Greatest Hits (1974-1978)
Encyclopedia
Greatest Hits 1974–78 is a compilation album
by the Steve Miller Band
released in November 1978. It has sold thirteen million copies in the United States and is ranked 37th on the Recording Industry Association of America
list of best selling albums. It also achieved Diamond certification in Canada (1,000,000 units) in 2003. Two singles that reached No. 1 are "The Joker" which topped the charts on January 12, 1974 and "Rock'n Me" on November 6, 1976. As a sign of the album-oriented rock
times, all but one track came from their last two albums even though they had eleven studio albums at the time. A prior greatest hits album, 1972's Anthology, contained songs from the first five albums. The more comprehensive Young Hearts: Complete Greatest Hits
in 2003 added early hits "Living in the U.S.A", "Shubada du Ma Ma", and "My Dark Hour" and later hits "Abracadabra", "Wide River", "Cry Cry Cry", "Who Do You Love" and "I Want to Make the World Turn Around
", but dropped this album's "True Fine Love" and "Winter Time". On the 1978 album, the 7"-inch edited single versions of "Jet Airliner", "The Joker
", and "Fly Like an Eagle
" are used. On the 2003 compilation, the original album versions are used.
"All selections published by Sailor Music, except "The Joker" by Sailor Music/Unichappel Music, Inc. and "Jet Airliner" by Sailor Music/No Thought Music."
Production
Artwork & design
under the bust of the horse.
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
by the Steve Miller Band
Steve Miller Band
The Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in 1967 in San Francisco, California. The band is managed by Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals, and is known for a string of mid-1970s hit singles that are staples of the classic rock radio format.-History:In 1965, Steve Miller and...
released in November 1978. It has sold thirteen million copies in the United States and is ranked 37th on the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
list of best selling albums. It also achieved Diamond certification in Canada (1,000,000 units) in 2003. Two singles that reached No. 1 are "The Joker" which topped the charts on January 12, 1974 and "Rock'n Me" on November 6, 1976. As a sign of the album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
times, all but one track came from their last two albums even though they had eleven studio albums at the time. A prior greatest hits album, 1972's Anthology, contained songs from the first five albums. The more comprehensive Young Hearts: Complete Greatest Hits
Young Hearts
Young Hearts is a compilation album by the Steve Miller Band released in September 2003 by Capitol Records.-Track listing:# "Take the Money and Run" – 2:52# "Abracadabra" – 3:41# "Rock'n Me" – 3:08# "Swingtown" – 3:39# "The Joker" – 4:29...
in 2003 added early hits "Living in the U.S.A", "Shubada du Ma Ma", and "My Dark Hour" and later hits "Abracadabra", "Wide River", "Cry Cry Cry", "Who Do You Love" and "I Want to Make the World Turn Around
I Want to Make the World Turn Around
"I Want to Make the World Turn Around" was Steve Miller Band's final single. Released in November 1986 on their album Living in the 20th Century, it peaked at #97 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached #1 on the Album Rock Tracks chart, a position it held for six straight weeks...
", but dropped this album's "True Fine Love" and "Winter Time". On the 1978 album, the 7"-inch edited single versions of "Jet Airliner", "The Joker
The Joker (song)
"The Joker" is a song by the Steve Miller Band from their 1973 album The Joker. The song is one of two Steve Miller Band songs that feature the neologism "pompatus". The song topped the US Billboard Hot 100 in early 1974. It draws heavy influence from the Allen Toussaint's song Soul Sister featured...
", and "Fly Like an Eagle
Fly Like an Eagle (song)
"Fly Like an Eagle" is a song written by Steve Miller and by Steve Miller Band guitarist Steve McCarty on the album Fly Like an Eagle. The song went to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the week of January 8, 1977. The single edit can be found on Greatest Hits . The song has an...
" are used. On the 2003 compilation, the original album versions are used.
Track listing
Number in parentheses indicates the order of appearance on the 8-track version.- (1) "Swingtown" (Steve MillerSteve Miller (musician)Steven H. "Steve" Miller is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter who began his career in blues and blues rock and evolved to a more popular-oriented sound which, from the mid 1970s through the early 1980s, resulted in a series of successful singles and albums.-Early years:Born in Milwaukee,...
, Chris McCarty) – 3:27 - (4) "Jungle Love" (Lonnie Turner, Greg Douglass) – 3:10
- (5) "Take the Money and RunTake the Money and Run (song)"Take the Money and Run" is a song recorded in 1976 by the Steve Miller Band. A song about two young bandits, it was one of the many hit singles produced by the Steve Miller Band in the 1970s and featured on Fly Like an Eagle. The song peaked at #11 on the U.S...
" (Miller) – 2:50 - (6) "Rock'n MeRock'n Me"Rock'n Me" is a song by American rock group Steve Miller Band, written by the group's leader Steve Miller. The song was released as the second single from the group's ninth studio album Fly Like an Eagle in 1976...
" (Miller) – 3:05 - (12) "Serenade" (Miller, McCarty) – 3:10
- (2) "True Fine Love" (Miller) – 2:37
- (3) "The Stake" (David DennyDavid Denny (musician)David Denny is an American rock guitarist who was a founding member of Frumious Bandersnatch, a seminal psychedelic rock band from 1960s San Francisco. Denny also later played on two albums with the Steve Miller Band, 1977's Book of Dreams and 1993's Wide River...
