Miller was born to Dr. George "Sonny" Miller, a pathologist, jazz enthusiast and amateur recording engineer, and Bertha, a jazz-influenced singer. In 1950, the family moved to Dallas, Texas. His first guitar chords were taught to him by the legendary Les Paul, pioneer of the electric guitar and also Miller's godfather. While at St. Mark's School of Texas, Miller formed his first band, The Marksmen. Miller taught classmate Royce Boz Scaggs some guitar chords so he could join the band; Scaggs became better known by his nickname, Boz. Miller attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison during the 1960s, where he formed The Ardells. Scaggs joined the Ardells the next year. Ben Sidran was added to the Ardells as a keyboardist the following year. Miller was only sixteen when he started college, and dropped out six credit hours shy of a literature degree. Les Paul encouraged young Miller to utilize his prodigal talents, and much of Miller's success has been attributed to Paul's tutelage during his childhood and teenage years.
Prior to forming the Steve Miller Band, Miller was in a band with Barry Goldberg called the Goldberg-Miller Blues Band. They formed in 1965, and released one single, before Miller left the band.
In 1968, Miller formed the Steve Miller Band, with Miller handling vocals, and released an album, Children of the Future, the first in a series of discs rooted solidly in the psychedelic blues style that dominated the San Francisco music scene at the time. Scaggs would leave the band after a couple of albums. Sailor, Brave New World, Your Saving Grace and Number 5 followed. These albums performed respectably on the album charts but failed to yield a hit. This first period in Steve Miller's music formed part of double album compilation "Anthology" which includes a guest appearance on drums by the then Beatle Paul McCartney on the song "My Dark Hour".
1973's The Joker marked the start of the second phase of Miller's career: more pop-oriented and simplistic, the album featured a number one hit in the U.S. in the title track as well as several other popular tunes. In fact, "The Joker" hit Number One on the UK singles chart in September 1990 after it was used on a television commercial.
Miller followed up The Joker with Fly Like an Eagle in 1976 and Book of Dreams in 1977. This pair of albums represented the peak of Miller's commercial career, both reaching the top echelons of the album charts and spawning a seemingly-endless series of hit singles, including "Rock'n Me", "Take the Money and Run", "Jet Airliner" and "Jungle Love". While critics lambasted Miller for abandoning his more ambitious approach and socially-aware lyrics for simple pop-rock and derivative blues tunes, fans gravitated towards the catchy, melodic songs in great numbers, and the Steve Miller Band co-headlined a major stadium tour with the Eagles in 1977.
On the heels of this massive success, Miller took a long hiatus from recording and touring, emerging in 1981 with Circle of Love, an ambitious album possibly intended to appease critics of his new style. Sales were disappointing, however, and in 1982 he returned to the pop formula with another hit album, Abracadabra. This was Miller's last great commercial success; a series of collections, live albums and attempts to find a new style appeared sporadically, but after 1993 Miller gave up producing records altogether. However, he collaborated with Paul McCartney on the former Beatle's 1997 Grammy-nominated album, Flaming Pie.
Pushed Me to It
Steve Miller Lyrics
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You pushed me to it
But I was wrong, girl
Yeah, you didn't do it
My friends tried to tell me
But I was blind
All I can say, babe
I didn't mean to be unkind
In Steve Miller's song "Pushed Me to It," the lyrics delve into the idea of how sometimes we think we don't need someone in our lives, but they end up pushing us to become better versions of ourselves. The singer admits that he was wrong to have doubted the girl and that she didn't actually do anything to cause the change in him - it was all him. He explains how he was blind to the advice of his friends, who tried to tell him that he was being unkind. The song portrays the idea that personal growth and development can come from unexpected circumstances and people, and that sometimes it takes an outside push to bring about our best selves.
The lyrics also explore the idea of regret and the feeling of being sorry. The singer admits that he was wrong to have acted in the way he did towards the girl and that he wants to make amends. This can be interpreted as a lesson in humility and learning to take responsibility for our actions. The overall message of the song is that accepting our mistakes and asking for forgiveness is an important part of personal growth and development.
Line by Line Meaning
Thought I didn't need you
I believed I could live without you
You pushed me to it
Your actions forced me into doing something regrettable
But I was wrong, girl
I now realize my mistake, and I apologize
Yeah, you didn't do it
You are innocent and not responsible for what happened
My friends tried to tell me
My friends warned me about my behavior
But I was blind
I was not able to see the truth and ignored their advice
All I can say, babe
The only thing I can say, my love
I didn't mean to be unkind
I did not intend to be hurtful, and I regret my actions
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: STEVE MILLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind