Boz Scaggs

Born in Ohio in 1944, rock guitarist William "Boz" Scaggs met fellow musician Steve Miller while attending prep school in Texas, joining Miller's first group, the Marksmen, in 1959 as lead singer. The friends later attended the University of Wisconsin together, performing in several blues/rock bands duringschool. After college Scaggs returned to Texas and later traveled to Europe, performing alone or in groups throughout his itinerant years. In 1967 he returned to the United States and moved to San Francisco, joining Miller's new band, the Steve Miller Band.

After performing on the first two Steve Miller Band albums, Children of the Future and Sailor, both released in 1968, Scaggs left the increasingly popular psychedelic blues-rock band to begin a solo career. Signing to Atlantic, Scaggs released his eponymous debut later that same year, backed by the Muscle Shoals Band and with guest guitarwork by Duane Allman. Unfortunately the blues-driven album was more welcomed by critics than fans, prompting Scaggs to move to Columbia for his 1971 follow-up Moments, produced by Glyn Johns (Led Zeppelin). Once again critics praised Scaggs talent but the general public overlooked his record, a pattern continued for the next few releases. Columbia's patience paid off in 1976 when Silk Degrees reached No. 2 on the charts thanks to the singles "Lowdown" and "Lido Shuffle." His next two albums reached the Top 10 as well.

Now a recognized blues-rock singer-songwriter, Scaggs largely retired from performing, concentrating on managing the San Francisco venue Slim's. In 1988 he returned with Other Roads, later joining Donald Fagen's New York Rock and Soul Revue in 1992. After moving to Virgin, Scaggs released the acclaimed Some Change in 1994. His most recent album, Dig, was released in 2001.

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