Ben Sidran

Chicago-born Ben Sidran (1943) is best-known for having written Steve Miller's hit songs The Joker and Space Cowboy. In fact, he is very much connected with Miller's success, having played keyboards on Children of the Future, Brave New World, Your Saving Grace and Number Five, and producing Miller's Recall the Beginning: A Journey From Eden. The doctor of philosophy (Sussex University) has also worked with Boz Scaggs (also an early Steve Miller collaborator), Glyn Johns, Eric Clapton, Gene Clark, Georgie Fame, Michael Franks, Diana Ross, Van Morrison, Mose Allison and The Rolling Stones. In 1998 he won an Emmy award for the scoring of Vietnam: Long Time Coming. He has written two books about jazz (Black Talk and Talking Jazz) and was responsible for many award-winning programs about jazz on radio and TV during the 1980s and 90s.