Steve Miller’s Magical №1: ‘Abracadabra’
‘100 Greatest 80s Rock Songs’ Book Excerpt
“Abracadabra” was a №1 hit for the Steve Miller Band in 1982. “‘Abracadabra’ started off as a great piece of music with really atrocious lyrics,” Miller told the Dallas Morning News.
“One day I was out skiing in Sun Valley and, lo and behold, who did I see on the mountain but Diana Ross. I skied down off the mountain to go have lunch. I had played with Diana Ross and the Supremes on Hullabaloo in the ’60s, and I started thinking about the Supremes, and I wrote the lyrics to ‘Abracadabra’ in 15 minutes.Now ‘Abracadabra’ is a classic. It’s one of my favorite songs to play musically.
“My fan base now is real different. I started playing again in the ’90s and created this whole new audience. I played for more people from 1990 to now than I did from 1960 to 1980. In the ’90s my audience was really young, ages 18–24.
“‘Abracadabra’ is the biggest song I’ve ever had. The way we play it now is a lot heavier and a lot better, I think. I’ve done the song with a 60-man guitar orchestra. I’ve done the song with Kenny Chesney’s band. I’ve done the song with a classical violinist.”
Miller has been outspoken about the competence and integrity of the music industry. “When ‘Abracadabra’ came out in the United States, my record company said, ‘Ah, this is terrible, nothing’s going to happen,’ Miller told the Wall Street Journal.
“So I canceled my American tour and went to Europe. When I got to Europe it was already №1 all over the world except the United States. And then it became №1 in the United States. So those kinds of things happened that are above and beyond record company stuff.
“I was never one of these kind of guys who felt like I had a great relationship with my record company. I was always at war with them. I was always auditing them and suing them. Basically, telling them what a bad job they were doing. And I was right. They took advantage of everybody.”
Frank Mastropolo is the author of 100 Greatest 80s Rock Songs, one of the Greatest Performances series. For more on our latest projects, visit Edgar Street Books.
