As one of the hardest working guitarists/vocalists in rock ’n’ roll history, Steve Miller has created a vast amount of music that is represented by his numerous commercial hits—particularly the songs recorded during a fertile decade that began in 1973 with the release The Joker, and followed by Fly Like an Eagle, Book of Dreams, Circle of Love, and Abracadabra—as well as by the lesser-known (or even unknown) tunes he has written over the last five decades. By his own measure, we’re talking around 150 songs—which is a far deeper trove than one would realize if the only reference is the solid-gold Steve Miller Band playlist heard ’round the clock on every classic-rock outlet.
The recent release of the Steve Miller Band Ultimate Hits Deluxe Edition is a great way to appreciate the actual scope of Miller’s songwriting, as it presents 40 tracks ranging from his bluesy/psychedelic ventures of the ’60s, to his cracking into pop stardom in the ’70s, to a bevy of assorted gems from the ’80s, ’90s, and beyond—including previously unreleased tracks, live cuts, and even a home recording of Steve at age five talking to his godfather, Les Paul.
Asked about the progression of his songwriting as his fame began to rise in the late ’60s, Miller responded, “I’m putting together a book that’s kind of a 50-year retrospective of going into my library and looking at everything I wrote. What I see is that I was really out on a limb on Children of the Future [1968], but I was trying really hard to write something original. Then, we went to Sailor [1968] and Brave New World and Your Saving Grace [both released