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.

Hot Chili
Steve Miller Band Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Sittin' here thumbin' through the pages of a magazine
The pages tell me come right away, you know what I mean
The air is so spacey, the ladies are lacey
And there is nothing you gotta do
But eat hot chili

Hot chili is groovy
After a movie or watching TV

But when you order
South of the border
Soon you see
It's hotter than noon
It will melt your spoon
So buddy, you better get ready
For eatin' hot chili
It's not silly
To eat hot chili

Passport in hand
I made my plan to get away
Hopped on a plane
Rode out of the rain the very same day
Soon as I landed
My wish it was granted
Lovely senoritas always drinkin' tequila, yeah, yeah, yeah
And eatin' hot chili
Eatin' hot chili
I love hot chili

Ooh I love it hot chili
Hot chili, ooh

Overall Meaning

The song "Hot Chili" by Steve Miller is about the joy of eating spicy food, specifically hot chili. The lyrics describe the singer sitting and flipping through a magazine, when he comes across an advertisement for hot chili. The ad convinces him to eat hot chili, which he finds to be groovy after watching a movie or TV show. However, he warns us that when ordering chili south of the border, it is hotter than noon, and will melt your spoon. But despite the spice, he continues to eat hot chili, and even travels to a foreign country where he finds lovely senoritas always drinking tequila and eating hot chili.

There are a few different ways to interpret the song's lyrics. One interpretation is that the song is simply celebrating the joy of eating hot chili. Eating spicy food can be a pleasurable experience, and the singer seems to be basking in the pleasure of it all. Another interpretation is that the song is about escapism. The singer is flipping through a magazine when he sees the ad for hot chili, and it sparks his desire to get away. He hops on a plane and winds up in a foreign country, where he can indulge in spicy food and forget his troubles.

Overall, "Hot Chili" is a fun, upbeat song that celebrates the joys of food and travel. The catchy melody and fun lyrics make it a great addition to any playlist.

Line by Line Meaning

Sittin' here thumbin' through the pages of a magazine
I am leisurely reading a magazine.

The pages tell me come right away, you know what I mean
The magazine entices me to take action.

The air is so spacey, the ladies are lacey
The atmosphere is relaxed and the women are attractive.

And there is nothing you gotta do
There are no obligations or responsibilities.

But eat hot chili
The only thing to do is consume spicy food.

Hot chili is groovy
Spicy food is cool and enjoyable.

After a movie or watching TV
Spicy food is a great way to end a night of entertainment.

But when you order
However, when you request spicy food,

South of the border
If you're in a Latin American country,

Soon you see
You will quickly discover

It's hotter than noon
The food is extremely spicy.