Steve Lukather Talks About Recording "Beat It" Guitar Riff 

God I love this guy. It's not just Luke's skill (which is nuts) it's his ability to be with people. What a national treasure. The world owes this guy a LOT. The joy his playing has brought to us over our lives.

Love that last line: "I didn't get hired because I could 'PLAY ALL THIS'..." Nope, Steve got hired because he could tell exactly what a song needed and simply play in the groove. And it was everything for that song.

A national treaure. Steve Lukather. What a storyteller, and he's been a part of so many culture defining moments.

The last 20 seconds where he plays the “Human Nature" riff epic

When I was a little girl back in the 80's, I would put the Thriller record on, plug in headphones and just get lost in the music. The guitar parts were so beautifully done that I would listen to the songs repeatedly just to focus on those parts. What I'd give to have been in the studio during those sessions to hear Lukather and Eddie play on those tracks! Even though I've heard that story about Beat It many times, I love hearing it from Lukather himself. What a legend he is!

This is his best telling of the Beat It story. Finally the penny dropped here, as to what actually happened and what the problem was. That is an insane story about one of the the most iconic pop songs. Those Toto guys were true magicians. Jeff Porcaro is sorely missed.

Luke is unreal. He brings so much to a story. His talents are unmatched. A true legend and a great guy-it doesn’t get better than that.

Luke is one of the all-time greats. But yet so incredibly humble.

The impact of that track (FM radio at the time) can't be overstated. Brilliant work by Q, MJ, Ed, Luke/Jeff and all involved. No one expected the "Eruption-like" bomb to drop in the middle of a Michael Jackson tune at the time. Now knowing the chaos that was going on behind the scenes in making the song, it's pretty amazing how slick, polished and rockin' it ended up.

Steve Lukather playing that driving riff and Eddie Van Halen comes in and lays down that blistering solo…WOW! 🔥

Can any guitar player not envy how this man has lived his life?

Man that human nature set of licks is just awesome. So simple yet so much to listen to.

What is most admirable about Steve is his humility. He for sure must know he is one of the best ever, but he doesnt sell tickets on himself. This is one of the best interviews ever. Thank you Rick and Luke!!

Beat It & Human Nature are some of my favourite songs from MJ. Killer tracks from a classic album.

I can never get enough of Steve Lukather Man what an incredible musician!

The 1980's were A Golden Age in entertainment - across the board; movies, TV, music, etc. This interview has been educational in shedding light on why - at least a piece to the puzzle. They had a DEEP well of experienced and talented musicians/engineers to draw upon. That's something that took time to develop. If you lived in the 1980's, you were lucky to have been at a moment where a mature musical field met with innovative technology. Truly a Golden Age.

Steve Lukather is one of my top musical heros.

What a humble G.O.A.T.!! Such a great chat Rick. Steve’s the best.

This is easily the best interview in this genre (this portion and the full interview) on all youtube maybe for all time. Rick you are as essential to this as Steve is and there is a chemistry that is so engaging. We are in the room with you almost as if we are spending an evening with old friends. This is bottled lightning and definitely a moment in time that won't be duplicated.

Steve Lukather interview--like hitting the lottery! Every moment is a gem!

7:05 - "Jeff, the magician, that he was ..." ❤

I couldn’t imagine how many more masterpieces we would have if Jeff was still here. Him and Steve just had this sound about them

Accidentally finding Steve Lukather changed my mind about recording. Unbelievable what he can do. Simple and creative. It’s like when I discovered Jeff Beck and Gary Moore.

It’s so cool how MJ wrote those iconic riffs, bass lines and rhythms and didn’t play an instrument. That’s genius, like Steve said if it’d been his riff he could’ve been a billionaire. I guess I think it’s so cool because it’s just so everyday man way of communicating ideas all my friends that played guitar would be singing riffs to each other like play that thing you did a few minutes ago that was like diga diga cha do diga bow wa . Except these guys made platinum records from Michael’s vocal scat riffs.

How can you not hate and love Lukather at the same time. Just the work and raw talent. Unreal.

