Read Black Keys’ Jokey Steve Miller Rock Hall Induction
With lessons learned in the gritty city of Chicago, Steve was ready to venture onward to an even more cutthroat and diabolical musical world: San Francisco in the mid-Sixties. The story goes …
Carney: On arrival in San Francisco, Steve went to see the Jefferson Airplane, a quote-unquote “blues band” at the Fillmore on the first day in town. He was living out of a Volkswagen bus at the time, and he got on stage and announced he was starting a band right away. And so began one of the greatest songwriting stretches in rock & roll history. He immediately immersed himself in the vibrant San Francisco scene, but noticed right away he had a natural advantage having cut his teeth in Chicago. No strutting, posing or long breaks between songs to tune – it was and always has been solely about the music for Steve.
Steve reconnected with his childhood friend Boz Scaggs and started the Steve Miller Band. Steve became a mainstay of the San Francisco music scene. According to the Fillmore’s records, Steve and the band played 109 times in the span of just a few years. The first five albums were a perfect snapshot of the evolving psychedelic San Francisco music scene.
Auerbach: It would be extremely hard to find a three-year stretch of hits from any artist in any genre that can hold a candle to Steve Miller Band’s run from ’74 to ’77. A three-year stretch so prolific that it demanded its own Greatest Hits the very next year, one that has sold a staggering 13 million copies, more than classic albums like Abbey Road. That’s just three out of the 50-plus-year career. “The Joker,” “Fly Like an Eagle,” “Rock’n Me,” “Take the Money and Run” – these are pop classics that have stood the test of time. In the few minutes it has taken Pat and I to reacquaint you with Steve’s Wikipedia page, there is a good chance that every one of these songs has been played on a radio station somewhere around the globe. With over 30 million albums sold, Steve Miller should have his own damn parking spot at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame if he wants it. We’re just here to give the man what he wants.
Carney: The Space Cowboy, the Gangster of Love, some people call him Maurice. It’s finally time to have a fourth persona of a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. Congrats Steve. We’re honored to be a part of your big night. Welcome to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.