Steve Miller Band

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The Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1966. The band is led by Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals. The group had a string of mid- to late-1970s hit singles that are staples of classic rock radio, as well as several earlier psychedelic rock albums. Miller left his first band to move to San Francisco and form the Steve Miller Blues Band.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Shortly after Harvey Kornspan negotiated the band's contract with Capitol Records in 1967, the band shortened its name to the Steve Miller Band. In February 1968, the band recorded its debut album, Children of the Future. It went on to produce the albums Sailor, Brave New World, Your Saving Grace, Number 5, The Joker, Fly Like an Eagle, and Book of Dreams, among others. The band's album Greatest Hits 1974–78, released in 1978, has sold over 13 million copies. In 2016, Steve Miller was inducted as a solo artist into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

History

File:Steve Miller Interlochen.jpg
Steve Miller performing at Interlochen Fine Arts Camp on July 20, 2009

In 1965, after moving to Chicago to play the blues, Steve Miller and keyboardist Barry Goldberg founded the Goldberg-Miller Blues Band along with bassist Roy Ruby, rhythm guitarist Craymore Stevens, and drummer Maurice McKinley. The band contracted to Epic Records and recorded a single, "The Mother Song", which they performed on Hullabaloo, before Miller left the group and moved to San Francisco.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In November 1966, Miller formed the Steve Miller Blues Band, consisting of Miller and a trio of Wisconsin transplants: guitarist James "Curley" Cooke, drummer Tim Davis, and bassist Rich Personett; in January 1967, Lonnie Turner replaced Personett, who had been drafted. The band performed regularly in the San Francisco area, and in June they appeared at the Magic Mountain Festival (held June 10/11, 1967). Tim Davis' former college roommate Jim Peterman then joined on Hammond B3 organ in time for the band's appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival the following week (festival was held June 16/17/18, 1967). Later that same month, the group backed Chuck Berry at a gig at the Fillmore Auditorium that was released as the live album, Live at Fillmore Auditorium.<ref name="chuckberry">Template:Cite web</ref> In September, guitarist/vocalist Boz Scaggs (who had played in various bands with Steve in the early '60s in Texas) replaced Curley Cooke, who had taken ill.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In November 1967, The Steve Miller Blues Band signed with Capitol Records. Harvey Kornspan, Miller's lawyer and managing partner, wrote and negotiated the contract ($860,000 over five years as well as $25,000 of promotion money that was to be spent at the band's discretion) with the label's then-president Alan Livingston, who had first approached Miller after seeing the band play at the Monterey Pop Festival in June. Shortly after, the band's name was shortened to the Steve Miller Band at the recommendation of George Martin, in order to broaden its appeal.

In January 1968, the band went to London, England to record their debut album, Children of the Future at Olympic studios, with Glyn Johns as engineer/producer. The album did not score among the Top 100 album chart. The visit itself got off to a poor start also as the group and their entourage were arrested for 'importing drugs and possession of a dangerous firearm'. Kornspan's wife had called Johns asking if he would appear as a character witness in the magistrate's court the day after the arrest and, hopefully, stand bail for them. Johns agreed and the group was released on condition that Johns would 'stand surety for their good behavior' for the rest of their time in England. Both accusations were dropped. The 'dangerous firearm' turned out to be a non-working flare gun that was being used as a wall decoration in the house where the group was staying. The 'imported drugs' happened to be some hash that was buried in the middle of a large fruitcake that had been sent to the group by a stateside friend, unbeknownst to anyone in the group.<ref name=Johns>Template:Cite book</ref>

The second album Sailor appeared in October 1968 and climbed the Billboard chart to Template:Thinspace. Successes included the single "Living in the USA". Brave New World (Template:Thinspace, 1969) featured the songs "Space Cowboy" and "My Dark Hour". Paul McCartney, credited as "Paul Ramon", played drums, bass and sang backing vocals on "My Dark Hour". This was followed by Your Saving Grace (Template:Thinspace, 1969) and Number 5 (Template:Thinspace, 1970). In 1971, Capitol Records released the album Rock Love, featuring unreleased live performances and studio material. This is one of two Steve Miller Band albums not to be reissued on CD until 2022, the other being Recall the Beginning...A Journey from Eden from 1972. Later in 1972, the double album compilation Anthology was released, containing 16 songs from five of the band's first seven albums.

