Steve Miller credits Dallas roots for his musical education

Steve Miller began his acceptance speech for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the words “I grew up in Dallas.”

If it weren’t for the early days of Big D, Miller says his career wouldn’t be possible today.

Growing up in Dallas, the singer- guitarist says, it was amazing to listen to different kinds of music.

It is sort of strange. When it comes to music, Dallas was more diverse than Milwaukee or Chicago.

The Steve Miller Band will perform in Fort Worth on September 17th. All of Miller’s hits from the 70’s and early 80’s are being played by the quintet.

They will also look into the blues, a genre that has inspired Miller since he was a little boy.

We talked to Miller by phone. The conversation has been edited.

When you were a child, what were your earliest musical experiences, first in Milwaukee and then in Dallas?

My mother and her family used to play music. I learned to sing three-part harmony after we all lived in the same house.

Les Paul was the subject of my dad’s visit. Mary Ford was singing harmony and Les Paul was playing guitar. I wanted to do that all the time.

Les Paul was your father’s friend and the man who gave you your first guitar lessons.

Yes, that is correct. Les Paul was the most important influence on me. I was taught a lot by him.

My dad came to Dallas to start a path lab after working as a Pathologist. After a few years, we moved to Fisher Road, a few blocks from White Rock Lake, which was far out in the country.

One of the first professional tape recorders my dad owned was unusual for an amateur to have. He would show up and ask if he could use his recorder. Musicians would say yes.

When they came to town, he recorded them. My parents liked to play music. They would host parties on Sunday afternoons and invite musicians to drink and play music at home. We loved it when we were small.

In Dallas, you formed a friendship with T-Bone Walker, a blues legend who became a star in L.A. Let me know about T-bone.

When I was 9 years old, T-Bone came over to Southridge Drive, which was a very white suburb. We had Black people at the house, which made the neighbors think we were bad people. T-Bone would come over and hang out. He taught me how to do the splits on the guitar. He was the sweetest person.

This incredible dictionary of rock ‘n’ roll, jazz and country-blues licks is contained within T-Bone’s entire discography. It is all amazing. Everybody was influenced by him.

There should be a statue of T-bone in Dallas. They should put up T-bone Walker at the state fair.

You formed your first band when you were 12 years old with Boz Scaggs. Boz and you formed a band in Madison. Why did you end up going your own way?

It’s hilarious. After Boz graduated from the University of Wisconsin, he traveled to Sweden and Russia and India, and I went to Chicago to play in Buddy Guy’s band. That’s where our paths changed the most.

When I got the record contract, I called Boz. We were different people when he joined us.

I said, “Boz, we’re arguing here in the studio” Wouldn’t it be better if you formed your own band and did what you wanted to do? That’s what happened. We both had great careers and got to the top of the charts at the same time.

It can be hard on some people to experience the type of fame you did in the 70s. What preparation did you make for success? What did you do about it?

I think I handled it well. I was always taught not to waste money. I was kind of cheap. I wanted to be a professional musician for a long time and I didn’t want to be a celebrity.

A lot of musicians don’t understand whatmoderation means, because my father was a doctor. A lot of people who sold a lot of records very quickly made a lot of money and were dead very quickly. They thought they were living in a party all the time. You couldn’t help them.

I didn’t know a lot. There were things that could go wrong. It’s possible we worked too much. I didn’t know how to say “no”

I remember one time we were playing a football game in Louisville and the promoter was angry because there were only 40,000 people at the stadium. I was exhausted and burning out. I handed my guitar to my tech and said, “I don’t want to do this again in my life.”

It sounds like that is rotten. There’s a chance that it’sLaughter It’s like, really? Steve, it’s really, really serious.

You were writing a memoir. What is that doing?

Everyone said you should write a book. I read about 25 autobiographies by my peers and they were not interesting. The same thing happened to us all. We all did the same things after listening to the same music. I said that I don’t need to write anything. I don’t think it’s that interesting to me.

I like to play music. My perspective on everything changed when I was off the road.

I plan to make a studio record next year, and I am putting together a lot of archival stuff. We are going to film two nights at the Moody Theater in Austin because the band is so hot and we are on a roll.

When you are in your 70s, there is usually a decline in creativity. I feel great. It’s a gift. Everybody is so grateful to be back, I have my health, I have a good band, and the audience seems refreshed. Everything is brand new.

Details

The Steve Miller Band is playing in Fort Worth. You can buy tickets at a price of $52.95 Visit ticketmaster.com to learn more.