Steve Miller on jamming with The Beatles: ‘It was like we had known each other all our lives’

Recent Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame inductee and legendary musician Steve Miller stopped by The Howard Stern Show on Tuesday for the first time since 1983. As Miller and Howard had a lot to catch up on, they’re conversation … Continued

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SiriusXM Editor
May 31, 2016

Recent Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame inductee and legendary musician Steve Miller stopped by The Howard Stern Show on Tuesday for the first time since 1983. As Miller and Howard had a lot to catch up on, they’re conversation ranged from Miller learning guitar from Les Paul to the time he sat in on studio sessions with The Beatles and even worked with members of the legendary group.

In 1969, Miller was on his way to Olympic Studio in London to work with famed recording engineer Glyn Johns and finish mixing an album. Johns had worked with artists such as The Rolling Stones and The Who, and just so happened to be mixing a Beatles album at the time Miller was scheduled to stop by.

“They needed a couple extra days and (Glyn) said, ‘Just come on over, stay at my house, we’ll go to the sessions,'” Miller recalled. “It was amazing because it was 1969, they were The Beatles. He took me over to George (Harrison)’s house and George was so great. He opened the front door and said, ‘Hi Steve, I’ve listened to all your stuff. Children Of The Future, Sailor, they’re such great records, we love what you’re doing. Come on in, twirl the prayer-wheel and I’ll show you my synthesizer.’ I was just like… (gasps).”

Miller said he sat in on the sessions and soaked it all in like a sponge. He was not only impressed with the music they created, but with the methods in which they worked despite constantly being under a microscope.

“They were so cool and they did everything so quickly,” Miller said. “John and Paul came in and did their over-dubs and they were done. I realized that there were like 50 press people outside the studio, everywhere they went they were under this lens and I go, ‘God, how can these guys do this?'”

A day after being incredibly moved by their abilities, Miller got the chance to play with some of The Beatles.

“They were gonna record again the next day, cut some live tracks and Glyn said come on. John and Ringo didn’t show up and they had all the gear set up. George and Paul were there and they said, ‘Come on up in the studio, let’s jam a little bit.’

“George had to go, but Paul and (his wife) Linda were there hanging out,” Miller continued. “Paul’s a great drummer, and I said, ‘Well, let me show you this thing I’m working on,’ and honestly within seconds it was like we had known each other all our lives. He wasn’t Paul McCartney anymore, all of that was gone. We started playing and really kicking it out, we did this tune called My Dark Hour. This was the moment I go, ‘I got it made.'”

For more coverage of The Howard Stern Show, follow @sternshow on Twitter.

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