Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in 1967-8 in San Franci… Read Full Bio ↴Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in 1967-8 in San Francisco, California, USA. The band features Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals, and is known for a string of (mainly) mid-1970s hit singles that continue to be staples of the classic rock radio format.

Steve Miller (born 5 October 1943) is a blues and rock and roll guitarist and performer. He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin but attended high school in Dallas. While at St. Mark's School of Texas, he formed his first band, The Marksmen. Miller taught one of his classmates, Royce Boz Scaggs, a few guitar chords so that 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.

In 1968, Miller formed the Steve Miller Band, with Scaggs 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 with vocal chores taken over by drummer Tim Davis; Miller himself would begin singing occasional lead on 1969's Brave New World. These albums performed respectably on the album charts but failed to yield a hit.

In the 1970's the band had some hits that became classics over the years - Jet Airliner, with some evocative lyrics that brought home the loss of life on the road; and The Joker which includes the famous line about the "pompatus of love", which is of course nonsense, but that didn't stop a lot of stoned folks from spending years talking amongst themselves.

Steve Miller's father was a wealthy doctor in Dallas, and friends with famous guitarist and guitar designer Les Paul. Les Paul gave Miller his first guitar lessons.

Longtime member Norton Buffalo (harmonica player) died from lung cancer on October 30, 2009.

John King (drummer during "The Joker" era) died after a short bout of kidney cancer on October 26, 2010.

Band-member James Cooke died from cancer on 16 May 2011.

C.C. Rider
Steve Miller Band Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Crowd: Jungle Love! Jungle Love! Jungle Love!
Steve: You know you can't have everything you want, now. You have to leave 'em wantin' something. (Maniacal laughter)

Well, see, C. C. Rider
Just see what you have done
Lord, Lord, Lord
C. C. Rider, see what you have done
Well, you made me love you

And now I got to move on

Well, I'm goin'
Goin' away, baby
Yeah, and I won't be back until fall
Yeah, I'm goin' away, baby
Won't be back until fall
And if I find me a good gig
I might not be back at all

Spoken:

Steve: Oh, Bobby, I wonder if you know what I'm talkin' about.

(Sax Solo)

Steve: Mr. Bobby Mallach

Steve: Believe it's time to go over to the doctor. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's true. We have a doctor of philosophy in the band and whenever we, we need the answer, we have to go over to talk to Dr. Sidran, our musical director. Are you in tonight, doctor?

Ben Sidran: I am in, yes, the doctor is ready.

Steve: Will you take the case?

Ben: I will take the case, it's an interesting case.

Steve: Okay, thank you.

(Piano Solo)

Steve: I feel much better thank you. Mr. Ben Sidran, Dr. Sidran. Yeah. Courage.

Ben: Courage, forward.

Steve: Well, we want to thank you, ladies and gentlemen, you've been a great audience and we have enjoyed playing for you. We want to remind you that we will be back this summer, and we will play Jungle Love then. And we'll probably be playing something new. We want to give you something to think about, and we hope you'll come along with us while we think about it, too. Happy Holidays everybody.

Well, I'm gonna get me
Get me a pistol
Just about as long as I am tall
Gonna get me a pistol
Just about as long as I am tall

I'm gonna shoot my agent
And then I'll catch that cannonball

Overall Meaning

The song "C.C. Rider" by the Steve Miller Band tells the story of a man who has fallen in love with someone named C.C. Rider, but he must move on from the relationship. The singer has been hurt by C.C. Rider but in spite of the hurt, he still loves her. He speaks of moving on, but it seems as if he is unsure if he can actually do so. The crowd chants "Jungle Love" throughout the song. The singer tells his audience that they can't have everything they want, that they have to leave people wanting more.

The final verse of the song is the most intriguing, with the singer declaring that he needs to get a pistol as tall as he is in order to shoot his agent, then he will catch the "cannonball". It is unclear exactly what the singer means by "cannonball", but it could be a metaphor for a new opportunity or a fresh start. The song leaves the listener with some unanswered questions and a sense of mystery.

Line by Line Meaning

Well, see, C. C. Rider
Let's begin the song by introducing the character C.C. Rider

Just see what you have done
See how you have impacted my life, C.C. Rider

Well, you made me love you
You caused me to fall in love with you, C.C. Rider

And now I got to move on
But now I must move on from this love, C.C. Rider

Well, I'm goin'
I am leaving now, C.C. Rider

Goin' away, baby
I am leaving you behind, C.C. Rider

Yeah, and I won't be back until fall
I won't be returning until the fall, C.C. Rider

And if I find me a good gig
And if I find a good job opportunity, C.C. Rider

I might not be back at all
I may not return at all, C.C. Rider

Well, I'm gonna get me
I have a plan, C.C. Rider

Get me a pistol
I will get a gun, C.C. Rider