Steve Miller Band


The Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in 1966 in San Francisco, California. 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. 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, Rock Love, Fly Like an Eagle, Book of Dreams, and more. The band's Greatest Hits 1974–78, released in 1978, sold over 13 million copies. In 2016, Steve Miller was inducted as a solo artist in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Steve Miller Band has sold over 24 million albums in the US.

History

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 to go to San Francisco.
Miller then formed The Steve Miller Blues Band. Harvey Kornspan, managing partner, wrote and negotiated the band's contract with Capitol/EMI Records then-president Alan Livingston in 1967. Shortly after, the band's name was shortened to The Steve Miller Band in order to broaden its appeal. The band, consisting of Miller, guitarist James Cooke, bassist Lonnie Turner, drummer Tim Davis and Jim Peterman on Hammond B3 organ, backed Chuck Berry at a gig at the Fillmore West that was released as the live album, Live at Fillmore Auditorium. Guitarist Boz Scaggs joined the band soon after and the group performed at the Magic Mountain Festival and the following week at the Monterey Pop Festival.
In February 1968, while in England, the band recorded 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 second album Sailor appeared in October 1968 and climbed the Billboard chart to. Successes included the single "Living in the USA." Brave New World 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 and Number 5. In 1971, Miller broke his neck in a car accident. 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 released on CD, the other being Recall the Beginning...A Journey from Eden. In 1972, the double album compilation Anthology was released, containing 16 songs from the band's first six of seven albums.
The style and personnel of the band changed radically with The Joker, concentrating on straightforward rock and leaving the psychedelic blues side of the band behind. The title track, "The Joker", became a single and was certified platinum, reaching over one million sales. It was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA on January 11, 1974.
Three years later, the band returned with the album Fly Like an Eagle, which charted at. Three singles were released from the album: "Take the Money and Run", "Fly Like an Eagle" and their second success, "Rock'n Me". Miller credits the guitar introduction to "Rock'n Me" as a tribute to the Free song, "All Right Now".
Book of Dreams also included three successes: "Jet Airliner", "Jungle Love" , and "Swingtown". 1982's Abracadabra album gave Steve Miller his third success with the title track. Miller's hit pushed Chicago's "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" out of the spot, just as his "Rock'n Me" had knocked Chicago's "If You Leave Me Now" out of the spot in 1976.
Released in 1978, The Steve Miller Band's Greatest Hits 1974–78 has sold over 13 million copies.
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.
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 died after a short bout with kidney cancer on October 26, 2010. James Cooke died from cancer on 16 May 2011. Blues guitarist Jacob Peterson 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.

Members

Current members
Former members


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Discography

;Studio albums
The group has been releasing albums and singles since 1968 and currently has released 18 studio albums, six live albums, seven compilation albums, and at least 29 singles. All together the band has sold over 60 million copies.