Abracadabra – Steve Miller Band | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#1 for 2 weeks); 1982
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
From 1959 until 1969 Steve Miller and Boz Scaggs were off-and-on band buddies, first in the Marksman, then the Ardells/Fabulous Night Trains, and finally the Steve Miller Band.
Scaggs and Miller laid down a regional hit, Living In The U.S.A., before Boz split to go solo. Five years down the road, Steve opened up 1974 with the #1 smash The Joker, and duplicated the feat at the end of 1976 with Rock ‘n Me.
Classic rock standards Fly Like An Eagle (#2) and Jet Airliner (#8) followed then Steve’s singles streak cooled off. It looked as if the days of multi-platinum sales were over. Five more years passed.
Suddenly, in 1982, the pushing-40-years-of-age Miller was back on the scene, in front of the MTV audience, performing an infectious ditty called Abracadabra. It, too, reached #1, yet, failed to turn follow-up singles into hits, and marked Steve’s final appearance in the Top 40.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Steve Miller
- Gary Mallaber
Lyrics Written by:
- Steve Miller
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).