from the LP Fly Like An Eagle, Capitol Records, 1976Some musicians have remained utterly ubiquitous, through successive generations, in the collections of people who like to have a good time: Bob Marley, The Stones, AC/DC, and many others, including perennial party-time favorites the Steve Miller Band. One can be fairly certain that, at any given social gathering which includes alcohol and/or weed, a sizeable majority of the people there (regardless of age or gender) will own, at least, the Greatest Hits album. Miller grew up and cut his chops in the country’s midsection, being born in Milwaukee, living in Dallas for a period, then winding up back in Wisconsin for college; presumably, his experiences there played a large role in his capable ability to craft songs which seemed uniquely American, and yet timeless, “…this here’s the story ‘bout Billy Joe & Bobbi Sue, two young lovers with nothin’ better to do, than sit around the house, get high & watch the tube; here’s what happened when they decided to cut loose…” We went to see him play at Red Rocks a few summers ago, a blissful experience made almost religious by the sheer power of having an entire crowd of thousands sing along to nearly every song the man played us, a haphazard unison of loose (see: not square) souls, including Miller himself, who humbly & sincerely comes off like he’s still just one of us.
