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| Photo by: Elaine Mayes. Steve Miller Band Children Of The Future - Capitol 2920. Released June 1968. L-R top row. Tim Davis and Lonnie Turner. Bottom Row. Jim Peterman, Steve Miller and Boz Skaggs. |
| Steve Miller Band founding member Lonnie Turner dead at age 66. |
For immediate release: Steve Miller Band founding member Lonnie Turner died Sunday, April 28, at Avamere Care Center in Lebanon, Oregon from lung cancer and complications from early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. He was 66 years old.
“Lonnie and I started out together in 1966 in Berkeley,” said Miller. “We became best pals the first time we played together. He was in the band from the beginning and played a major roll in recording the first four albums as well as the later Fly Like an Eagle and Book of dreams albums. He was a sweet man who loved playing music and he was very creative. ‘Jungle Love’ was a good example of Lonnie’s skill at writing lyrics.”
Turner first left the band in December 1969 during sessions for the group’s fourth album, “Your Saving Grace,” and returned in September 1975 to record basic tracks that would comprise both the album “Fly Like an Eagle” and most of the subsequent “Book of Dreams.” Turner continued to tour with the band through 1979.
Known to friends as “L.T.,” Leonard Lewis Turner was born in Berkeley, California in 1947 and dropped out of Stanford University to join the Miller band. He taught himself bass to play with Miller, said his ex-wife Gail Ashcroft.
“He could play blues,” said Miller. “He had a real good finger-picking style.”
Miller and Turner held the first rehearsals for what would become the Steve Miller Band in an vacant school basement on the University of California campus during Thanksgiving break in 1966.
Through most of his career, he played a prototype model of a Fender Music Man bass that he bought at a NAMM Show after his other instrument had been stolen just before the Miller band backed Chuck Berry for a live album recorded at the Fillmore Auditorium in 1967.
In addition to Miller, Turner played with Dave Mason, Eddie Money, Tommy Tutone and others. By the early ‘80s, Turner had left touring and was working as sound engineer for the Hopland Brewery in Mendocino County. He moved to Portland, Oregon in 1991, where he kept low-key involvement in the local music scene including work with songwriter Chris Morrisette.
Turner is survived by his two children, John, 26, and Natalie, 23, and a grandson, Leo (named after him), who will be a year old in November. His son John plays the Music Man bass in his Grants Pass, Oregon rock band, The Herbal Crew.
Steve Miller Band founding member Lonnie Turner dead at age 66. <MORE PHOTOS |
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| Photo: 2013 Steve Miller Band L-R Jacob Petersen, Joseph Wooten, Steve Miller, Kenny Lee Lewis, Sonny Charles & Gordy Knudtson. Photographer: Tim Brown |
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| Live At The Austin City Limits DVD New Release |
| 2 hour plus DVD in HD live from the Moody Theater. Get it NOW |
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| View a collection of webisodes, live videos and performance videos past and present. |
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Albums & Singles |
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Over 30 Million Served |
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| 2013 EVENTS |
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the SMB juggernaut started up on May 17th in Albuqureque for a 35 show run that will traverse the USA and Canada ending the summer at the Magic City Blues Festival in Bilings, Montana August 10th. (TOUR page for ticket information) |
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Andy Johns, co-producer of the two most recent Steve Miller Band albums, “Bingo!” (2010) and “Let Your Hair Down” (2011), died April 7 in Los Angeles. He was 62 years old.
Johns, who had one of the most distinguished engineering careers in classic rock, worked on landmark albums by Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones and many others. He would be famous alone for creating the John Bonham drum sound on “When the Levee Breaks” by Led Zeppelin. (Link here) |
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Steve is guest artist for the Stamp's Family Chairtable Foundation distinguished visitor series "A Life In Song" (Link here) |
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Graphic artist Storm Thorgerson, who designed the covers to the last two Steve Miller Band albums, “Bingo!” (2010) and “Let Your Hair Down:” (2011), died April 18, 2013. (Link here) |
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The only thing missing at The Sydney Entertainment Centre, for Carlos Santana and Steve Miller Band’s shared bill, was much longer hair on the audience, the smell of marijuana smoke, and dancing in the aisles. (more here) |
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Brisbane, Australia. Before playing hit song Abracadabra, Steve Miller promised the Boondall crowd at Thursday night's concert he'd produce some magic, and he wasn't wrong. (more here) |
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Auckland, NZ. "Guitarist Miller - whose forearms and hands have veins like power cables - opened the night with a terrific set which fired off smoothly honed hits (the subtle Fly Like an Eagle showing masterful sustain and delay on the quicksilver solo), tough rock (Jet Airliner), elements of blues, an acoustic set which included a reworked Gangster of Love and The Window.
As a double bill this was exceptional, and when Miller joined Santana's band at the end for some leathery blues (Otis Rush's All Your Love, a homage to John Lee Hooker) it rounded out a night. Quite extraordinary." (more here) |
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The honorees were announced in Houston by the Texas Cultural Trust. Since the award's inception in 2001 the nonprofit has honored 71 Texans for their contributions to the arts, music, culture, education and business. Willie Nelson and Tommy Lee Jones are former recipients. (more here) |
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The most photographed safety curtain in recent Glasgow theatre history – featuring a projected image of a grizzled cowpoke "Gangster of Love" – gave way to reveal an improbably youthful looking and, more to the point, youthful-sounding Steve Miller.(heraldScotland) |
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The Space Cowboy was back and on monstrously good form. The gig was utterly sublime, which, while sounding polished and refined, still managed to have the classic Steve Miller “edge”. The audience were very obviously fans, as the cheers as the band entered showed. From the first note, the whole show exuded quality and, was what this writer can only describe as blatantly American, which in a Rock context, is no bad thing..(musicosis UK) |
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SHOW PHOTOS: The last time Steve Miller performed in Austin, he was helping to inaugurate the new ACL Moody Theater, including the first taping of KLRU's Austin City Limits in its new home. Sunday night, Miller returned to ACL Live at the Moody Theater for the 35th date on the Steve Miller Band World Tour 2012. (Link here) |
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What Do You Say: Thank You Les – A Musical Nod To A Pioneering Legend
From All Music Genres: Steve Miller, Keith Richards, Billy F Gibbons, Jose Feliciano, Slash, Bucky Pizzarelli and many others…. . (More + gallery here) |
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Edsel Records has announced its reissue program of the first five albums by the Steve Miller Band, originally released between 1968 and 1970, issued in Special Digipak Editions. The albums will be released on Monday 8th October 2012.. (Link here) |
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