dean kesler

I am grateful that Steve Miller covered Paul Pena’s song Jet Airliner.

I heard Miller’s version on the way into work this morning. There was a time (apparently up until today) when I would immediately change the station because I couldn’t stand listening to it once I’d heard the original version. Today though, with the windows down and the volume up, was different. Growing up I was a big Steve Miller Band fan and still when I think classic rock, that group is one of a dozen bands that immediately come to mind. Singing along reminded me of some great memories growing up and how much I used to like the song. It also made me realize I needed to stop being such an elitist snob and appreciate Miller’s version because without it, I’d have never heard Pena’s original. Turns out that Miller’s version proved pretty valuable to Paul Pena as well. I now appreciate them both, though for very different reasons.

In addition to an interesting back story, there are some noteworthy Madison connections to the song. Ben Sidran (keyboardist for the Steve Miller Band) produced New Train for Paul Pena when it was recorded in 1973. Due to a contractual dispute between Pena, his management, and Bearsville Records, New Train wasn’t actually released until 2000, just a few years before Pena’s death. Back in their days at UW Madison, Sidran was friends with Miller and a former bandmate in The Ardells (which included Miller and Boz Scaggs). Sidran gave an unreleased copy of New Train to Miller, who recorded Jet Airliner with his band for their 1977 album Book of Dreams. The single went to #8 on the charts and royalties from that single became Pena’s primary source of income in his later years.