STEVE MILLER

When I was a kid this is what I was listening to on my car radio - Lowell Fulsom singing 'Tramp.'

For the longest time, I was uninterested in dealing with EMI Records.

The Joker,' I made the album in 17 days and it was my last shot.

I love the sound of vinyl best. My sweetheart and I love to put on a vinyl record, it feels and sounds so much better.

I want to entertain my audience. I know when then come and see me play, if I don't do 'Swing Town,' 'Jet Airliner,' 'Take the Money and Run,' 'True Fine Love,' 'Fly Like an Eagle,' 'The Joker,' blah blah blah - if I don't do all those songs, they'll be extremely disappointed. I love to do them.

I can walk into Tower Records, go get my box set, take out my Steve Miller credit card, and the clerk will look at me and go, 'Thanks, next.'

My roots are in everything from doo-wop and blues to the Four Freshman and the Beach Boys and jazz and electronica. But it was put together in a deceptively simple package.

Being talented was a hard way to make it. But I made it on my talent and songs.

You know, songs like 'Rock'n Me' were actually written to be played in large... for a hundred thousand people kind of gatherings. And a lot of what came out on 'Fly Like an Eagle' and 'Book of Dreams' was music that was put together to be played in big, big venues with big light shows.

I don't even hear radio anymore.

In 1956, I began playing in a band with Boz Scaggs.

I kind of enjoyed having people complain that I wasn't in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame more than I think I'll like being in it.

Ooh Poo Pah Doo' was a monster song.

I'm sort of standing on T-Bone Walker's shoulders, Les Paul's shoulders, Lightnin' Hopkins' shoulders, Muddy Waters' shoulders, you know? And if I've inspired other people, I'm pleased. That pleases me greatly.

I was exposed to jazz and blues and gospel and country music and rock, and I was the only kid I knew who knew about that stuff.

Vinyl's like a really juicy steak compared to like a kind of tough steak or something. It's really good. And once you listen to vinyl and get a chance to hear it, I think anyone will enjoy it more than they will digital.

Growing up, I was always around adult musicians who played for their entire lives. So that's what I wanted to do, and I always had that in mind.

My father had a phenomenal knowledge of music; my mom's family were all musicians.

I was born into a household where my aunt, grandmother and mother lived their music. They all sang harmony, and by the time I was 2, I could sing 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat' in three-part harmony.

We are living in a country that has taken the short view on everything. We have sold our future.

The audience wants to hear 'Rock n' Me,' 'Space Cowboy,' 'Living in the U.S.A.' When you start to play something else, you can feel the interest and enthusiasm go; the steam goes out of room. They are really 'Greatest Hits' fans and that's what they want to hear. It's disappointing that it's this way in the U.S.

If folks really want music in their community they can do it very cheaply. It doesn't have to be a $50 million program. All we need is just a little real estate.

I played American football, but I did my best work with baseball.

I've recorded lots of projects, but just haven't bothered to release them.

The truth of the matter is, things that feel spontaneous have a much longer life than things that have got a lot of burnt brain tissue to make them perfect.