Steve Miller has given a track-by-track run through of his new album Bingo!, which was released earlier this week.
The record is the first album by The Steve Miller Band in 17 years, and their 16th studio album in total.
Below is Miller’s own analysis of the album
‘HEY YEAH’
‘Hey Yeah’ is a tune that I first heard on a Jimmie Vaughan album, Strange Pleasure. Jimmie is one of my favorite guitar players of all time. I love Stevie Ray Vaughan, of course, but I love Jimmie more. He’s deeper, he’s simpler. He says more with just a handful of notes.’
‘WHO’S BEEN TALKIN’?’
‘Who’s Been Talkin’?’ captures the essence of Howlin’ Wolf. ‘I’m the causing of it all.’ I knew Howlin’ Wolf. I played with Howlin’ Wolf. I watched him play many, many times. I spent a lot of time with him and I can just see him saying that. And, at the same time, with these tracks, we played them our own way. We make them our own tunes. We’re using them as vehicles. And that tune just snaps. It also does have that essence of ‘da Wolf.”
‘DON’T CHA KNOW?’
‘There are four songs off the Strange Pleasure album that we really enjoy playing and have actually become part of our repertoire and ‘Don’t Cha Know’ is one of my favorites. Jimmie and I grew up in Dallas listening to Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, T-Bone Walker, Lightnin’ Hopkins and a lot of great Texas musicians. And so the things I think that influenced him also influenced me – there’s a lot of familiarity there.’
‘ROCK ME BABY’
‘Rock Me Baby’ is one of those songs that have always been in the R&B/blues vernacular. I’ve heard that song all my life in Texas. Maybe the first person I heard do it was T-Bone Walker, a kind of a jazzy version. Later, Jeff Beck did a really great version and sort of hot-rodded the whole thing. B.B. King, of course, was always playing it. When I was playing rhythm in Buddy Guy’s band in Chicago, we’d do ‘Rock Me Baby’ and play it for 20 minutes. It’s one of those songs that just has a groove to it.’
‘TRAMP’
‘Tramp,’ by Lowell Fulson. That’s the version, folks. Otis Redding did that great version with Carla Thomas, but if you’re a guitar player, as soon as you hear the first chord on the original version of ‘Tramp,’ you go ‘who is that? What is it?’ That’s the funkiest thing I have ever heard in my life.’
‘SWEET SOUL VIBE’
‘Sweet Soul Vibe’ is another Jimmie Vaughan tune that he wrote with Nile Rodgers from Chic. It has that vocal quality that that Hank Ballard and The Midnighters had to me. When I brought it to the band, Sonny just kind of jumped it and Norton started singing bass. We got this kind of almost gospel sound in our vocals.’
‘COME ON (LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL)’
‘Come On’ by Earl King has been done many times, probably most famously by Jimi Hendrix on Electric Ladyland. Once again, I just went back to the original and I loved it. I think all guitar players love to play that song. It’s a very powerful song to do. It sort of reminded me of when I was doing Sailor and Brave New World, when I was working on guitar parts and approaching songs that way.’
‘ALL YOUR LOVE (I MISS LOVING)’
‘All Your Love (I Miss Loving)’ is another song I’ve been playing all my life. When I was very young in Chicago, Otis Rush was very good to me. I have recorded lots of Otis Rush tunes. They’re all original, they’re all great. I refer to this one as a love rumba. And that’s a good thing to have in your repertoire if you’re a guitar player – a good love rumba.’
‘YOU GOT ME DIZZY’
‘You Got Me Dizzy’ was a big hit single when I was in high school. It played all over the South. To me, there’s something so special and unique about Jimmy Reed. He’s sold millions of records. He had lots of hit records. He was much bigger than Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, or any of those people. We did our own version of it, in three-part harmony. Not exactly the way Jimmy would do it. I’ve been recording Jimmy Reed tunes all my life, and this is one of my best.’
‘OOH POO PAH DOO’
‘I had to play ‘Ooh Poo Pah Doo’ at every gig I did from the time I was 13 years old until I graduated from college. ‘Ooh Poo Pah Doo’ was just that song. Then it just sort of went away. I started doing it again when Bobby Mallach was playing tenor in the band. I had this very kind of uptight, popping, James Brown version. We pulled it out again last year, and people got up and started wiggling, coming down the aisles. It’s really fun to see a big crowd get infected by ‘Ooh Poo Pah Doo.’ Things get a little crazy. And, of course, that’s exactly what that song was all about.’