) – 3:56 - (8) "The JokerThe Joker (song)"The Joker" is a song by the Steve Miller Band from their 1973 album The Joker. The song is one of two Steve Miller Band songs that feature the neologism "pompatus". The song topped the US Billboard Hot 100 in early 1974. It draws heavy influence from the Allen Toussaint's song Soul Sister featured...
" (Eddie CurtisEddie CurtisMemphis Edward "Eddie" Curtis, Jr. is an American songwriter. He is credited as a co-writer along with Steve Miller and Ahmet Ertegun for "The Joker" by the Steve Miller Band, which became a number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week of January 12, 1974...
, Ahmet ErtegünAhmet ErtegunAhmet Ertegün was a Turkish American musician and businessman, best known as the founder and president of Atlantic Records. He also wrote classic blues and pop songs and served as Chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and museum...
, Miller) – 3:36 - (9) "Fly Like an EagleFly Like an Eagle (song)"Fly Like an Eagle" is a song written by Steve Miller and by Steve Miller Band guitarist Steve McCarty on the album Fly Like an Eagle. The song went to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the week of January 8, 1977. The single edit can be found on Greatest Hits . The song has an...
" (Miller) – 3:00 - (10) "Threshold" (Byron Allred, Miller) – 1:05
- (11) "Jet Airliner" (Paul PenaPaul PenaPaul Pena was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist of Cape Verdean descent.His music from the first half of his career touched on Delta blues, jazz, morna, flamenco, folk and rock and roll...
) – 3:33 - (7) "Dance, Dance, Dance" (Brenda Cooper, Jason Cooper, Miller) – 2:16
- (13) "Winter Time" (Miller) – 3:10
- (14) "Wild Mountain Honey" (Steve McCarty) – 4:50
"All selections published by Sailor Music, except "The Joker" by Sailor Music/Unichappel Music, Inc. and "Jet Airliner" by Sailor Music/No Thought Music."
Personnel
- Steve Miller – synthesizer, guitar, keyboards, vocals, producer, compilation producer
- David DennyDavid Denny (musician)David Denny is an American rock guitarist who was a founding member of Frumious Bandersnatch, a seminal psychedelic rock band from 1960s San Francisco. Denny also later played on two albums with the Steve Miller Band, 1977's Book of Dreams and 1993's Wide River...
– guitar, rhythm guitar - Greg Douglass – guitar, slide guitarSlide guitarSlide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
- John McFee – dobroDobroDobro is a registered trademark, now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar...
- Bob Glaub – bass guitar
- Gerald Johnson – bass guitar
- Lonnie Turner – bass guitar
- Byron Allred – synthesizer, piano, keyboards
- Joachim Jymm Young – Hammond organHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
- Dickie Thompson – organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, clavinetClavinetA Clavinet is an electrically amplified keyboard instrument manufactured by the Hohner company. It is essentially an electronically amplified clavichord, analogous to an electric guitar. Its distinctive bright staccato sound has appeared particularly in funk, disco, rock, and reggae songs.Various... - Norton BuffaloNorton BuffaloNorton Buffalo was a singer-songwriter, country and blues harmonica player, record producer, bandleader and recording artist best known as a versatile exponent of the harmonica, including chromatic and diatonic....
– harmonica on tracks 7 & 13 - John King – drums
- Gary Mallaber – percussion, drums
Production
- Roberta Ballard – production manager
- Mike Fusaro – engineer
- Jim Gaines – engineer, mixing
- Gene Hicks – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
- Steve Hoffman – remastering
- Win Kutz – mixing assistant
- Marcia McGovern – pre-production
- John Palladino – executive producer
- Jay Ranellucci – engineer, mixing
Artwork & design
- Kelly & Mouse – Cover illustration & design
- Sam Shepard – cover lettering
- David Stahl – photography
- John Van Hamersveld – design
Popular culture
- The 1996 film The Pompatus of LoveThe Pompatus of LoveThe Pompatus of Love is a 1996 film that tells the story of four guys discussing women and the meaning of the word "pompatus". This made-up word is found in two Steve Miller songs, "Enter Maurice" and "The Joker", the latter of which contains the line "Some people call me Maurice / 'cause I speak...
took its name from a lyric in "The Joker". - "Fly Like an Eagle" is the theme song of the US Postal Service and the University of North TexasUniversity of North TexasThe University of North Texas is a public institution of higher education and research in Denton. Founded in 1890, UNT is part of the University of North Texas System. As of the fall of 2010, the University of North Texas, Denton campus, had a certified enrollment of 36,067...
. - The seventh season of Everybody Loves RaymondEverybody Loves RaymondEverybody Loves Raymond is an American television sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005. Many of the situations from the show are based on the real-life experiences of lead actor Ray Romano, creator/producer Phil Rosenthal and the show's writing staff...
plays "Jungle Love" over the opening credits.
Album cover
The album cover features a hidden woman laying on her side within the negative spaceNegative space
Negative space, in art, is the space around and between the subject of an image. Negative space may be most evident when the space around a subject, and not the subject itself, forms an interesting or artistically relevant shape, and such space is occasionally used to artistic effect as the "real"...
under the bust of the horse.