That human nature part is one of my favorite guitar parts ever written. It's such a great hook and it's very simple, but hard to nail. I had to play both Beat It and Human Nature on a Michael Jackson tribute gig once and even though I got to play the Beat It solo, I was vibing the most when I played Human Nature. It's harder to nail then you would think by listening to it, because it's so simple, but it has to glue with the vocals and the rhythm section. Such a blast to play with a good band. I love Luke!

Steve, if you see this, thank you for being so completely honest and open, and consequently humble and revealing about your limitations. In this era of everything everywhere, lifelong students of guitar like me get overwhelmed with what we can't do and short circuit what we can do. You are just a dude doing what you can do. What you did right here for music, and for the future of music, is important. I wish you were my friend like 40 years ago. So, that's a big thank you for you being willing to live out just being you.

Thank you for bringing Steve Lukather in to share some great stories. The gentle, funky guitar riff in Human Nature is the backbone of the arrangement.

Luke is one of the GREATEST ever. An absolute class act. Man could talk a glass eye to sleep but I love him for that. You're a legend Steve!

Wow micheal wrote an epic guitar part in his head

I always wondered who WROTE the main riff. Incredible to find out that MJ wrote it vocally.

What i find special about players like Lukather is that they play to serve the music. There are tons of guitarists that want to be the only guy in the band, but it's how everything blends together that makes that hair stand up on your neck. The simplicity of some of the parts Lukather plays in the background, the huge soundscapes made by Pink Floyd in between the notes, the sounds you aren't paying attention to, there's some real magic happening in the shadows of your favorite songs.

Jeff Porcaro is one of those people you would bring back if you had a choice to bring back a favorite musician/person 🕯

I’ve been obsessed with watching Steve Lukather interviews for the last month. Coolest guy on the planet. Love how matter of fact and real he is. Always himself no matter who he’s talking to or what environment he’s in. Very inspiring just as a person. Not to mention as a musician. Thanks Luke!

Most legendary guitarist alive.. and such a great guy!

The day I found out Steve played most of “Beat It” except for the shredding part, my young EVH adoring heart felt deceived. But I got over it quickly, because my adult heart was never happier to know that Steve played those parts and further solidified his being the genius and virtuoso that I believe him to be! Steve Lukather is AMAZING!!

This was an incredible interview - hearing about geniuses of music: Quincy and Michael, the Porcaro brothers, Fagen and Becker , Larry Carlton, Steve Gadd; and to hear this from Steve Lukather! Thank you, Rick.

Very talented, cool, humble and earth grounded musician. I once saw him live and after the gig, he simply joined the remaining crowd and we had a little chat together, just like that .. very nice guy!

Rick, That interview was FABULOUS. more of those please. A+

The guy is a freaking musicial genius! These session guitarists are the music worlds' gift from the gods because they are normally where these super great "hooks" come from! I love how modest he is about not knowing how to do all the (motions tapping & shredding on the fretboard) lol, what a genuine dude!!

Absolute, total, undeniable Legend. Steve is the very definition of what a musician should be. Its about taste, playing the right notes and understanding the song.

Met Steve 5 years ago. Super nice guy and made me feel even better about Toto being my favorite band . Hope he keeps making music

I was a cab driver in Vegas, not a thief but just a hard worker, and I picked up Steve, with his wife or girlfriend, from the 4 Seasons and took them to the either the Palazzo or Wynn complex, can't remember. But he was so genuine and authentic. This was in 2017/18, and I had no idea who he was. I knew he was a rock star because he was all done up in the rock star image with the hair etc., and I thought he was Nikki Six from Motley Crue. Sorry MC fans, I was 13 and didn't remember what he looked like. After I googled it I thought he was just some Vegas rocker or something. A couple years later I discover Steve in an interview on Anderton's and I'm like "Wow! That's the guy!" I had the most recorded guitarist in history in my cab and didn't even know it. Again, we had a great conversation. He and his girl both were so engaging, they asked me how lyft and uber were affecting us, like he actually gave a fig, and just shot the breeze like we were all friends since high school or something. I told him I was a chef trying to start my own business, he liked my idea and wished me luck. The fact he turned out to be who he is makes it even more special. When a person that successful takes their time to talk to people around them, and get to know them without so much as a whiff of arrogance or egotism, it speaks volumes to their character. We had a very natural conversation, and I did start my business. I'm doing great and I often think of these types of interactions I've been fortunate enough to have, where I meet like minded people who are super successful and it helps me stay my course. It reinforces hope that decent people can succeed without forgetting where they came from. I'm very appreciative to Steve for that, so I try to comment this story from time to time when he does interviews. And in this case, refraining from trolling Beato. But just in case Rick's reading this, I only troll the ones I love... ;P Except Steve. I won't troll Steve...

