Steve Miller may be best known for writing “The Joker” in 1973, with its playful lines like “some call me the gangster of love”. But in reality, Miller has always been clear about one thing: he’s not someone who can be easily fooled.
That sharper side of his character came out when speaking about Jimi Hendrix — one of rock’s greatest icons. While Hendrix’s influence and legacy are undeniable, Miller admitted that he found one of Hendrix’s most famous moments deeply unimpressive.
At the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, Hendrix set his Fender Stratocaster on fire in a now-legendary performance. Hendrix explained the act as a kind of ritualistic sacrifice, saying, “You sacrifice things you love. I love my guitar.” But Miller, who was there to see it live, wasn’t moved by the spectacle.
“I thought that was pathetic,” Miller told The Washington Post in 2019. “When I saw Jimi Hendrix stop playing the music he was playing and get down on his knees and pull out a can of lighter fluid and squirt it on the thing and light it, I went, ‘Boy, this really fucking sucks.’”
Miller’s blunt honesty reflects his practical, no-nonsense approach to both music and the business around it. He’s long been outspoken about the excesses of the music industry, and his confidence in his worth started young.
Recalling his first band, The Marksman, Miller shared how even at age 12 he refused to let promoters talk him down on price. “They’d say, ‘That’s a lot of money,’ and I’d just say, ‘Thanks for calling, man. If you change your mind, let me know,’ and hang up,” he explained. More often than not, the phone would ring again — and the band would get booked at his asking price.
That early sense of professionalism and self-belief shaped Miller’s career. Whether dismissing overblown theatrics or standing firm in business, he’s always made it clear: for him, the music has to come first.
