70s and 80s Legend Steve Miller was on the ropes before his career really took off.. He was still in his twenties when his label told him that after 7 straight poor selling albums, if his next one didn’t have a hit he was being kicked to the curb. Some time later he would Write that hit… a 70s classic rocker called the Joker with a timeless vernacular that defines the era Space Cowboy, Pompatus of Love, Maurice… This Rocker thought the song was just ok whereas the suits from his label were predicting it would be a smash… and for once they were right! How one of rock’s good guys stole #1 with a song that would go to #1 again 16 years later… find out next of Professor fo rock.
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Today we are going to break down an all-time classic that saved a budding career as the record label was ready to drop this artist and to stave off elimination he wrote a song that has become part of the rock and roll pop culture vernacular… let’s go back to the classic rock 70s and break down the ultra classic The Joker by Steve Miller Band…
Steve Miller was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1943.
Steve’s parents loved Jazz music. His mother was what Steve called an “exceptional jazz influenced singer,” while his father worked as a pathologist and an amateur recording engineer.
Steve’s godfather was none other than the legendary Les Paul, who along with Paul’s wife, Mary Ford, were close friends of the Millers. How’s that for serendipity.
In 1950 the Millers moved to Dallas, and Steve began learning to play the guitar, with invaluable tutelage from Texas greats like Charlie Mingus, Tal Farlow, and T-Bone Walker, who taught young Steve how to play the guitar behind his back, and even how to play with his teeth.
By the time he was 12, Steve had a band- called the Marksmen combo, and he was playing frat houses and sororities, churches and synagogues. Another iconic musician was a backup vocalist in the band. It was None other than mr. lowdown himself. Boz Skaggs. Miller and Skaggs attended the University of Wisconsin, They fronted a group called the Fabulous Night Trains that tore up the frat circuit with its hard driving music. After college, Miller went to Chicago and joined forced with Barry Goldberg to form the Goldberg Miller Blues band. Later, Enchanted by the ‘hippie movement’ of the 60s, Steve drove the VW bus that his Dad gave him to San Francisco, and formed the Steve Miller Blues Band in ’66- later shortened to The Steve Miller Band.
The group was signed to Capitol Records a few years later, and between their debut album in ’68 and 1973, Steve’s band released a whopping 7 studio albums! The Steve Miller Band had a psychedelic rock sound that was prevalent in the 60s, But they only had one single that broke the Billboard Hot 100- “Living in the USA” and that one stalled at #94.