The style and personnel of the band changed radically with The Joker (Template:Thinspace, 1973), concentrating on straightforward rock and leaving the psychedelic blues side of the band behind. The title track, "The Joker", became a Template:Thinspace single and was certified 5× platinum, reaching over five million sales. It was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA on January 11, 1974.<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">Template:Cite book</ref>

Three years later, the band returned with the album Fly Like an Eagle, which charted at Template:Thinspace. Three singles were released from the album: "Take the Money and Run" (Template:Thinspace), "Fly Like an Eagle" (Template:Thinspace) and their second Template:Thinspace success, "Rock'n Me". Miller credits the guitar introduction to "Rock'n Me" as a tribute to the Free song, "All Right Now".<ref name="gb">Template:Cite book</ref>

Book of Dreams (Template:Thinspace, 1977) also included three successes: "Jet Airliner" (Template:Thinspace), "Jungle Love" (Template:Thinspace), and "Swingtown" (Template:Thinspace).

Released in 1978, The Steve Miller Band's Greatest Hits 1974–78 has sold over 15 million copies.<ref name="independentmail.com">Template:Cite web</ref>

1982's Abracadabra album gave Steve Miller his third Template:Thinspace success with the title track. Miller's hit pushed Chicago's "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" out of the Template:Thinspace spot, just as his "Rock'n Me" had knocked Chicago's "If You Leave Me Now" out of the Template:Thinspace spot in 1976.<ref name="gb"/>

Bingo!, an album of blues and R&B covers, was released on June 15, 2010. Let Your Hair Down, a companion release to Bingo!, was released 10 months later, on April 18, 2011.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Founding member Tim Davis died from complications due to diabetes on September 20, 1988, at the age of 44. Long-time band member Norton Buffalo died from lung cancer on October 30, 2009. John King (drummer during "The Joker" era) died after a short bout with kidney cancer on October 26, 2010. James Cooke died from cancer on 16 May 2011. Original bassist Lonnie Turner died from lung cancer on April 28, 2013. His time with the band led to songs such as Jet Airliner, Swingtown, Take the Money And Run, Jungle Love and many more. Blues guitarist Jacob Petersen officially joined the band before the Spring 2011 tour. Following Petersen joining the band, longtime guitarist Kenny Lee Lewis switched instruments to become the band's full-time bassist. In 2014, Steve Miller Band toured with fellow San Francisco rock band Journey.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

When it was announced that Steve Miller would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist without his band, Miller told Rolling Stone, "It wasn't my decision, and I didn't have any input into any of it. If they had asked me what do, I think I would have said, 'Here's a list of everyone that was ever in my band. They all ought to be here.'"<ref>Greene, Andy (2015, December 17). "Steve Miller on Rock Hall Induction: ‘It’s Taken a Long, Long, Long Time’", Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-11-17.</ref>

Members

Current members

  • Steve Miller – lead vocals, guitar, harmonica, keyboards (1966–present)
  • Kenny Lee Lewis – bass (1983–1987, 2011–present), guitar (1982–1983, 1987–1988, 1994–2011), backing vocals (1982–1988, 1994–present)
  • Joseph Wooten – keyboards, backing vocals (1993–present)
  • Jacob Petersen – guitar, backing vocals (2011–present)
  • Ron Wikso – drums (2021–present)

