Besides being Toto’s co-founder and guitarist, Steve Lukather is also a very successful studio musician who have worked with many famous artists over the decades. So he had the chance to meet some of the most incredible musicians of all time, including the late Prince.
The American guitarist and singer was also known for his strong personality and Lukather recalled in an interview with Rock History Music (Transcribed by Ultimate Guitar) that his first encounter with him was quite uncomfortable.
Steve Lukather recalls strange first encounter with Prince
“I walked into the studio walk past him (In 1978). He’s sitting on his bike. I go, ‘Hey, man.’ And I get [silence]. That was it… It was uncomfortable. Because I didn’t know what he was. And nobody did it.”
“(Over the years) He turned out to be this brilliant artist and he was huge fan. I mean, I have no beef with Prince. Who doesn’t love [his] music? I just think that he was, I don’t know, maybe I never had a conversation for him to like, hate me for any particular reason. But you know, we didn’t hang out or go, ‘Hey, bro, how’s it going?’ There was none of that. I didn’t get the feeling he wanted to talk like that, so I left him alone. Nothing but respect to him.”
“A lot of people that have worked with Prince will tell you that he’s an interesting cat. I know people that were closer in and have bad experiences, but it’s not my place to say. I mean, he’s a brilliant artist. The music will live on. My keyboard player was in the last version of Prince’s band. He gave me some insightful stuff. He goes, ‘Nah, man. He’s shy,'” Steve Lukather said.
Prince was active from 1975 until his death in 2016 at the age 57, from an accidental overdose of the opioid fentanyl. He is one of the best-selling artist of all time, having sold an estimated amount of more than 100 million records worldwide.