Born 2 B Blue is a studio album by Steve Miller, released in 1988 by Capitol Records.[2] It is the only solo album that Miller has released, making it his only album not to be credited under the name Steve Miller Band. It consists primarily of jazz standards reinterpreted in a more modern context. It represented a departure from Miller's work with the Steve Miller Band. The album was Miller's final release for Capitol Records, after 20 years with the label.

Born 2 B Blue
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 1988[1]
Recordedin Seattle, Minneapolis, Los Angeles and New York
GenreEasy listening, jazz
Length42:22
LabelCapitol
ProducerSteve Miller
Steve Miller chronology
Living in the 20th Century
(1986)
Born 2 B Blue
(1988)
Wide River
(1993)

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music     [4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide     [5]

The Philadelphia Inquirer called the album "perhaps the most anemic, far-removed expression of blues sentiment to surface in years".[6]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah"Allie Wrubel, Ray Gilbert4:13
2."Ya Ya"Lee Dorsey, Morris Levy, Clarence Lewis, Morgan Robinson3:37
3."God Bless the Child"Billie Holiday, Arthur Herzog Jr.5:00
4."Filthy McNasty"Horace Silver2:50
5."Born to Be Blue"Mel Tormé, Robert Wells5:25
6."Mary Ann"Ray Charles4:49
7."Just a Little Bit"Buster Brown, Ralph Bass, Fats Washington, John Thornton4:04
8."When Sunny Gets Blue"Marvin Fisher, Jack Segal4:36
9."Willow Weep for Me"Ann Ronell5:12
10."Red Top"Lionel Hampton, Ben Kynard2:31

Personnel

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Additional personnel
  • Milt Jackson – vibraphone on "Born to be Blue"
  • Phil Woods – alto saxophone on "When Sunny Gets Blue" & "Red Top"
  • Bobby Malach – tenor saxophone on "Mary Ann," "God Bless the Child," "Filthy McNasty," & "Just a Little Bit"
  • Ricky Peterson – all programming on "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah," additional synthesizers on "Ya Ya" & "Just a Little Bit"
  • Bruce Paulson – trombone on "God Bless the Child"
  • Steve Faison – percussion on "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah"
  • Steve Wiese (engineer) – recorded and mixed at Creation Audio, Minneapolis

References

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  1. ^ "Great Rock Discography". p. 548.
  2. ^ Koster, Rick (2000). Texas Music. St. Martin's Publishing Group. p. 131.
  3. ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Born 2B Blue – Steve Miller". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-08-14.
  4. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  5. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 475.
  6. ^ Moon, Tom (September 25, 1988). "Steve Miller Born 2 B Blue". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. L12.