Former members

  • Lonnie Turner – bass, guitar, backing vocals (1966–1970, 1975–1978; died 2013)
  • Boz Scaggs – guitar, lead and backing vocals (1967–1968)
  • Jim Peterman – keyboards, backing vocals (1966–1968)
  • Tim Davis – drums, backing vocals (1966–1970; died 1988)
  • James "Curley" Cooke – guitar (1967; died 2011)
  • Ben Sidran – keyboards (1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1987–1991)
  • Nicky Hopkins – keyboards (1969, 1970; died 1994)
  • Bobby Winkelman – bass, guitar, vocals (1969–1970; died 2023)
  • Ross Valory – bass, backing vocals (1970–1971)
  • Jack King – drums (1970–1972)
  • Gary Mallaber – drums, keyboards, backing vocals (1972, 1975–1987)
  • Roger Allen Clark – drums (1972; died 2018)
  • Dick Thompson – keyboards (1972–1974)
  • Gerald Johnson – bass, backing vocals (1972–1974, 1981–1983)
  • John King – drums (1972–1974; died 2010)
  • Les Dudek – guitar (1975)
  • Doug Clifford – drums (1975)
  • David Denny – guitar, backing vocals (1975–1978)
  • Norton Buffalo – harmonica, guitar, backing vocals (1975–1978, 1982–1987, 1989–2009; died 2009)
  • Greg Douglass – slide guitar, backing vocals (1976–1978)
  • Byron Allred – keyboards (1976–1987, 1990; died 2021)
  • John Massaro – guitar, backing vocals (1982–1983)
  • Billy Peterson – bass, backing vocals (1987–2011)
  • Bob Mallach – saxophone (1987–1996)
  • Paul Peterson – guitar (1988, 1991–1992)
  • Ricky Peterson – keyboards (1988, 1991)
  • Keith Allen – guitar, backing vocals (1989–1990)
  • Sonny Charles – backing vocals (2008–2011)
  • Gordy Knudtson – drums (1987–2021)

Timeline

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 id:keyboards value:purple       legend:Keyboards
 id:bvocals   value:pink         legend:Backing_vocals
 id:harmonica value:skyblue      legend:Harmonica
 id:saxophone value:tan2         legend:Saxophone
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 bar:Cooke     text:James Cooke †
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 bar:Dudek     text:Les Dudek
 bar:Denny     text:David Denny
 bar:Douglass  text:Greg Douglass
 bar:Lewis     text:Kenny Lee Lewis
 bar:Massaro   text:John Massaro
 bar:PPeterson text:Paul Peterson
 bar:Allen     text:Keith Allen
 bar:JPeterson text:Jacob Petersen
 bar:Peterman  text:Jim Peterman
 bar:Sidran    text:Ben Sidran
 bar:Thompson  text:Dick Thompson
 bar:Allred    text:Byron Allred †
 bar:RPeterson text:Ricky Peterson
 bar:Wooten    text:Joseph Wooten
 bar:Turner    text:Lonnie Turner †
 bar:Valory    text:Ross Valory
 bar:Johnson   text:Gerald Johnson
 bar:BPeterson text:Billy Peterson
 bar:Davis     text:Tim Davis †
 bar:JackKing  text:Jack King
 bar:JohnKing  text:John King †
 bar:Clifford  text:Doug Clifford
 bar:Mallaber  text:Gary Mallaber
 bar:Knudtson  text:Gordy Knudtson
 bar:Wikso     text:Ron Wikso
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 bar:Mallach   text:Bob Mallach
 bar:Charles   text:Sonny Charles

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at:15/06/2010 color:lines1 layer:back
at:19/04/2011 color:lines1 layer:back

</timeline>

Discography

Template:Main

Studio albums

The group has been releasing albums and singles since 1968 and currently has released 18 studio albums, six live albums, seven (official) compilation albums, and at least 29 singles.

Awards

File:Steve Miller Walk Fame.jpg
Receiving their Walk of Fame star.

See also

References

Template:Reflist

Template:Commons category

Template:Steve Miller Band Template:Boz Scaggs Template:Ben Sidran Template:Authority control

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