Line #63 Music/SteveMillerBand


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sm.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:Steve Miller, seen here without his band]]
3
4	->''"Some people call me the space cowboy, yeah\
5	Some call me the gangster of love\
6	Some people call me Maurice\
7	'Cause I speak of the pompatus of love"''
8	-->-- "The Joker"
9
10	The Steve Miller Band is a rock band from UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco that has been active since [[LongRunner 1967]], led by eponymous guitarist, singer and songwriter Steve Miller. Of course there are other members, but the band's had such a HighTurnoverRate in this area that listing them all would turn this page into a {{Doorstopper}}. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Miller_Band Check The Other Wiki instead]].
11
12	Their initial career was marked by a fusion of PsychedelicRock with BluesRock, which contained heavy jamming, improvisation and occasional bits of other genres like CountryMusic and FolkMusic. This style, as showcased on every album between ''Children of the Future'' and ''Recall the Beginning'', proved reasonably popular and well-received, with a couple of hits in songs like "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELcTJZLxhFU Space Cowboy]]" and "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyV41-tFPcQ Living in the USA]]", decent chart placements, and positive reviews. Starting with ''The Joker'', Miller toned down the jamming and made his brand of space blues more accessible, with the result being a string of five albums that made the band really, really popular and spawned some famous hits like "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV3AziKTBUo The Joker]]", "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ql0XOw_YDI Swingtown]]", "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwJGN-T4kaM Fly Like an Eagle]]", "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WCFUGCOLLU Take the Money and Run]]", "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUHtJJ1Fgjs Rock'n Me]]", "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlFXhigvTvM Jet Airliner]]", "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKHcxzHRtkU Jungle Love]]" and "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tY8B0uQpwZs Abracadabra]]". The band's popularity entered a downward slide after ''Abracadabra'', and they eventually retired from making albums after 1993, but they still tour every now and then.
13
14	They finally emerged from their hiatus in 2010 with a new CoverAlbum, ''Bingo!''.
15
16	In 2016, Miller was inducted into the UsefulNotes/RockAndRollHallOfFame. [[http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/steve-miller-this-whole-industry-is-f--kin-gangsters-and-crooks-20160411 He wasn't too happy about it, though.]]
17
18	!!Discography:
19	* ''Children of the Future'' (1968)
20	* ''Sailor'' (1968)
21	* ''Brave New World'' (1969)
22	* ''Your Saving Grace'' (1969)
23	* ''[[ChronologicalAlbumTitle Number 5]]'' (1970)
24	* ''Recall the Beginning...A Journey from Eden'' (1972)
25	* ''The Joker'' (1973)
26	* ''Fly Like an Eagle'' (1976)
27	* ''Book of Dreams'' (1977)
28	* ''Circle of Love'' (1981)
29	* ''Abracadabra'' (1982)
30	* ''Italian X-Rays'' (1984)
31	* ''Living in the 20th Century'' (1986)
32	* ''Born [=2B=] Blue'' (1988) (a Steve Miller solo album made up entirely of [[CoverAlbum covers]])
33	* ''Wide River'' (1993)
34	* ''Bingo!'' (2010) (another CoverAlbum of blues standards)
35	* ''Let Your Hair Down'' (2011)
36
37	!!I'm a joker, I'm a smoker, I'm a midnight troper:
38	* AnimalMotifs: Horses and pegasi appear in a handful of their album art, including their greatest hits compilation.
39	* ContinuityNod: The opening lines of "The Joker", quoted atop the page, contain references to the earlier songs "Space Cowboy", "Gangster of Love", and "Enter Maurice".
40	** "Space Cowboy" itself references "Gangster of Love" as well as "Living in the U.S.A."
41	** The opening riff of "Fly Like an Eagle" is borrowed from "My Dark Hour".
