“I could finally quieten down this noise in my head... the best in the room is sitting over there – and it doesn’t have to maybe be me”: John Mayer says that when Jeff Beck was in the room, he felt he could finally relax about his guitar playing

John Mayer and Jeff Beck
(Image credit: Chelsea Lauren / Variety / Penske Media / Jeff Hahne / Getty Images)

John Mayer has discussed the strange sense of relaxation he experienced whenever he was in the same room as Jeff Beck – with the virtuoso describing the feeling of a weight being lifted when he found himself in the orbit of the late electric guitar icon.

Mayer made the comments in an appearance on a recent episode of the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast [below], following an anecdote from O’Brien about his own experience watching Mayer perform.

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Matt Parker
Features Editor, GuitarWorld.com

Matt is Features Editor for GuitarWorld.com. Before that he spent 10 years as a freelance music journalist, interviewing artists for the likes of Total Guitar, Guitarist, Guitar World, MusicRadar, NME.com, DJ Mag and Electronic Sound. In 2020, he launched CreativeMoney.co.uk, which aims to share the ideas that make creative lifestyles more sustainable. He plays guitar, but should not be allowed near your delay pedals.