The Late Great Jeff Beck

Jeff Beck, the guitar god known for his work with The Yardbirds and his solo work, died on January 10 2023 at the age of 78. The cause was bacterial meningitis.

Jeff Beck was born on June 24 1944 in Wallington, Surrey, England. He was drawn to music from an early age and sang in a church choir when he was 10. He was 15 years old when he built his first guitar and then taught himself to play the instrument. He was influenced by such guitarists as Les Paul, Gene Vincent's guitarist Cliff Gallup, B.B. King, and Steve Cropper.

Jeff Beck attended the Wimbledon College of Art. Afterwards he was employed in a variety of jobs. In 1963 he formed The Nightshift. The band recorded one single, a cover of T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday, on the Piccadilly label. For a short time he was the lead guitarist for the Croydon band The Rumbles and later the Chiswick band The Tridents. He played as a session player on The Fitz and Startz's 1964 single "I'm Not Running Away."

It was in March 1965 that The Yardbirds recruited Jeff Beck as their lead guitarist to replace Eric Clapton. It was while Jeff Beck that The Yardbirds produced many of their hits, including "Heart Full of Soul," Evil Hearted You," "I'm a Man," and "Shape of Things." It was in June 1966 that Jimmy Page temporarily took over as The Yardbirds' bassist following Paul Samwell-Smith's departure. He was bassist only until Chris Dreja could master the instrument. Once that happened, Jimmy Page became lead guitarist in tandem with Jeff Beck. Eventually Mr. Beck would be fired due to his often explosive temper and his perfectionism, as well as his tendency not to show up for concerts at times.

Following his departure from The Yardbirds, Jeff Beck recorded singles for Mike Most in 1967. It was also in 1967 that he formed The Jeff Beck Group with vocalist Rod Stewart and rhythm guitarist Ronnie Wood. While the line-up would change from time to time, The Jeff Beck Group ultimately recorded four albums: Truth in 1968, Beck-Ola in 1969, Rough and Ready in 1971, and Jeff Beck Group in 1972. While it had been recorded in 1966 before The Jeff Beck Group formed, Jeff Beck's instrumental "Beck's Bolero" was included on the album Truth and became one of his most lasting successes.

After the dissolution of The Jeff Beck Group, Jeff Beck formed Beck, Bogert & Appice with  bassist Tim Bogert, and drummer Carmine Appice. They released one album in 1973 before breaking up. Afterwards Jeff Beck would release twelve solo albums. He would also collaborate with other musicians, including Jeff Lieber on the 1992 album Frankie's House, the 1993 album Crazy Legs with The Big Town Playboys, and the 2022 album 18 with Johnny Depp. He also played on numerous songs with various artists, including "Trudi" on Donovan's album Barabajagal, Stevie Wonder's song  "Lookin' for Another Pure Love" on his album Talking Book,. Stanley Clarke's song "Rock 'n Roll Jelly" on the album Modern Man, and so on.

I don't think anyone can argue that Jeff Beck wasn't one of the greatest guitarists of all time. His level of technical skill was greater than most of the guitarists of his time. Furthermore, he was versatile, able to play the blues, rock, jazz, classical, and yet other genres. It was not unusual for him to blend various types of music together. What is more, Jeff Beck was an innovator. It was while he was with The Yardbirds that he introduced audio feedback and distortion on the guitar to rock music. Much of his work, particularly the Jeff Beck Group album Truth, would have a lasting impact on heavy metal. Rock music would certainly sound different without Jeff Beck.