As stated at the end of last week’s part one of our Steve Miller Band Guide, 1972 and 1973 represented a transitional period for Steve Miller. His upcoming eighth album would be the last under his groundbreaking contract with Capitol Records, and disappointing sales for his last two releases made it fairly clear that he was in danger of being dropped. In addition, Miller was in a bad car accident that kept him off his feet for several months – and left him lots of time to think about his future.

Determined to make his next album the one that would finally put his music before the masses, Miller made a critical decision: He would make all of his future songs positive and fun, abandoning the social criticism sprinkled throughout his first seven albums. “I had one at bat,” he said. “I wanted to make sure it was good one.” Positive songs, he also realized, were more enjoyable for him to compose and play.

When The Joker was released in 1973, the public got to hear a somewhat new, if not improved, Steve Miller. The bluesy numbers were still there, such as “The Lovin’ Cup” and  “Come on in My Kitchen.”

But there were also more radio-friendly numbers such as the smash-hit title track, the sweetly sunny “Something to Believe In,” the singalong “Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma” (still a concert staple) and the song that started Steve Miller on the way to multi-platinum success, the Number One hit “The Joker.”

Miller, who frequently referred to past songs in his previous releases, pulled out all the stops with “The Joker.” “Some people call me the Space Cowboy” refers to the mini-hit of the same name on Brave New World; “Some call me the Gangster of Love” brings up his cover of the Johnny “Guitar” Watson classic on Sailor; and “Some people call me Maurice/Because I speak of the pompatous of love” refers to “Enter Maurice” on Miller’s previous release, Recall the Beginning … A Journey from Eden. (more…)