – Complete Greatest Hits was released in 2003, tracing the Steve Miller Band’s 35-year affiliation with Capitol Records, and the label released a special 30th anniversary edition of Fly Like An Eagle in 2006. Upon its release, the San Francisco Chronicle observed: “This rerelease…shows how vital a performer Miller remains and how he presaged a generation of heartland rockers, from John Mellencamp to Tom Petty to Widespread Panic.” The Steve Miller Band’s songs have been covered by a diverse group of artists, including Smashing Pumpkins, deftones, Seal, Run-D.M.C. and k.d. lang.
Miller received the prestigious ASCAP Golden Note Award in April of 2008. In May 2008, Coming Home Media released Live From Chicago, the Steve Miller Band’s first-ever DVD release, which captures the band’s incredible 2007 two-night stand at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival in 5.1 Surround Sound and state-of-the-art high definition.
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Photos of The Fillmore Shows In March Of 2008 Photos By Tim Brown ~~~~~~~
Just passing through to say "HI!” Sending you respect, peace and love. Hope all is well and that you’ll have a great weekend? Keep rockin’ ... it's the only thing that matters!
Happy 4th of July, let freedom ROCK on Independence Day!
Howdy Stevie, Thanks for your friendship and the great music on your page. Just uploaded my new song "My Future Showed Up Late". It's a toe tapper about southern style karma and us good ole boys. It's got my good buddy Ray MaGee on pedal steel cookin' up a storm. Enjoy and let me know how you like it. Thanks, Dexter
