Formation
As a child Steve Miller was encouraged to take up music by his father, who enjoyed a social network that included artists like Les Paul and Charles Mingus. Steve learnt the first few chords of the guitar from Paul when he came to his house as a guest. As his interest in music developed, he formed a blues band with a friend, Marksmen Combo when he was only 12. The performances by the duo received considerable recognition and by the 1960s, Steve relocated to Chicago (from Milwaukee) for better opportunities.
He then formed the Steve Miller Band with the guitarist James ‘Curly’ Cooke, bassist Lonnie Turner and drummer Chuck Berry. The lineup went through some changes over the years, but Miller remained the frontman and led the band at many concerts and festivals. Their hard work paid off as the Steve Miller Band was finally signed by Capitol Records.
Initial Success
After signing a contract with Capitol Records, the Steve Miller Band flew to London to record their very first studio album, ‘Children of the Future.’ The record received a tremendous response from both the fans and critics. However, the follow-up album ‘Sailor’ is considered to be the best of Miller’s early music contributions. The collection charted at number 24 on the Billboard. In the following years, the band produced a number of hit records like Number 5, Your Saving Grace and Brave New World, all of which reached high on the music charts.
Major Achievements
Despite considerable success with the first five albums, the Steve Miller Band was unable to yield a major hit single until ‘The Joker’ was released in 1973. As compared to the previous compositions, this album had a more hard rock approach to it. The title track topped the Billboard Hot 100 as well as the UK Singles Chart. Years later, in 1990 it was picked for a TV commercial.
The next two albums, ‘Fly like an eagle’ and ‘Book of Dreams’ produced several songs. Among these are ‘Jet Airliner,’ ‘Fly like an Eagle,’ ‘Rock’n Me,’ ‘Jungle Love’ and ‘Take the Money and Run.’ The 70s is considered the peak period for the band owing to the success of the two records.
Hiatus and Comeback
After a gap of a few years, the Steve Miller Band made a comeback in the 80s with the album ‘Circle of Love.’ The title track of the next release ‘Abracadabra’ became their third chart topping single. After many more songs and albums, in 2010, the band released their first record under Steve’s own label, Space Cowboy Records and it was called ‘Bingo!’ The band’s latest record ‘Let Your Hair Down’ hit the shelves in 2011. It contains numbers that were recorded in collaboration with the late harmonica whiz, Norton Buffalo.
The Steve Miller Band will be bringing their career spanning hits at the upcoming series of concerts scheduled for February, March and April. The band will be making stops at the famous venues across America and Canada. Since the announcement of the tour dates, the excitement surrounding the events is increasing by the day.