Steve Miller was born on October 5, 1943 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Steve's family was very involved in music. His mother was a jazz-influenced singer and his father was a pathologist who was very interested in the world of music. Dr. Miller was friends with many musicians, which contributed greatly to young Steve's musical development. One of his father's friends included Les Paul, who showed Steve some chords on a guitar when he was five. Les Paul proved to be a very valuable mentor to Steve and he became a good family friend. When Steve was seven years old, his family moved to Dallas, where he was exposed to a different type of artist who did not typically visit Milwaukee. His father took him to see greats such as Hank Williams, Chuck Berry and Carl Perkins. Steve was particularly drawn to T-Bone Walker, the father of Texas-style electric blues. This proved very influential in Steve's life, as evidenced by the blues sound he exhibited in his guitar playing. In 1955, Steve Miller started his first band at the age of twelve, the Marksmen. This band consisted of guitarists James Burton and Bob Hayden, and he acquired Barron Cass to play drums. Steve taught his older brother Buddy to play bass so he would have someone to drive them to their gigs. They played songs by Ray Charles and the Four Freshman. Steve finally got the chance to show off his showmanship, like spinning splits or throwing the guitar behind his head in the middle of a song. After graduating from high school, Steve moved to Madison, Wisconsin to attend college. At the University of Wisconsin he began his studies in literature. Here he gathered a group called the Ardells. Ben Sidran played keyboard and Steve convinced his friend Boz Scaggs to play rhythm guitar. The band enjoyed some success, but they grew tired of playing meaningless parties and other small gigs. Miller decided to study literature during his final year at the University of Copenhagen. After returning to the United States, he heard an act from the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. This caught his attention and he left for Chicago to enter the blues scene. At this point, he only had six credits left before graduating. Once in Chicago, he did session work for Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy and Howlin' Wolf..