That MJ story is crazy. MJ and Quincy are both kinda known for being really methodical and meticulous and perfectionist. The way Steve described beat it seems way too slapdash, or haphazard for such an absolute beast of a record. Super cool.

This is crazy, one of my favorite guitarist talking about thriller. Even crazier is after thriller came out a buddy and I who were total metal heads were sitting up on Mulholland drive totally cranking Thriller through a 14 speaker system in my buddies car just because Steve and Eddie played on it, over and over the solos and rhythms were completely blown through our ears, we played it to some other cats and they were like " dude that's Michael Jackson, WTH" we rocked that entire CD up and down Sunset Blvd on Friday nights, it was hysterical, people out in front of gazzaris and the whiskey were like " Fuck those guys must like Michael Jackson" Good times for sure. Thanks Steve and Eddie 🎸🎸✌️

Steve is such a phenomenal musician. What a pleasure it is to have lived during his career.

Terrific interview with Steve Lukather. Love how he gives credit, speaks highly of Larry Carlton. Like Steve, one of the best L.A. session players in his era. It was quite an honor to meet Larry back in '92 & 2010. Such a humble gent. First time ever heard Larry Carlton was on one of the early '70s Chamber Brothers LPs my older brother use to often play on his stereo. Like many of the sessions he's done over the course of his career...stunning guitar work, tonality, feel (think B.B. King). Cheers for sharing.

Steve's sense of taste, little mini licks..builds such melodic grooves. And the guy just loves life..👍😁👍👍👍

I can listen to Steve Lukather talk music all day long! Such an amazing musician and by far one of the most entertaining individuals to listen and learn from! Someone here said National Treasure and that is just spot on!

There's such a wealth of musical experience in this one clip for all of us to learn from. Thank you both!

Love these behind the scenes explanations of how famous records were made!!

I love this! It also speaks of his stature in how thankful he is in speaking with Rick!

What a great bunch of stories! I love hearing Lukather talk about the business. Let's be honest, I think half of the albums from the 80s should have had appended to them "with Toto."

Love his energy, Luke is one of a kind, humble and talented, forever one of my favorite musicians

Having been a little kid when this album was released, and obsessed with it, this was an awesome interview. Love Steve. What a badass!

What a story, and what a story teller Steve is! Epic! Kudos to Rick his channel and "Misson"!!

I’ll bet he has thousands of these wonderful anecdotes! Thanks for documenting this stuff Rick!

Fkn awesome interview, so glad Steve is generous with his time to tell us how these masterpieces came together. How great it is to know Mj , EVH , JeffP and Luke contributed to this song that’ll never die 🙏🇦🇺

I’ve already watched the full interview, but I’ll still watch all the clips. Amazing

Love hearing about all this behind the scenes stuff!

I love this . Both the people are amazing and I love the two songs . And the little stories behind the recordings . It’s all amazing

So much great music that Steve has played on yet so humble.

Steve Lukather. What a legend. Love the man, love the music. Thanks Steve and thanks Rick for showcasing him.

Beautiful and awesome story ..Precious history..Thanks for sharing

Literally could listen to these guys talk shop all day. My God, the Historical Music experience in that room.

Great interview!! Lukather is a lot of fun and so are you, Rick!! 🙂👍💛

I could really listen to Steve talk for hours and hours! Such a humble and talented dude with lots of great stories!

