Born 2 B Blue
1988 studio album by Steve Miller
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Born 2 B Blue is the debut solo album by Steve Miller, released in 1988 by Capitol Records,[2] and his only album to not be released under the Steve Miller Band moniker. 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 | ||||
| Released | September 1988[1] | |||
| Recorded | in Seattle, Minneapolis, Los Angeles and New York | |||
| Genre | Easy listening, jazz | |||
| Length | 42:22 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | Steve Miller | |||
| Steve Miller chronology | ||||
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Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| 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
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" | Allie Wrubel, Ray Gilbert | 4:13 |
| 2. | "Ya Ya" | Lee Dorsey, Morris Levy, Clarence Lewis, Morgan Robinson | 3:37 |
| 3. | "God Bless the Child" | Billie Holiday, Arthur Herzog Jr. | 5:00 |
| 4. | "Filthy McNasty" | Horace Silver | 2:50 |
| 5. | "Born to Be Blue" | Mel Tormé, Robert Wells | 5:25 |
| 6. | "Mary Ann" | Ray Charles | 4:49 |
| 7. | "Just a Little Bit" | Buster Brown, Ralph Bass, Fats Washington, John Thornton | 4:04 |
| 8. | "When Sunny Gets Blue" | Marvin Fisher, Jack Segal | 4:36 |
| 9. | "Willow Weep for Me" | Ann Ronell | 5:12 |
| 10. | "Red Top" | Lionel Hampton, Ben Kynard | 2:31 |
Personnel
- Steve Miller – guitar, vocals
- Billy Peterson – bass guitar
- Ben Sidran – keyboards
- Gordy Knudtson – drums
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
Charts
| Chart (1988) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[7] | 95 |
| US Billboard 200[8] | 108 |
