Song of the Day 6/16: Steve Miller Band, “Space Cowboy”

Jason330 posted a photo of Jeff Bezos’ mighty Space Dildo the other day, which drove home the fact that we’re now in the age of the space cowboys — not real cowboys, just play-acting rich guys with egos as big as their dreams. Beats Disneyland, I guess.

This song dates back to the original Steve Miller Band, the one that started out as the Steve Miller Blues Band, not the later incarnation that was just him in a home studio churning out radio hits. Miller’s dad was a doctor but also a serious music fan — he was best man at Les Paul’s wedding, and Paul was Stevie’s godfather — so Miller grew up among famous musicians (T-Bone Walker taught young Stevie how to play guitar behind his back).

Miller moved to San Francisco in 1966, just in time for the Summer of Love, and released his band’s first LP in 1968. His first lineup included old pal Boz Scaggs, who left after two albums. “Space Cowboy” was one of the tracks on his third, 1969’s “Brave New World,” co-written with keyboard player Ben Sidran, who left to start his own jazz band in 1971.

Though Miller’s first band got a lot of respect from critics, sales were never strong and by the early ’70s had nearly evaporated. Then came “The Joker” in 1973 — the first line of the title track references “Space Cowboy,” and many people apparently think that’s the name of the song — kicking off a decade of pop-oriented chart success that helps propel classic-rock radio to this day.

Miller has made almost no new music since the 1990s, surfacing mainly to gripe about the recording industry, most notably around the time he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016. He managed to piss off everyone involved, including the poor guys in the Black Keys, who were thrilled when the hall asked them to induct him. Miller had wanted Elton John to do the honors, and was so insulting to Dan Auerbach and Pat Carney that they left before the ceremony was over.