The Steve Miller Band found its groove as a hitmaking machine in the mid-'70s, churning out a series of amiable rockers that were tailor-made for radio consumption. "Jet Airliner," which soared into the Top 10 in 1977, fit so well into the continuum that you might be surprised to learn that Miller didn't write it himself, but rather did a bit of editing on someone else's original. What is "Jet Airliner" about? Who wrote and performed it first? And how did Miller bend and twist it into the shape of a hit single? Let's take this flight back to the early '70s when the story of this song began.