Even
in his home town San Francisco, few people are aware that the quietly spoken
Englishman, Pete Miller, whose recording studio has serviced hundreds of
bands since opening its doors in 1977, is in fact, Big Boy Pete. The enigmatic
psychedelic legend from the sixties.
If
you have never heard of Big Boy Pete, you may not be alone. But if you're
an avid record collector, you will know that his 1968 45rpm disc "Cold
Turkey" is now a prized collector's item. (It commanded a $400 reserve
price at last year's Sothebys Rock and Roll auction in London). The Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland, U.S., includes this record in
its list of Psychedelic Classics. Big Boy Pete's name is painted on the
museum wall right next to the Beatles' name.
Pete's
sixties recordings have been re-released in England by the Tenth
Planet and Raucous Records labels. They are now available in the
US courtesy of Gear Fab Records, Bacchus Archives (a subsidiary
of Dionysus Records), 3 Acre Floor Records, Double Crown Records,
and now, the April 2006 release of "The Perennial Enigma"
on Angel Air Records.
But
wait! There's yet another interesting facet of Pete's career. Probably
not a single student of the Audio Institute of America (and there have been thousands in over
100 countries around the world), realise that Big Boy Pete is the
Founder and President of this State-licensed educational school
for recording engineers.
Pete
engineered his first recording in 1959. He was in one of the bands from
the original British invasion of the sixties. (Lead guitarist of The Jaywalkers,
who toured extensively with the Beatles and Stones in those glorious years).
He also had a solo recording contract with Columbia Records under yet another
name - "Miller". The single "Baby I Got News for You"
is another sought after collector's 45.
Dissolutioned
with the weasels within the industry, he quit trying to sell his
recordings in 1969. Since then he has been recording "just
for fun". Over the last thirty years he has accumulated over
400 masters. Fifty percent are currently unreleased but they're
oozing out slowly. They wait patiently in the archives for a record
company with integrity. (Dream on Pete!)
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