Rick your show just keeps getting better and better

Definitely one of my all-time music heroes since I was a teenager. I love his work and I've been listening to his music so much and for such a long time that I almost feel like I have a personal relationship with him. He's one human being I genuinely care about and I wish him to stay this awesome till his last day. ❤

It's such a pleasure to see Steve Lukather shake these riffs out of his guitar as if it's no big deal while having this big smile on his face. Grew up with so many of the hits he played on and as a kid never quite appreciated what a great musician (and a nice guy) he actually is. Love the channel, love the guests. So much good stuff going on here!

What an incredible interview. I love to hear Steve talk and teach. Finally I get to hear the entire story behind the “Beat It” situation. I had only heard bits and pieces regarding the track’s & overdubs. Steve Lukather will forever be one of my favorites and bonafide legend in studio/session world.

Another great interview with Luke! Kudos Rick! 👍👍

What a fantastic interview with Steve. This was going back in history, and talks about the "magicians" in the studios.

Steve Lukather changed my Guitar playing! I listend more and more to Lukather, looks how he plays,what he plays.....and it changed all for me because i was only in that shred thing. And what a nice person! Rock on!

Love this interview. Steve is the real deal and gives the props to everyone around him. Great player and guy.

Such a cool interview. I could watch Steve talk for hours.

Wow! Simple, effective, diverse playing in any musical style but especially pop, is still so important. I miss the musicality & creativity in older pop. I could listen to Steve’s playing and stories all day!

Luke is awesome. He loves telling these stories and we love to hear them. The details and situations he talks about are just incredible. These videos are pure fire 🔥

How about that Rick, I can listen & watch these musicians tell their stories all day long! How fun it must be for you. Thanks for all you do.

Rick, thank you for bringing these legends to us

Steve is the MAN! Incredibly gifted player.

This is true history and musicology. I'm glad these stories are being captured for future generations.

I freakin´ love Steve Lukather. Incredible story teller, extraordinary talent, genuine.

Wish this was longer! Steve’s humility is gratifying. He is truly one of the best! Ever since my buddy Bobby was picking me up for work 7:00 am after a hard night partying and playing a new cassette he just bought the day before. He popped in the cassette in his mint 70 caddy with a Blaupunk stereo system “Hold the line” one of the best riffs of all time! Loved him since!❤ killer Steve!

This interview was pure joy for me. It's like being in the studio and listening to two great musicians sharing how it went down putting together a classic song. Thanks Rick for posting this very good interview with Steve.

Please make this an ongoing conversation there’s something magical about you guys just sharing stories

This is one of the fking coolest interviews I've seen, nice work. Such a huge fan of Steve Lukather

Thank you, Rick, for another great interview. Everyone should get Steve's book it's wonderful, lots of information. Especially great if you grew up in Los Angeles because you recognize a lot of locations, musicians, studios, etc.

I want to drink 5 or 6 beers with Lukather and listen to all his stories!

One of my all time favorites Steve Lukather. Loved the Steely Dan and Michael J stories. Would have loved to hear the rocked out version of “Beat It”.🤘🏾🤘🏾🤘🏾❤️

Awesome. Simply fantastic storytelling.

I have seen this (full) interview at least 3 times now and Steve is a one of a kind musician. I gotta get his book.

Luke at 10:20: "...muted parts when you play R&B or anything you're trying to find a little cool part that percolates it along but you're not in anybody's way..." Wow...perfect description of Luke's parts in "Human Nature," "I Keep Forgettin,' 'Pamela.' and so on. What a great guy.

Steve Lukather is definitely underrated. He’s a kick ass ace man!! He’s so humble.

Absolute gold dust...Steve is awesome in all ways!

I can never get enough of Steve LukatherMan what an incredible musician!. Luke is one of the all-time greats. But yet so incredibly humble..

You gotta love Luke. An absolute musical genius showing the ultimate respect to four other masters; Michael, Jeff, Eddie, and Steve.

What a piece of music history this guy is. He's great, thanks Rick for bringing him here.

Such a fascinating interview, there is so much in it!!

Brilliant, great video. Great to know such interesting information. Thank you.