Steve Miller Band - 2006
Steve Miller was born in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin on October 5, 1943. His mother was an accomplished singer,
and his father, Dr. George "Sonny" Miller, was a physician
by profession and an amateur recording engineer in his spare time.
Many members of Steve's family were musicians, and he received his
first guitar at age 4. Steve put it to good use performing songs for
his family and playmates.
Les Paul, the inventor of the electric guitar and multi-track recording,
and his wife, Mary Ford, were regular visitors at the Miller house. In
fact, Steve's father was best man at their wedding. Les and Mary taught
Steve his first chords when he was five years old. Steve still uses some
of the techniques they taught him at that time.
The Miller family moved to Dallas, Texas in 1950. Steve's dad continued
recording various styles of music. Great musicians of the time continued
to appear at the Miller house, including legendary blues man T-Bone Walker.
The Marksmen, Steve's first band, was formed when he was only 12 years
old. This rock and roll band had a solid booking the entire semester
playing mostly for fraternities. Steve taught his older brother to play
bass so he wouldn't have to rely on his mother for transportation.
The Marksmen continued to play for 5 more years. In
high school, Steve asked his friend,"Boz" Scaggs, to perform
vocals with the band. The greatest moment for them was when they backed
blues hero, Jimmy Reed, at a local night club. However, at age 16 Steve
left for college, which forced the band to break up. Steve attended
the University of Wisconsin at Madison and formed a new band called
The Ardells. Steve taught Boz Scaggs some chords, and he joined The
Ardells the next year.
Steve continued working with The Ardells through the school year staying
in Madison during the summers to perform with a group called The Knightranes.
The next year, Ben Sidran was added on keyboards for The Ardells. Steve
spent a semester at the University of Denmark during his senior year.
He returned to the U.S. and spent the summer enjoying the Chicago blues
scene, including working with a young musician named Paul Butterfield.
Lacking 6 hours for a degree in literature, Steve decided to move to
Chicago to play the blues. Steve was soon on stage with the likes of
Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Buddy Guy, who all encouraged him to
continue playing.
Miller met Barry Goldberg and with bassist Roy Ruby and drummer Maurice
McKinley formed The Goldberg-Miller Blues Band, playing Chicago clubs.
The band was signed to Epic records during a convention in town. The
recordings from this group are few and include a single called The Mother
Song; however, there is one track on the box set performed by this band.
They also appeared on Hullabaloo with the Four Tops and the Supremes.They
took on a running gig at a club in Manhattan, only to return to a dead
Chicago blues scene.
Disheartened, Steve went back to Texas in hopes of taking some music
courses at the University of Texas at Austin. He was not admitted to
music school, so he bought a used Volkswagen Microbus and headed to San
Francisco. Upon arrival, he spent his last $5 to see the Paul Butterfield
Blues Band and Jefferson Airplane at the Fillmore Auditorium. He jammed
with Butterfield and announced his intention to stay in San Francisco.
Steve contacted Tim Davis, whom he knew from another
band in Madison. Steve invited Davis and guitarist James "Curley" Cooke
to come experience the San Francisco music scene. Adding Lonnie Turner
on bass, the Steve Miller Blues Band was born. Miller was broke, sometimes
sleeping in his van.The band landed a gig at the Avalon Ballroom, allowing
Steve the money for an apartment.
The band debuted at the Avalon in January 1967, and they were an immediate
success. They became a headliner at the Ballroom, playing at least once
a month. They played the Fillmore in April, and they were booked for
the Monterey Pop Festival in June. The week after Monterey, the Miller
Blues Band backed Chuck Berry at the Fillmore Auditorium. This performance
was recorded for an album (This is the only Miller Blues Band performance
currently available on CD).
After Monterey, the band signed with Capitol Records.
Steve negotiated a contract giving him complete artistic control. It
was also one of the most lucrative contracts in music history, setting
a new standard for future artists. Steve contacted old friend Boz Scaggs
and invited him to join. Jim Peterman replaced "Curley" Cooke, and "Blues" was
dropped from the band's name. The Steve Miller Band flew to England to
record their first album with Glyn Johns as engineer. Children of the
Future was released in May 1968 and was a staple of progressive FM stations
throughout the country. Many would agree that this is one of the greatest
debut albums ever.
The band did not see their first top 40 album until
Sailor, released in October of the same year. This album featured Miller's
first hit, "Living
in the U.S.A." and also introduced us to the "Gangster of Love."
Peterman, tired of life on the road, and Scaggs, interested
in pursuing his own career, left the group. Ben Sidran, who had worked
with Steve in The Ardells, was invited to join. "Brave New World" was
released in June of 1969. Johns and Miller mastered the album in England
at which time Steve was allowed to sit in on a Beatles recording session.
Miller and Paul McCartney recorded "My Dark Hour" with Paul
appearing under the alias Paul Ramon. This song features Steve on lead
and rhythm guitar, and McCartney on drums and bass. This top 40 album
also introduced us to the "Space Cowboy."
"Your Saving Grace", released in November 1969, also made
it in the top 40. This album, as well as the previous one, included some
session work by keyboardist Nicky Hopkins whose talent is displayed marvelously
on the track "Baby's House".
Miller was increasingly recording with others outside
of the band, and tensions were high among many of the members. The
next album marked the loss of Lonnie Turner, replaced by Bobby Winkleman.
Ben Sidran also left to pursue his own career. Steve took what tapes
that had been recorded to Nashville, where in between dates on the
road with the likes of Jimi Hendrix and the Grateful Dead, he completed
the album with harmonica player Charlie McCoy, fiddler Buddy Spicher,
guitarist Wayne Moss and drummer Tim Davis. "Number 5", released
July 1970, was the greatest success to date.
