"Amazing Grace": the boogie version- Terry Miles
Updated: Sep 28
His gift is his musical talent. When he puts his magic to the keyboards, he creates a version of Amazing Grace like you have never heard before. We loved Terry Miles’ energy and upbeat rendition of this Christian classic. Come to find out he has put his special spin on many traditional Christian hymns and does a weekly show live worldwide on YouTube every Sunday. Join him for his fun, uplifting live stream called Terry’s Sunday Service. Hear his story on this weeks bonus episode on Amazing Greats podcast.
London pianist, boogie-woogie musician, YouTube performer, and creator of Amazing Greats' Amazing Grace theme
Topics
Boogie-woogie piano · Amazing Grace · Christian hymns · YouTube livestreams · Faith · Catholic upbringing · Music · Terry's Sunday Service · Piano family tradition
His Faith Journey
Catholic upbringing → drifted away from church → began playing piano at St. Anne's → rediscovered Christian hymns → faith expressed through music and Sunday performances.
This Episode Explores
Terry Miles' musical upbringing
His family's piano and band tradition
His love of Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard
How he developed his boogie-woogie style
The creation of his boogie-woogie version of Amazing Grace
Christian reactions to his unusual hymn arrangements
Terry's YouTube livestreams
His Sunday hymn service
His return to church through music
How faith and music now intersect in his life
Questions Answered
Who is Terry Miles?
How did Terry Miles learn piano?
Why does Terry Miles play boogie-woogie?
How did Terry Miles create his version of Amazing Grace?
Why did Terry Miles start playing Christian hymns?
What is Terry Miles' Sunday Service?
When does Terry Miles livestream?
How did Terry Miles return to church?
What is Terry Miles' Christian background?
How does faith influence Terry Miles' music?
Is Terry Miles making an album of hymns?
Core Story
Terry Miles grew up in a musical family and began playing piano by ear before developing a passion for boogie-woogie influenced by performers such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard. After drifting away from church, he found his way back through a grand piano at St. Anne's Catholic Church in London, where he began playing hymns. His boogie-woogie version of Amazing Grace eventually became the theme music for Amazing Greats, connecting his musical gift with Ric Hansen's podcast and giving Terry a new way to share his love of Christian hymns.
Terry Miles: The Man Behind the Amazing Grace Theme
Amazing Greats with Ric Hansen
Opening
Speaker:Welcome to the Amazing Greats podcast, where we have a unique opportunity to talk with people you know from movies, music, sports, books, or politics. It's a real and raw conversation about their life, their career, and how faith has played a role in it. No preaching or teaching, and no church experience is required.
Today, join your host, a radio veteran for over 30 years from Seattle. Here's Ric Hansen. Buckle up, and here we go.
How Ric Hansen Discovered Terry Miles
Ric Hansen:Thank you, Joe Michaels, and thanks for that great introduction.
I am here today with a new friend of mine, somebody who might be my farthest-away friend right now—from London, England.
It's so cool to have you with us. And I just got to tell this quick story as to how we connected, you and I.
You know, I think it wasn't just an accident. I think it was more of a providence that we ended up with one another and that you have been supportive and helpful in our podcast, Amazing Greats.
The quick story is, I went—I was—our podcast, named Amazing Greats, was looking for a version of Amazing Grace.
I went on the internet and found all kinds of versions of Amazing Grace, but they're all kind of quiet and sleepy, like the traditional Amazing Grace. And to start a podcast that's kind of high-energy and fun and enlightening, it seemed a little bit downbeat.
So, then again, not by accident, I don't think—I think it was a God thing—I found you playing Amazing Grace on a piano in a shopping mall in London, England.
I'm saying to myself, "Whoa, this is crazy good."
And you were playing a version that was, for lack of a better term, like the boogie-woogie version of Amazing Grace.
So I shot off, just by chance, an email to you. I thought, "I'll probably never hear from this guy. It's too far away. He'll never get this email."
Sure enough, you responded. Sure enough, you agreed to help us out.
You scheduled some studio time and did the version of Amazing Grace that is phenomenal and is now used as our theme song for the Amazing Greats podcast.
So there we are. There's the story of Terry Miles.
Terry, you have obviously this amazing gift, a God-gift, of music. Where did that all come about? Is it from the very beginning? Where did you realize that you had this ability and this passion for music?
