Op de 50th Anniversary edition van Steve Miller's classic album The Joker neemt Miller je mee langs de weg die hij bewandelde om tot zijn meesterwerk te komen. Aan de hand van demo's, live opnames en natuurlijk de bekende albumstukken vertelt Miller aan het begin van elke plaatkant hoe de nummers tot stand kwamen. Dus van twee versies van ‘Lidi’ naar ‘Travelin’ naar het uiteindelijke ‘The Joker’.

Steve Miller is honoring the 50th anniversary of his chart-topping, Platinum eighth studio album, The Joker, with a new box set chronicling the artistic journey that led to its creation. J50: The Evolution of The Joker showcases Miller’s process as he expands and reimagines his craft, ultimately finding a strikingly original new sound that brought him to a wider audience than ever before and set the stage for even greater successes to come.

Curated by Miller himself, J50 dives deep into the creative process of writing and assembling The Joker and amplifies its enduring magic by chronologically placing the original album tracks alongside 27 previously unreleased recordings from Miller’s personal archive – including songwriting tapes made by Miller on his TEAC 4-track in hotel rooms on the road and at live performances, plus studio outtakes and rehearsals – as well as six audio commentary tracks from Miller and exclusive liner notes from both Miller and legendary journalist Anthony DeCurtis. J50: The Evolution of The Joker arrives via Universal on Friday, September 15.

Released as a single in October 1973, “The Joker” proved, in Miller’s words, “a real, no kidding, non-stop hit,” played on virtually every radio station around the world. “The Joker” rose to #1 on Billboard’s “Hot 100” while also reaching the top 20 in many countries around the world. In September 1990, more than a decade later, "The Joker" made history by returning to the US, UK, and European charts after being featured in a popular TV commercial for Levi’s – the longest-ever gap between transatlantic chart-toppers.

With its title track seemingly everywhere (as well as its indelible masked album cover by famed photographer Norman Seeff), The Joker album was quickly certified platinum by the RIAA – Miller’s first up to that time. Not only was The Joker significant in its own artistic right, but it also positioned Miller for the next, vitally important stage of his career, when he would become one of the biggest hitmakers and most definitive artists of the 70s. Today, Steve Miller’s releases combine for more than 75 million in sales as well as five billion streams. He has multiple #1s and five Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 songs which have spent 226 weeks collectively on the chart. Miller also has four Top 10 albums on the Billboard 200, which have collectively spent 528 weeks on that chart.