The touring schedule was hectic, there was bickering between band members,
and Capitol was constantly demanding new albums. Tim Davis and Bobby
Winkleman both left the group, replaced by Jack King on drums and Ross
Valory on bass. Rock Love was released September 1971.
The next album, "Recall the Beginning...A Journey From Eden",
featured session work by a variety of people. Released in March 1972,
this album deserves a second look with great tracks like "Nothing
Lasts", "Journey From Eden" and "Love's Riddle".
Steve also introduced us to Maurice and the pompitous of love on "Enter
Maurice". Neither this album nor Rock Love have ever been released
on CD. Miller broke his neck in a car wreck in 1972 while on his way
to the airport for a European tour. Steve went home to his parents in
Dallas for eight months to nurse himself back to health. This was an
important turning point in his career, and a time at which he did some
deep reflection.
He returned to California, and with Gerald Johnson on bass, Dicky Thompson
on keyboards, and Jack King on drums, emerged from the studio after 19
days with a brand new sound. The Joker was released October 1973, and
was the first album Steve had produced himself. He finally had a number
1 song. Touring increased with opening acts such as Boz Scaggs and James
Cotton.
Between touring, managing his career, writing songs,
and recording 8 albums in 65 months, Steve was exhausted. He decided
to take some time off, and spent the next year and a half writing and
recording the bulk of his next two albums. "Fly Like an Eagle" was released May
1976, featuring Lonnie Turner on bass and Gary Mallaber on drums. One
year and one day later "Book of Dreams" was released with the
addition of Byron Allred on keyboards and session work by Greg Douglass,
David Denny, and Norton Buffalo. The two albums contained a string of
multiple hit songs. The band was now playing arenas rather than theaters.
Both albums were certified quadruple platinum. Lonnie Turner was replaced
by Gerald Johnson, and the band released Circle of Love in 1981.
With the addition of Kenny Lee Lewis on rhythm guitar,
Steve reached platinum status once again with the release of "Abracadabra" in
June 1982. A live album and video were released the following year. "Italian
X Rays", the band's first digital recording, was released November
1984.
Steve released Living in the 20th Century in 1986.
This album yielded the hit "I Want To Make The World Turn Around" featuring a
Kenny G sax solo. However, the best part of this album was side 2. Drawing
from his Texas roots, Steve performed great renditions of blues standards
by Jimmy Reed, Willie Dixon and others. These songs were released on
the video "Blues in the 20th Century".
Steve returned to his roots, in 1988 with the release
of "Born
2B Blue", with a completely new band. This album received much acclaim
from music critics including Leonard Feather of the L.A.Times. This album
earned respect and it displays the versatility of Steve Miller.
In 1988, Les Paul invited Steve to appear on a Cinemax special with
other great guitarists, including B.B. King, David Gilmour, and Eddie
VanHalen. This was the first live performance by Steve Miller since 1983
(This is available on video under the title Les Paul and Friends: He
Changed the Music ). After the show, he attended a Pink Floyd concert
at the request of Gilmour. Steve decided it was time to hit the road
again.
Steve did hit the road in 1988, and continued for
12 consecutive tours of Amphitheaters across the USA until deciding
to take a sabbatical after the 2000 "Into The Future" tour.
During the 1990's Miller released, "Wide River" 1992 and "The
Box Set" 1994, which included previously unreleased tracks and one
new song. He recorded with the Neville Brothers, John Mayall, Seal and
Shaggy and his music has been sampled by hundreds of new recording artists.
After the 2000 touring season Miller finally took
some time off to delve into the band's extensive recording, photo and
video archives. In May of 2002, Steve along with King Biscuit Flour
Hour released a Live Album of songs recorded in 1973 at Shady Grove
in Washington DC and 1976 at the Beacon theater in Manhattan. The album
entitled "King Biscuit
Flour Hour Presents The Steve Miller Band" has been extremely well
received by the public.
For many years, Capitol Records has nagged Miller
to update his lucky charm album (Greatest Hits 74-78) and he resisted.
One of the longest-running success stories in record industry history, "Greatest Hits 1974-78''
sold more than 13 million copies in 20 years in release. But it didn't
have "Abracadabra'' on it. They finally wore him down - or he finally
listened to reason, depending on who's talking - "Young Hearts the
Complete Greatest Hits" debuted in September 2003. Spanking new
24-bit mastering technology makes the old gems shine just that much more.
It's a gift to us all, because these songs have embedded themselves in
the heart of rock and roll. They are a gold standard by which others
are measured, an inspiration to the future and a high-water mark of the
whole art form.
Steve was very active in the last quarter of 2003
promoting "Young
Hearts the Complete Greatest Hits". He was a musical guest on the "Tonight
Show", with Jay Leno, jammed with the band on "Jimmy Kimmel
Live" and did interviews with "Rockline" the syndicated
radio show. Steve also played many charity events in 2003 to save animals,
teach underprivileged kids to play guitar and feed the homeless.
Camp Moondance 2024 Lineup
MDJ Saloon Stage
*Schedule and lineup are subject to change without notice.
Lazy Moon Bar & Grill Open DAILY
Wednesday Open at 4pM
Thursday Open at Noon
FRiday & Saturday OPEN From 9am - 4/5PM
Breakfast Buffet & Bloody Mary Bar in the Lazy Moon
FRiday & Saturday OPEN From 9am - Noon
Food Trucks, Music Bingo, TAP & More!
For up-to-date info, please check back here, signup for our mailing list or follow us on Facebook.