Blues and rock recording artist, Steve Miller, became known during the late 1960s in the San Francisco music scene. His success progressed into the 1980s as he attuned his style to follow the pop trends of the period. Miller continues to be a prominent figure in the music industry often performing live shows.
Steve Miller was born on October 5, 1943 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His father Dr. George Miller was a pathologist as well as a music enthusiast and amateur recording engineer. His mother Bertha was a jazz singer. Steve received his first guitar at the age of
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four and immediately developed an interest in the instrument. Les Paul, the creator of the electric guitar was a family friend and taught the young Miller many playing techniques which he continued to use as a professional. In 1950, his family moved to Dallas,
Texas where he attended St. Mark’s School and formed his first band The Marksmen. The band, which included his older brother and friend
Boz Scaggs, was popular among college students often playing gigs at fraternity parties. The band broke up when Steve left to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison at the age of sixteen. There he formed a new band, The Ardells which Boz later joined. During summer breaks he would stay in Madison and perform with local band The Knightranes. Almost completing his literature degree, Steve dropped from university in his last year and moved to Chicago in 1964 to be a part of the blues scene.
In Chicago, Miller played with greats
Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and
Buddy Guy who all encouraged him to follow his dream of playing music. He eventually formed The Goldberg-Miller Blues Band along with
Barry Goldberg, Roy Ruby, and Maurice McKinley. The band signed with Epic Records, recorded a few singles and moved to Manhattan for an ongoing gig at a club. When the group returned to Chicago, the blues scene had died down. He then relocated to San Francisco and formed the Steve Miller Blues Band in 1968. Following a few gigs at the Filmore as well as an appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival, the band was signed to Capitol Records. “Blues” was dropped from the group’s name becoming The Steve Miller Band. Other members of the band were Boz Scaggs, Tim
Davis, Jim Peterman, and Lonnie Turner. Children of the Future was released in May 1968 and is considered one of the greatest debut albums.
A few months later, the follow-up
Sailor placed in the top 40 album chart at number 24. The album featured hits “Gangster of Love” and “
Living in the USA”. Peterman and Scaggs departed from the band a little while later and were replaced by Ben Sidran for the release of Brave New World in 1969. The band issued several albums during the early 1970s yet did not achieve any major successes until 1973’s The Joker. The title track and album proved to be instant hits with the song peaking at number one on the pop charts. Following his instant rise to fame, Miller took a few years off, purchased a farm and built his own recording studio. The three year hiatus served him well as he returned to the scene with the consecutive success of Fly Like an Eagle and Book of Dreams. Miller later issued a collection of his greatest hits from 1974 to 1978 which sold over six million copies.
Steve’s next release was in 1981 with Circle of Love which proved to be a major letdown, however a few months later he received much praise for Abracadabra which featured the number one hit title track. The album also established his last commercial success, as the works to follow would not receive much acclaim. Miller continues to make numerous appearances on television as well as headlining major festivals such as the New
Orleans Jazz Festival and The Memphis Beale Street Fair.
