Greatest Hits 1974–78

Greatest Hits 1974–78
Cover art by Kelley and Mouse
Greatest hits album by Steve Miller Band
Released	November 1978
Recorded	1973–1977
Genre	Rock
Length	43:21
Label	Capitol (US) Mercury (Europe)
Producer	Steve Miller
Steve Miller Band chronology
Book of Dreams (1977) Greatest Hits 1974–78 (1978) Circle of Love (1981)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	A−[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]

Greatest Hits 1974–78 is a compilation album by the Steve Miller Band released in November 1978, presenting the band's hits from 1973–1978.^{[n 1]}

Content

The album features the title track from 1973's The Joker plus 13 tracks taken from Fly Like an Eagle (1976) and Book of Dreams (1977). As a sign of the album-oriented rock times, all but one track came from their last two albums even though they had eleven studio albums at the time. The shorter 7-inch single versions of "Jet Airliner", "Swingtown", "The Joker", and "Fly Like an Eagle" are featured on this compilation.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Steve Miller, except where noted..

Side A

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original Release	Length
1.	"Swingtown"	Steve Miller Chris McCarty	1977 ~ Book of Dreams	3:27
2.	"Jungle Love"	Lonnie Turner Greg Douglass	1977 ~ Book of Dreams	3:02
3.	"Take the Money and Run"		1976 ~ Fly Like An Eagle	2:48
4.	"Rock'n Me"		1976 ~ Fly Like An Eagle	3:05
5.	"Serenade"	Miller Chris McCarty	1976 ~ Fly Like An Eagle	3:10
6.	"True Fine Love"		1977 ~ Book of Dreams	2:38
7.	"The Stake"	David Denny	1977 ~ Book of Dreams	3:55

Side B

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original Release	Length
8.	"The Joker"	Miller Eddie Curtis Ahmet Ertegun	1973 ~ The Joker	3:36
9.	"Fly Like an Eagle"		1976 ~ Fly Like An Eagle	3:00
10.	"Threshold"	Miller Byron Allred	1977 ~ Book of Dreams	1:04
11.	"Jet Airliner"	Paul Pena	1977 ~ Book of Dreams	3:20
12.	"Dance, Dance, Dance"	Miller Joseph Cooper Brenda Cooper	1976 ~ Fly Like An Eagle	2:16
13.	"Winter Time"		1977 ~ Book of Dreams	3:09
14.	"Wild Mountain Honey"	Steve McCarty	1976 ~ Fly Like An Eagle	4:50

A later U.S. reissue cassette version of the album manufactured by Capitol Records omits four of the above tracks: "Serenade" and "The Stake" on side A, and "Threshold" and "Dance, Dance, Dance" from Side B; the order of the tracks remains the same.

All selections published by Sailor Music, except "The Joker" by Sailor Music/Unichappel Music, Inc. and "Jet Airliner" by Sailor Music/No Thought Music.^[5]

Personnel

• Steve Miller – synthesizer, guitar, keyboards, vocals, producer, compilation producer
• David Denny – guitar, rhythm guitar
• Greg Douglass – guitar, slide guitar
• John McFee – Dobro
• Bob Glaub – bass guitar
• Gerald Johnson – bass guitar
• Lonnie Turner – bass guitar
• Byron Allred – synthesizer, piano, keyboards
• Joachim Jymm Young – Hammond organ
• Dickie Thompson – organ, clavinet
• Norton Buffalo – harmonica on tracks 7 and 13
• John King – drums
• Gary Mallaber – percussion, drums

Production

• Roberta Ballard – production manager
• Mike Fusaro – engineer
• Jim Gaines – engineer, mixing
• Gene Hicks – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
• Steve Hoffman – remastering
• Win Kutz – mixing assistant
• Marcia McGovern – pre-production
• John Palladino – executive producer
• Jay Ranellucci – engineer, mixing

Artwork and design^[6]

• Kelley and Mouse – Cover illustration & design
• Sam Shepard – cover lettering
• David Stahl – photography
• John Van Hamersveld – design

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1978–2019) Peak position Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[7] 18 US Billboard 200[8] 18 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[9] 11

Year-end charts Chart (2019) Position US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[10] 54 Chart (2020) Position US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[11] 42 Chart (2021) Position US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[12] 49

Certification

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[13]	Diamond	1,000,000^^
United States (RIAA)[14]	15× Platinum	15,000,000^‡
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of best-selling albums in the United States

Notes

1. Not every song on the album was released as a single, but among those that were, "The Joker" began its chart run on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1973, and "Swingtown" ended its run on the same chart in January 1978.^[4]

References

1. AllMusic review
2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: M". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 8, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
3. Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
4. "Steve Miller Band: Chart History, Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
5. Directly from the liner notes.
6. "All sizes | 10 - 1978 - Steve Miller Band - Greatest Hits 1974 - 78 - D- | Flickr - Photo Sharing!". Flickr. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
7. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0113a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
8. "The Steve Miller Band Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
9. "The Steve Miller Band Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
10. "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
11. "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
12. "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
13. "Canadian album certifications – Steve Miller Band – Greatest Hits 1974–78". Music Canada.
14. "American album certifications – Steve Miller Band – Greatest Hits 1974–78". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 30, 2021.