42	* CoverVersion: "Key to the Highway" by Big Bill Broonzy, "Gangster of Love" by Johnny Watson, "You're So Fine" by Jimmy Reed, "Motherless Children" (a traditional song), "Your Cash Ain't Nothing But Trash" by Chuck Calhoun, "Come on in My Kitchen" by Woody Payne, "Mercury Blues" by K.C. Douglas, "You Send Me" by Music/SamCooke, "Jet Airliner" by Paul Pena, "Get on Home" (another traditional song), "I Wanna Be Loved (But Only By You)" by Jimmy Reed, "My Babe" by Willie Dixon, the entire ''Born 2 B Blue'' album, "Stranger Blues" by Elmore James.
43	* EpicRocking: "Key to the Highway", "Baby's House", "Jackson-Kent Blues", "Love Shock", "Deliverance", "Journey from Eden", "Circle of Love", "Macho City".
44	* GenreBusting: Blues, folk- and country-influenced rock with psychedelic production, ProgressiveRock-like jamming, up-to-date synth starting in TheSeventies and [[NewWaveMusic New Wave]]-influenced production in TheEighties, and that's just in general.
45	* GenreRoulette: Their albums tended towards this. For example, ''Fly Like an Eagle'' includes: two synth-based [[EpicInstrumentalOpener instrumental intros]], the mellow title track, BluesRock with "Mercury Blues", HardRock with "Rock'n Me" and "Take the Money and Run", the psychedelic, sitar-employing "Wild Mountain Honey", the {{Country Music}} "Dance, Dance, Dance", the {{disco}} beat of "Serenade", the {{Soul}} cover "You Send Me" and the FolkRock with synths "The Window".
46	* GreatestHitsAlbum: Several. 1978's ''Greatest Hits 1974–78'' is the biggest seller in Miller's catalogue and one of the best-selling albums ever, having sold over 13 million copies in the U.S. alone.
47	* HayseedName: ''Take the Money and Run'' features the criminals Billy Joe and Bobbie Sue, who are chased by a Texas detective named Billy Mack.
48	* LeastRhymableWord: In "Take the Money and Run":
49	-->Billy Mack is a detective down in Texas\
50	You know he knows just exactly what the facts is\
51	He ain't gonna let those two escape justice\
52	He makes his livin' off of the people's taxes
53	* ListingCities: "Rock'n Me" includes a list of the following cities: Phoenix, Tacoma, Philadelphia, Atlanta, L.A. and ends with the northern California area.
54	* NewSoundAlbum: ''The Joker'' saw the band take on a more radio-friendly sound. ''Italian X-Rays'' shows a heavy SynthPop influence.
55	* OutlawCouple: "Take the Money and Run" is about Billy Joe and Bobbie Sue, two criminals on the run after Billy Joe shoots someone in his house.
56	* PerfectlyCromulentWord: What the hell's a "pompatus"? It's actually a Nonce Word and even a mondegreen: Steve Miller heard the word "puppetutes" in a song[[note]]"[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQNGHMf15I4 The Letter]]", a 1954 doo-wop tune by Vernon Green and The Medallions[[/note]] and misinterpreted it.
57	* RedHerringTwist: Billy Mack, the detective from "Take the Money and Run," is introduced, but never brings the bandits Billy Joe and Bobbie Sue to justice (or does anything, for that matter).
58	* SiameseTwinSongs: Threshold and Jet Airliner are frequently played on classic rock stations together.
59	* ShoutOut: The lines "You're the cutest thing that I ever did see/Really love your peaches, wanna shake your tree/Lovey dovey, lovey dovey all the time" from "The Joker" are quotes from the song "Lovey Dovey" by The Clovers.
60	* SomethingBlues: "Jackson-Kent Blues", "Mercury Blues", "Stranger Blues"
61	* SongOfSongTitles: "The Joker" includes several lines from "Lovey Dovey" by the Clovers.
62	* StepUpToTheMicrophone: Boz Scaggs, who was Miller's co-guitarist before leaving for a solo career, composed and contributes lead vocals to several songs on the first two albums.
63	* TrrrillingRrrs: "Some people call me Maurrrice."

Context Music / SteveMillerBand