Big Boy Pete

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. He also had a solo recording contract with Columbia Records under yet another name - "Miller". But if you're an avid record collector, you will know that his 1965 45 rpm disc "Baby I Got News For You" is now a prized collector's item. It recently sold for $2,600 on ebay.

His single "Cold Turkey" is another sought after collector's 45. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland 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, Angel Air, and Raucous Records labels. They are now available in the US courtesy of Gear Fab Records, Bacchus Archives, 3 Acre Floor Records, Mono-Tone Records and Double Crown Records.

He has recently turned to writing novels. A trilogy in fact - based loosely on his life experiences. Published by Stark House Press, two are currently availabe: "The Ice Cream Man", and "Cause of Death: Rock and Roll."

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 150 countries around the world) realise that Big Boy Pete is the Founder and President of this State-licensed educational school for recording engineers and music producers.

Pete engineered his first recording in 1959. He was in one of the bands from the original British invasion of the sixties. He toured extensively with the Beatles and Stones in those glorious years.

In 1974 he formed 22 Records - his own independent record label. Since then he has been recording "just for fun" and has accumulated over 500 masters most of which are currently unreleased - but they're oozing out slowly.