''Fly Like an Eagle'' is the ninth studio album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Steve Miller Band The Steve Miller Band is an American rock music, rock band formed in 1966 in San Francisco, California. The band is led by Steve Miller (musician), Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals. The group had a string of mid- to late-1970s hit singles t ...

, released in May 1976 by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

in the United States, Canada and Japan and

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

in Europe. The album was a success, spawning three singles: the title track, "

Take the Money and Run ''Take the Money and Run'' is a 1969 American mockumentary comedy film directed by Woody Allen. Allen co-wrote the screenplay with Mickey Rose and stars alongside Janet Margolin. The film chronicles the life of Virgil Starkwell, an inept bank rob ...

" and "

Rock'n Me "Rock'n Me" (also known as "Rock 'N Me" or "Rock 'N' Me") is a song by American rock band Steve Miller Band, released in 1976 from the band's ninth studio album '' Fly Like an Eagle'' (1976). It was written by primary band leader and songwriter ...

", and eventually receiving quadruple

platinum certification Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

from the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. ''Fly Like an Eagle'' was voted number 400 in the third edition of

Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British writer and entrepreneur. He founded, and was the editor-in-chief of, the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', described by ''The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged". Along wit ...

's ''

All Time Top 1000 Albums ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'' is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. The book was first published by Guinness Publishing in 1994. The list presented is the result of over 200,000 votes cast by the ...

'' (2000). In 2012, the album was ranked number 445 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine's list of "

The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indust ...

." The album remains a staple of rock and its singles remain in constant rotation on

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

radio stations in the United States and worldwide.

Critical reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine in a retrospective review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

felt that "the focus brings about his strongest set of songs (both originals and covers), plus a detailed atmospheric production where everything fits." However, he said that "it still can sound fairly dated", but concluded the review by saying that "its best moments ..are classics of the idiom." ''Rolling Stone'' voted it 1976's Best Album. Jay Cridlin of the ''Tampa Bay Times'' described "Dance, Dance, Dance" as "the best John Denver song John Denver never recorded".

Track listing

* Contains a brief sample from

Cheech & Chong Cheech & Chong are a comedy duo consisting of Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong. The duo found commercial and cultural success in the 1970s and 1980s with their stand-up routines, studio recordings, and feature films, which were based on the hippie a ...

's comedy routine "Championship Wrestling" (from '' Cheech & Chong's Wedding Album'', 1974), inserted after the first verse. The sample includes the words "...c'mon, don't be nervous!"

Personnel

Steve Miller Band

* Steve Miller – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards,

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...

ARP Odyssey The ARP Odyssey is an analog synthesizer introduced by ARP Instruments in 1972. History ARP developed the Odyssey as a direct competitor to the Moog Minimoog and an answer to the demand for more affordable, portable, and less complicated "perf ...

(on tracks 1, 2, 10, 12), producer * Lonnie Turner – bass (on all tracks but 12) *

Gary Mallaber Gary Mallaber (born October 11, 1946 in Buffalo) is a Los Angeles session drummer, percussionist and singer. He attended Lafayette High School, where he and Bobby Militello, along with other musicians, were mentored by saxophonist Sam Scam ...

– drums (on all tracks but 12)

Additional personnel

James Cotton James Henry Cotton (July 1, 1935 – March 16, 2017) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many fellow blues artists and with his own band. He also played drums early in his career. ...

– harmonica (on track 11) * Curley Cooke – guitar (on track 12) *

Les Dudek Les Dudek (born August 2, 1952, at Naval Air Station, Quonset Point, Rhode Island, United States) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. In addition to his solo material, Dudek has played guitar with Steve Miller Band, The Dudek-Finnig ...

– guitar (on track 12) * Charles Calamise – bass (on track 12) * Kenny Johnson – drums (on track 12) *

John McFee John McFee (born September 9, 1950, Santa Cruz, California) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist, and long-time member of The Doobie Brothers. Biography Some of McFee's early and non-Doobie ...

– dobro (on track 5) * Joachim Young –

B3 organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

(on tracks 2 and 12)

Technical

* John Palladino – executive producer * Mike Fusaro –

recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

* Jim Gains – mastering * Susan McCardle – photography * David Stahl – photography

Quadraphonic and original editions

A Quadraphonic mix of the album was available on the Quadraphonic 8-Track cartridge format (in which Track 1 - "Space Intro" is edited into " Fly Like an Eagle" as one track, and Track 6 - "Take the Money and Run" intro repeats twice). On the U.K. original vinyl release "Space Intro" does not appear on track listing. A 40-second track called "Space Odyssey" segues into "Wild Mountain Honey".

30th Anniversary Edition

In 2006 the album was re-released to celebrate its 30th Anniversary. The CD is digitally remastered and includes three bonus tracks and a bonus DVD features a concert performance at Mountain View, California's

Shoreline Amphitheater Shoreline Amphitheatre is an outdoor amphitheater located in Mountain View, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The venue has a capacity of 22,500, with 6,500 reserved seats and 16,000 general admission on the lawn. When the parking lot ...

in 2005 with over two hours of music in 5.1 Surround Sound (Note this surround mix is not based on the QUAD mix as track 1 and 6 are not different from the standard releases). Guest musicians include

George Thorogood George Lawrence Thorogood (born February 24, 1950) is an American musician, singer and songwriter from Wilmington, Delaware. His "high-energy boogie-blues" sound became a staple of 1980s rock radio, with hits like his original songs "Bad to the ...

and

Joe Satriani Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". ''AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and guitar teacher. Early in his ...

. The DVD also features a lengthy interview with Steve Miller, archive footage, never-before-seen photographs, and early demo recordings. Live at Shoreline Amphitheatre September 17, 2005 #Swingtown #True Fine Love #Abracadabra #Dance Dance Dance #Wild Mountain Honey #Nature Boy #Mercury Blues #The Stake #Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma #I Love the Life I Live, I Live the Life I Love (featuring

) #Got Love If You Want It (featuring George Thorogood) #Gangster of Love (featuring George Thorogood) #All Your Love (I Miss Loving) (featuring

) #I'm Tore Down (featuring Joe Satriani) #Slow Blues (featuring Joe Satriani) #Crossroads (featuring Joe Satriani) #Fly Like an Eagle (featuring Joe Satriani) #Take the Money and Run #Rock'n Me #Jungle Love #The Joker #Encore: Serenade (featuring Joe Satriani)

Charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fly Like An Eagle 1976 albums Steve Miller Band albums Capitol Records albums Mercury Records albums