In 1982 Steve Miller released what would be his biggest hit in Europe?!
"Abracadabra" was a song that was inspired by Miller's meeting Diana Ross of The Supremes, when they performed on an episode of the pop music show Hullabaloo in the 60s. The song was a bit of a departure of Miller's previous work as it had a more electronic feel, which caused his label Capitol Records to not support it.
"Capitol didn't believe in it and didn't want to release it. I had a different deal with Phonogram in Europe. When it came out in Europe, I cancelled my American tour because it was No. 1 everywhere in the world, except the States." Steve Miller said.
Because, of it's European success, Capitol released it in the U.S., where it climbed to No. 1. and spent two weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the biggest hit of Steve Miller's career.
The song even got a second life when it was sampled in the Eminem song "Houdini", which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Not a band trick for The Joker.