's career has encompassed two distinct stages: one of the top San Francisco blues-rockers during the late '60s, and one of the top-selling pop/rock acts of the mid- to late '70s. His first recordings established his early style as a blues-rocker influenced but not overpowered by psychedelia. Then, in 1973, 's reinvention as a blues-influenced pop/rocker who wrote compact, melodic, catchy songs, led to platinum success for and a number one hit for its title track. Three years later, eclipsed its predecessor in terms of quality and sales. In the early '80s he briefly took on a new wave tinge, and even topped the charts with the synthy "Abracadabra," before returning once more to his blues-rock roots.

was turned on to music by his father, who worked as a pathologist but knew stars like and , whom he brought home as guests; taught the young some guitar chords and let him sit in on a session. formed a blues band, the Marksmen Combo, at age 12 with friend ; the two teamed up again at the University of Wisconsin in a group called the Ardells, later the Fabulous Night Trains. moved to Chicago in 1964 to get involved in the local blues scene, teaming with for two years.

He then moved to San Francisco and formed the first incarnation of the Steve Miller Blues Band, featuring guitarist James "Curly" Cooke, bassist , and drummer Tim Davis. The band built a local following through a series of free concerts and backed in 1967 at a Fillmore date later released as a live album. moved to San Francisco later that year and replaced Cooke in time to play the Monterey Pop Festival; it was the first of many personnel changes. Capitol signed the group as following the festival.

The band flew to London to record , which was praised by critics and received some airplay on FM radio. It established 's early style as a blues-rocker influenced but not overpowered by psychedelia. The follow-up, , has been hailed as perhaps 's best early effort; it reached number 24 on the Billboard album charts and consolidated 's fan base. A series of high-quality albums with similar chart placements followed; while remained a popular artist, pop radio failed to pick up on any of his material at this time, even though tracks like "Space Cowboy" and "Brave New World" had become FM rock staples. Released in 1971, broke 's streak with a weak band lineup and poor material, and he followed it with the spotty . Things began to look even worse for when he broke his neck in a car accident and subsequently developed hepatitis, which put him out of commission for most of 1972 and early 1973.

spent his recuperation time reinventing himself as a blues-influenced pop/rocker, writing compact, melodic, catchy songs. This approach was introduced on his 1973 LP and was an instant success, with the album going platinum and the title track hitting number one on the pop charts. Now an established star, elected to take three years off. He purchased a farm and built his own recording studio, where he crafted the wildly successful albums and Book of Dreams at approximately the same time. was released in 1976 and eclipsed its predecessor in terms of quality and sales (over four million copies) in spite of the long downtime in between. It also gave his second number one hit with "Rock'n Me," plus several other singles. Book of Dreams was almost as successful, selling over three million copies and producing several hits as well. All of the hits from 's first three pop-oriented albums were collected on , which to date has sold over six million copies and remains a popular catalog item.

again took some time off, not returning again until late 1981 with the disappointing . Just six months later, he rebounded with ; the title track gave him his third number one single. The remaining albums released in the '80s — , 1984; , 1986; and , 1988 — weren't consistent enough to be critically or commercially successful. The early '90s saw return to form with (the title track becoming a Top 40 chart entry) and the release of a retrospective box set compiled by the artist himself. He continued to headline shows into the 2000s, sharing the bill with classic rock acts such as 2008 tourmate .

In 2010, and his band released , the first release on his own Space Cowboy Records and the group's first new studio album in 17 years. followed a year later in the spring of 2011 and featured the last recordings of harmonica whiz , 's longtime collaborator, who died from lung cancer in 2009.

As continued to tour regularly through the 2010s, occasionally grabbed headlines. The most notable of these was his 2016 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, an occasion marked by 's strong disagreements with the institution. An compilation appeared in 2017, but for longtime fans, the archival release that was more noteworthy was the 2019 release of , a three-CD/one-DVD box set filled with rarities. ~ Steve Huey & Al Campbell

S. Miller

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