Fly Like an Eagle (album)

Fly Like an Eagle is the ninth studio album by American rock band Steve Miller Band, released on May 14, 1976, by Capitol Records in the United States, Canada and Japan and Mercury Records in Europe.^{[citation needed]} The album was a commercial success, spawning three hit singles: the title track, "Take the Money and Run" and "Rock'n Me", and was later certified 4x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Fly Like an Eagle
Studio album by Steve Miller Band
Released	May 15, 1976 (1976-05-15)[1]
Recorded	1975–1976
Studio	CBS (San Francisco, California)[2]
Genre	Space rock[3] blues rock[3] pop rock[4]
Length	38:07
Label	Capitol Mercury
Producer	Steve Miller
Steve Miller Band chronology
The Joker (1973) Fly Like an Eagle (1976) Book of Dreams (1977)
Singles from Fly Like an Eagle
"Take the Money and Run" Released: April 26, 1976[5] "Rock'n Me" Released: August 1976 (US)[6] "Fly Like an Eagle" Released: August 13, 1976 (UK)[7] "Serenade" Released: January 28, 1977 (UK)[8]

Fly Like an Eagle was voted number 400 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).^[9] In 2012, the album was ranked number 445 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time."^[10] It remains a staple of rock, with its singles having remained in constant rotation on classic rock radio in the United States and worldwide. In 2025, the album was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry.^[11]

On the album's cover, Miller is posing with a black left-handed Fender Stratocaster that Jimi Hendrix had originally ordered from Manny's Music but which Miller ended up purchasing (Hendrix died before it arrived) and re-stringing for a right-handed player. The guitar was stolen after the album's release.^[12]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Christgau's Record Guide	B+[13]
Rolling Stone	(favorable)[14]
The Village Voice	B−[15]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[16]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine in a retrospective review for AllMusic 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".^[17]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Space Intro" (Instrumental)	Steve Miller	1:15
2.	"Fly Like an Eagle"	Miller	4:42
3.	"Wild Mountain Honey"	Steve McCarty	4:51
4.	"Serenade"	Miller Chris McCarty	3:13
5.	"Dance, Dance, Dance"	Miller Joseph Cooper Brenda Cooper	2:18
6.	"Mercury Blues"	K. C. Douglas Bob Geddins	3:30

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
7.	"Take the Money and Run"	Miller	2:50
8.	"Rock'n Me"	Miller	3:05
9.	"You Send Me" (*)	Sam Cooke	2:42
10.	"Blue Odyssey" (Instrumental)	Miller	1:00
11.	"Sweet Maree"	Miller	4:16
12.	"The Window"	Miller Joseph Cooper	4:19

* Contains a brief sample from Cheech & Chong'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, ARP Odyssey (on tracks 1, 2, 10, 12), producer
• Lonnie Turner – bass (on all tracks but 12)
• Gary Mallaber – drums (on all tracks but 12)

Additional personnel

• James Cotton – harmonica (on track 11)
• Curley Cooke – guitar (on track 12)
• Les Dudek – guitar (on track 12)
• Charles Calamise – bass (on track 12)
• Kenny Johnson – drums (on track 12)
• John McFee – dobro (on track 5)
• Joachim Young – Hammond B3 organ (on tracks 2 and 12)

Technical

• John Palladino – executive producer
• Mike Fusaro – recording engineer
• 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 Amphitheatre 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 and Joe Satriani. 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

1. Swingtown
2. True Fine Love
3. Abracadabra
4. Dance Dance Dance
5. Wild Mountain Honey
6. Nature Boy
7. Mercury Blues
8. The Stake
9. Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma
10. I Love the Life I Live, I Live the Life I Love (featuring George Thorogood)
11. Got Love If You Want It (featuring George Thorogood)
12. Gangster of Love (featuring George Thorogood)
13. All Your Love (I Miss Loving) (featuring Joe Satriani)
14. I'm Tore Down (featuring Joe Satriani)
15. Slow Blues (featuring Joe Satriani)
16. Crossroads (featuring Joe Satriani)
17. Fly Like an Eagle (featuring Joe Satriani)
18. Take the Money and Run
19. Rock'n Me
20. Jungle Love
21. The Joker
22. Encore: Serenade (featuring Joe Satriani)

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1976) Peak position Canadian Top Albums[18] 4 Netherlands Top 100 Albums[19] 7 UK Albums Chart[20] 11 US Billboard 200[21] 3 Chart (1977) Peak position German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22] 20 New Zealand Top 40 Albums[23] 16 US R&B Albums[21] 19

Year-end charts Chart (1976) Position Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[24] 32 US Billboard 200[25] 46 Chart (1977) Position Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[26] 48 US Billboard 200[27] 11

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[28]	2× Platinum	200,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[29]	Gold	100,000^
United States (RIAA)[30]	4× Platinum	4,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.