A Musical Family
Terry Miles:Well, when I was a child, really, I started playing by ear, you know, before I went to music lessons eventually to kind of do the exams and stuff like that.
But to start with, I just started playing a few nursery rhymes and stuff on the piano.
We had always had a piano in the house, you see. There's always a piano because I come from a musical family.
My granddad on my dad's side, he used to play the piano for the silent movies. That's what he did.
And his son, who's my dad, he always played in bands, you know.
Eventually I joined my dad's band when I was 14.
Discovering Boogie-Woogie
Ric Hansen:Well, I love that story.
And then you kind of specialized in boogie-woogie kind of music, which not only do you play, but you teach it, don't you?
Terry Miles:I do, yes.
Well, the thing is, as a child, I loved watching Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard and that kind of thing.
So that really influenced me in quite a huge way.
Seeing Jerry Lee Lewis playing with his feet, you know, at the top of the piano and all that kind of stuff.
Ric Hansen:Can you play with your feet?
Terry Miles:I've tried it, but the piano's a bit high for me to get my leg on it. I'm not tall enough.
You have to be reasonably tall and probably quite fit to get your leg up on the piano.
It depends on the day. It depends on the day.
Turning Amazing Grace Into Boogie-Woogie
Ric Hansen:So it's a bit of a leap going from Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard to playing gospel hymns.
What made you even think about doing Amazing Grace, or many others, in a boogie-woogie style?
Terry Miles:Well, it's strange, actually, but I never used to do that.
That's a fairly recent thing, and I always thought, you know, deep down, that it kind of lent itself to a boogie-woogie feel.
I always had that feeling that it could be done, and I kept it in the back of my mind for about a year.
And then one day I sort of practiced it at home and just thought, "This could be done."
And then I just tried it out.
That was the first hymn I did.
I went to the shop—it was actually that shopping mall—and played Amazing Grace, had it filmed, and put it on YouTube.
And to my surprise, to my pleasant surprise, it happened to become quite popular.
Reactions From Christians
Ric Hansen:So now, since you've been doing that a bit, is there anybody—are there any Christians who take exception to the fact that you've jazzed it up a bit?
Terry Miles:Oh yeah, absolutely.
If you look at the comments, you know, it's a very old hymn. It goes back to 1700 and something.
For someone to come along and start putting boogie-woogie to it, I suppose I can understand why. If you like the traditional version and you're used to that, I can understand why you might not like it.
Making a Living Through Music
Ric Hansen:So, Terry, tell me, what do you do along the way to make a living in music?
Terry Miles:I'm doing YouTube live streams, basically. That's what I'm doing.
And that's what I want.
Ric Hansen:Yeah, I wanted to find out a little bit about the YouTube livestream. That happens twice a week, right?
Terry Miles:Since September, I do it twice a week now, once on a Thursday.
The Thursday stream is a bit different from the Sunday. They're two totally different, varied streams.
The Thursday stream is where I generally get a lot of old antique synthesizers out from the 1970s and the 1980s, and I play kind of popular music on synthesizers.
Now the Sunday is a completely different vibe.
It's called the Terry's Sunday Service, and I go on at 5 p.m. That's U.K. time, GMT.
Every Thursday at 5 p.m. and every Sunday.
The Sunday service that I do usually lasts for about an hour and a half. My daughter is Elsie, and she films me.
We both have a chat. It's not all music. We have a little chat with people and a bit of a giggle, you know, and try and keep it lighthearted.
And I generally sing and play hymns on a Sunday.
It's very Christian-hymn-based—traditional Amazing Grace, How Great Thou Art, This Little Light of Mine, The Old Rugged Cross, this kind of feel on a Sunday.
So if anybody would like to come to my YouTube channel on a Sunday, Terry Miles at 5 p.m. on the Terry Miles YouTube channel, every Sunday is the Terry Sunday Service.
The Fun of Terry's Livestreams
Ric Hansen:And if I can, let me take a moment to kind of tell folks what they have in store for them.
Because when I first tuned in, I've seen both the Sunday service and the Thursday.
And what's so cool about them is—you probably wouldn't describe it this way—but I would call them "campy."
It's in your home, I'm assuming. It's easy.
And at the same time, it's very spontaneous. It's kind of off the top of your head, which I'm sure you have a game plan, but it's really quite unique in terms of its appeal.
