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Steve Miller playing on his Les Paul guitar that his godfather, Les Paul made him earn. Charles White
“Some people call me the space cowboy, yeah, some call methegangsteroflove.”Most anybody over the age of 30 knows these lyrics and can’t helpbutsingalongeverytime they hear them.
That song is why folks all over the United States are gathering in stadiums and concert venue to partake in the 50th anniversary of a legendary song “The Joker” by the Steve Miller Band. Miller hasbeenamonumentalpresence on the American music scene for more than half a century – and, during that era, his releases have sold tens of millions of records and been streamed billions of times.
At the start of his career, Miller was a mainstay of the San Francisco music scene that upended American culture in the late 1960s. With albums like Children of the Future, Sailor and Brave New World, Miller perfected a psychedelic blues sound that drew on the deepest sources of American roots music and simultaneously articulated a compelling vision of what music could be in the years to come.
During the 1970s, Miller crafted a brand of pure rock that was smart, polished, exciting, and irresistible. That sound dominated radio in a way that few artists have ever managed.
Hit followed hit in what seemed like an endless flow: “Take the Money and Run,” “Rock’n Me,” “Fly Like an Eagle,” “Jet Airliner,” “Jungle Love,” “Swingtown” and “Abracadabra,” is among them. To this day, those songs are instantly recognizable the momentfanshearthem–and impossible not to sing along.
Their hooks are the very definition of indelible. In recent years, Miller fully immersed himself in the blues and its many byways. As he has always done, he continues to find creative outlets for the full panel of his musical passions.
On his successful tours with the Steve Miller Band, he complements the commercial peaksofhisextensive catalogue with lesser-known songs that expand his fans’ awareness of the range of his work. On a trip to Dallas to watch the band live on stage, the fans were swept up and fully entertained by sights and sounds of one of the most iconic groups who are great on radio but even better in concert.
Miller, 79, has not lost a beat in his presence on stage from playing blues riffs on his Les Paul guitar, harmonica, and keyboard, to his silky lead vocals and the rest of the band really brings the whole experience to an explosive finale. His Les Paul guitar was made by the iconic Les Paul, who happens to be Miller’s godfather.
EventhoughPaulisafamily member,hedidn’tjustgive Miller a guitar. Miller told his audience that his godfather told him he had to earn it. Miller smiled as he held up his guitar and said, “I did.”
His band members have all been a part of the show for years. Kenny Lee Lewis, bass guitar; Joseph Wooten, keyboards and backing vocals; Jacob Petersen, guitar and backing vocals and Ron Wikso on drums. The Steve Miller Band is currently out on tour so check out the dates and step into the time machine of great music. Be part of the audience singing the iconic lyrics, “I'm a picker, I'm a grinner, I'm a lover, and I'm a sinner, I play my music in the sun.”