You'd think Steve Miller would be tired of touring by now, more than 40 years into his recording career. Call him the Space Cowboy, the Gangster of Love or just Maurice, but the man who gave us the phrase "the pompatus of love" still loves to play his '70s and '80s hits for the fans.
Speaking from his winter abode in Ketchum, Idaho, Miller sounds like a young and hungry musician anxious to take his show on the road.
"I really love performing and playing," he says. "That's why I do it. When I started this, my goal was to play music all my life. It wasn't to be a little pop star or a rock 'n' roll guy, it was to be a musician. So this is what I love to do and what I really live for. I really look forward to it. We just did a three-day warmup at the Fillmore in San Francisco, and what a party it was. It's just going to be a great summer. The band is all revved up."
He has a new album almost ready to hit stores, and it's all about classic blues. He and his band will be playing some of that when they hit the new Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park on Memorial Day, but the fans will get the hits, too. Between 1973 and 1982, the Steve Miller Band hit the Top 40 nine times, and three of those records went to No. 1.
See if you can distinguish the chart-toppers from the mere hits. Bonus points for guessing the two non-No. 1 but still Top 10 hits.
1. "The Joker" (1973)
2. "Take the Money and Run" (1976)
3. "Rock'n Me" (1976)
4. "Fly Like an Eagle" (1977)
5. "Jet Airliner" (1977)
6. "Jungle Love" (1977)
7. "Swingtown" (1977)
8. "Heart Like a Wheel" (1981)
9. "Abracdabra" (1982)
ANSWERS
1. 1
2. 11
3. 1
4. 2
5. 8
6. 23
7. 17
8. 24
9. 1
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