And the other thing that I notice when I watch is that you become a very endearing character on the show.
You're fun, like you say. There's lots of little giggles and laughs, and you do something that's totally screwy and off the wall, which is so much fun.
And the fact that your daughter is kind of off camera and she is asking questions and telling you what people are saying on the video.
So it's just a fun, fun watch to tune in and hear the show.
No matter what time you pick, you're never going to hear the same show twice because they're always different.
Terry Miles:This is it.
And if you do miss the livestream, it's there on the channel too. You can watch the replay.
I have a lot of people in Australia and New Zealand, and it's totally the wrong time for them because it's three in the morning and stuff like that.
So they can watch it on the replay.
Supporting Terry's Music
Ric Hansen:And you monetize this a bit. I mean, there's a way for people to donate to your musical things.
What's it called?
Terry Miles:It's a Super Chat.
Ric Hansen:Super Chat?
Terry Miles:Super Chat.
Ric Hansen:Okay.
Terry Miles:You don't have to, you can just watch it. But if you want to buy me a drink—a pint, a pint—you can give a couple of pounds, as you say.
Terry's Christian Background
Ric Hansen:You are a Christian yourself and you have had kind of a history.
Tell us a little story about how Christianity played a role in your life and how it maybe, on an ongoing basis, plays a role in your career and your music today.
Terry Miles:Well, you know, I've been brought up as a Catholic.
We went to church every week, every Sunday.
Then when I came to London, my daughter went to a Catholic school in Whitechapel, and attached to the school was a church called St. Anne's.
So this church was kind of slightly run down. It needed some work, but it did have a grand piano, which was brilliant.
So I started going along every Sunday and playing the piano.
And then I did that for quite a while as well.
And then I got into the hymns, you see.
Then I realized that there are some great hymns out there. These hymns are very well written. Most of them are very well written.
And I've really got into hymns.
Ric Hansen:So God found a way to bring you back into the church through the gift that he gave you originally, which is the gift of being a great musician.
It seems to be that's the way he works. He's very sneaky about how he brings people back in, right?
Terry Miles:Yeah. It's not always put right in front of you, is it?
It's kind of—you go down an avenue and suddenly you think, "Oh, right, okay. I'm back. I'm back where I should be, really. Where I belong, probably."
Finding His Way Back
Ric Hansen:And I think a lot of people like you—and I'm certainly the same—I was raised a Catholic.
You kind of drift away as the world grabs you and allures you away from your Christian roots.
But somewhere along the line you wise up, and God brings you back into the fold, and you find your way back to a strong faith in Christianity.
Terry Miles:Yeah, yeah. I mean, that seems to be what's happened to me, really.
I did drift off for a good few years, you know. Just not going to church and not—you know.
And now, I mean, we can't go to church now anyway. But playing a few hymns in my living room on a Sunday afternoon in my living room...
Ric Hansen:Well, how cool is that, right?
Terry Miles:It's kind of the—I mean, obviously we can't say, "Well, I haven't got a priest there" or anything, obviously, to say prayers or give a proper blessing or anything like that.
But the next best thing is to just sing, really.
Closing
Ric Hansen:So cool.
Well, this has been a great opportunity to get to know you a little bit better.
We're now playing the boogie-woogie version of Amazing Grace at the beginning and now at the end of our podcast.
I just thought it'd be a great idea for our audience to get to know who it is that's behind the piano and the inspiration, really, of this new kind of version of Amazing Grace.
Thank you so much.
You're the man. I appreciate your time, I appreciate your great talent, and thank you so much for stepping up and helping us with our podcast.
Terry Miles:You're welcome. You're very welcome.
So I am in the process of making a CD of hymns, and it'll be out in a limited amount of vinyl, and it'll be on download as well.
But my audience usually likes CDs because they know where they are with CDs, you know.
But they will be available on all formats, even vinyl.
So hopefully—please God—as long as I'm allowed to go back to the studio soon, hopefully by the summer I'll have this CD out there and you'll be able to purchase it through my YouTube channel for a very reasonable price, old boy.
Ric Hansen:Well, keep us informed about that, and we'll definitely let our audience know too when that's out and when it's available and how to get a hold of it.
So any way we can support you, we would be more than excited to do.
Thank you.
Comments