It's the third date on the Steve Miller Band's summer tour and just the second rock show at Alpharetta's new Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park. The most impressive number associated with Miller in 2008 might be 40. That's how many years it's been since the Steve Miller Band's 1968 debut album, "Children of the Future."

Miller's timeless hits —- including "The Joker," "Fly Like an Eagle," "Take the Money and Run" and "Jet Airliner" —- are familiar to folks who weren't even born when they hit the charts in the '70s. His greatest hits set is among the 100 biggest selling albums of all time in the U.S., with more than 13 million sold, and he has a new album coming soon that revisits his first love, the blues.

Despite decades in the business, when the 64-year-old Miller talks about his music and his concerts, he sounds 40 years younger. Speaking by phone from one of his homes, in Ketchum, Idaho, he's enthusiastic, energetic and gregarious.

Q: Do you ever get tired of playing the hits?

A: No. Are you kidding? Absolutely not. I really love performing and playing. . . . Playing the hits is a privilege and an honor and thank goodness the audience loves them the way they do. We do about a two-hour show, so there's plenty of time to do other things as well. There's a lot of spontaneous spots in the set. Every time I sing "The Joker," it cracks me up. It's fun to watch people and see them have that much fun.

Q: Listening to your mid-'70s stuff, it doesn't sound as dated as some of the other music from that era. Why do you think that is?

A: There's a basis to all my stuff and it's blues and country music and gospel music. Like the stuff we just recorded doesn't sound dated. It's not like a bunch of old blues stuff done by guys who are just tossing it off. It's all how you approach it. The freshness and the spontaneity of the recording [is] one of the most important aspects. When you record something, you're recording an attitude, and a lot of people don't understand that.

I tried to avoid the pink slacks and the white shoes and the purple blazer. But still, I go back and look at pictures and go, "Look at those clothes! An orange velvet suit, Steve, really?"

Musically, I try to keep it so it's always very fresh and spontaneous. That's what I'm looking for when I'm looking for selections of recordings. I think it really makes a big, big difference in how things hold up.

Q: Are people surprised that your audiences include a lot of young people?

A: That's very gratifying. It's a privilege and an honor to play for a young audience, because you can educate them. They're the future. It's much younger than people think. Actually, it's getting older again, but all through the '90s, the last big survey I did of my audience, it was about 85 percent kids between the ages of 12 and 25. They love to sing the harmony, they love these songs. The songs all mean something to them when they're [teenagers]. It touches on things they're thinking about and going through.

Q: What's your favorite cover version of one of your songs?

A: K.D. Lang did a great version of "The Joker." A phenomenal version, nailed it. That to me was the best one. The Neville Brothers did "Fly Like an Eagle," and they did a pretty cool job. Normally I don't get a lot of covers, but there are lots of country guys doing "The Joker." They're closing their show or using "The Joker" as an encore number. I think that's great, because the country bands, they're like our band in the '70s. They're basically playing like we did in 1976, and doing those shows with the lasers, the lights, the stadium shows and all that stuff. That's pretty much what country music is now —- '70s rock.

Q: It's pretty amazing that it's been 40 years since the release of "Children of the Future."

A: Time has gone by so fast. Now, of course, it's like greased lightning. It's like some sort of science fiction thing. The last 18 years seem like 18 months. It's just going faster and faster. My plan is to play my entire lifetime. As long as I can do it, I'm going to do it.

CONCERT PREVIEW

Steve Miller Band

With Joe Cocker. 8 tonight. $55-$75; $35 lawn. Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, 2200 Encore Parkway, Alpharetta. 404-733-5397, 404-249-6400, www.vzwamp.com.