Mac Miller's passing at 26 in September sent a shockwave through the music community, not only because of his age, but because of the positive impact he had on those who knew him. That included John Mayer, who spent time with Miller during a session for Swimming.
In Complex's November 2018 cover story, Mayer opened up about connecting with him in the studio and contributing to "Small Worlds."
"This is a true story: I started talking to my manager about splits—I gotta start making a living playing on people’s stuff. For years, it would be, like, a really fun sidenote," he explained. "I got to Mac’s house and he played me this thing he had just worked on that morning, and I went, 'Give me a guitar. I’m in.' I think it had something to do with him having worked on it that day—it was still wide open and fresh."
Mayer continued, "There are a lot of songs people play for me and I go, 'Man, I wish I was on this song, but it’s done'... We had such a great time and laughed, and I said to him, 'No cash. No credit. I’m just happy to do it, man.' He said, 'Hey, can I…' I said, 'I don’t want people talking about me. I want people talking about your record.'
Speaking on Miller's death, Mayer said, "I just wish it wasn’t fatal. I just wish figuring out your life didn’t take your life away from you. I don’t have an answer for how to fix that, but once you get old enough to understand how valuable life is, you look at people and go, 'I just wish you could work this out.'"
Mayer, alongside Vince Staples, Anderson .Paak, Thundercat, and other close friends and collaborators of Miller came together in late October for A Celebration of Life, a tribute event benefiting the Mac Miller Circles Fund. For more information on the charity, visit here.
Check out our full cover story with John Mayer and Jerry Lorenzo here.
