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.
Swingtown
Steve Miller Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Come on and dance, come on and dance
Let's make some romance
You know the night is fallin' and the music's callin'
And we've got to get down to Swingtown
We've been workin' so hard
Come on baby, come on baby, let's dance
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Come on and dance, come on and dance
We may not get another chance
You know the night is fallin' and the music's callin'
And we've got to get down to Swingtown
The opening lines of Steve Miller Band's song "Swingtown" are a call to get up and dance. The lyrics exhort the listener to come and make some romance, to let go of their worries and embrace the night. The repetition of the chorus, "come on and dance/let's make some romance," emphasizes the infectious energy of the song and its ability to get people moving.
As the song progresses, the lyrics reveal a sense of exhaustion and the need for release. Miller sings, "we've been working so hard," and it becomes clear that the dance floor is a place to let loose and forget the stresses of the day. The repetition of "c'mon" emphasizes the urgency of the situation and the need to let go.
The repeated phrase "swingtown" hints at a sense of nostalgia for a bygone era. The term "swing" typically refers to the swing music of the 1930s and 1940s, and there is a sense of longing for the energy and excitement of that time. The song's lyrics can be interpreted as a rebellion against the stifling conformity of modern life, a desire to escape back to a time when music and dance were the primary forms of expression.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh-oh-oh-oh
The sound of an excited and energetic crowd.
Oh-oh-oh-oh
The sound of an excited and energetic crowd.
Come on and dance, come on and dance
Invitation to the partner to dance.
Let's make some romance
Let's create a romantic atmosphere while dancing.
You know the night is fallin' and the music's callin'
Evening has come and the music is inviting us to dance.
And we've got to get down to Swingtown
We must go down to the place where we can dance, which is Swingtown.
We've been workin' so hard
We have been working hard all day and need a break.
We've been workin' so hard
We have been working hard all day and need a break.
Come on baby, come on baby, let's dance
Let's dance together, my partner.
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon
Encouragement to dance together more energetically.
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon
Encouragement to dance together more energetically.
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon
Encouragement to dance together more energetically.
Come on and dance, come on and dance
Invitation to the partner to dance.
We may not get another chance
We should take advantage of this opportunity to dance together.
You know the night is fallin' and the music's callin'
The night is coming and the music is inviting us to dance.
And we've got to get down to Swingtown
We must go down to the place where we can dance, which is Swingtown.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CHRIS MCCARTY, STEVE MILLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@traceyjwilliamswalker8859
I totally agree.
Still...
Steve Miller is a effing genius!
He took parody of commercialism to its uppermost plateau!
He created meaningful tunes of simplistic <everything>✓✓✓✓
HA!
I REALLY DO MISS THE GENIUS OF TRUTH IN ARTISTIC IMPRESSIONS!!!
WOOOOOHOOOOO ‼️
✌️😎
💕🤍🔥🌏🕊️🌍🔥🤍💕
@sheilawilson8171
NOBODY can come close to the music we had in the 70s....nobody.
@jomojojo6603
I agree...oh, except for the 60s.
Oh, and the 80s.
And first part of the 90s.
@peteauthelet8320
Amen to that, best music ever
@dominickcastiglione5908
You Said it Perfect Sheila And nobody will ever. 70s forever. Loud always on my original Cerwin Vega Speakers.
@jimlahey1893
Steve Miller fits in any decade. The beautiful music is ageless ☮️✌️
@michaelkroeck5491
Ring ring... The 60's are calling, and they beg to differ.
@beerman9473
I was born in 1999, my brother in 1997, and my sister in 2001. Growing up, we all listened to this kind of music because it's what our parents listened to. My brother then got what I guess you could consider a mix tape, but on a disc. My parents had put around 15 songs from the 60s and 70s onto it. We listened to that all. the. time. Especially during the summers when we would have off of school. We would put the disc into our old cd player and just dance around the living room to the music. Swingtown is one of the songs on that disc. So whenever I hear this one, and the other songs on it, playing, it gives me hardcore nostalgia for those warm summer days growing up. Man, what I would give to take a day to go back to that.
@johnleonard6080
He was a head of his time
@bobo_da_hobo
I was born in 98 and my parents raised me on the 70s n 80s music
@zacharycollett5456
Mannn definitely childhood summer vibes