Celebrated Rock Guitarist Jeff Beck Passes Away

 

Another music legend has passed away. Jeff Beck, the celebrated rock guitarist, played his last melody this Tuesday, January 10th after contracting meningitis. At the age 78, he leaves behind him the legacy of his fusion of jazz and rock and his strong, experimental style.

Beck established himself as a household name when he succeeded Eric Clapton as the lead guitarist for The Yardbirds. His musical career began long before, however.

The rise of a rock star

Geoffrey Arnold Beck was born in London in 1944. At ten, he was singing in a choir. By the time he became a teenager, the guitar was his rock weapon of choice, but he became serious while attending art college as a young man. There, he joined a succession of groups, beginning with Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages, who signed a record deal and released their first single in 1962.

It was The Rolling Stones Ian Stewart who introduced Beck to the new sound of R&B a year later, leading him to form a new group called Nightshift. With them, he made another single before performing with another group, The Tridents.

From 1965 to 1966, the guitarist strummed his strings for The Yardbirds. Beck joined in March 1965, and, by August of that year, they went on their first American tour. The experimentalist’s fusion style helped them record several of their top 40 hits. Thus, whilst his time with the group did not last long, it was one of his most successful musical joint ventures.

Being fired from The Yardbirds for his frequent no-shows did not hold him back, however. Soon, he had his own gig going on with the likes of such hit artists as Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood. Both The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd also thought of hiring him. Yet Beck wanted to play to his own tune.

Beck at his best

In 1971, Beck selected his fellow band members for his group and his first album, Rough and Ready, was distributed. The second came in 1972, and though his style did not appeal to music critics at that time, he continued to play with and for some of his biggest companions in the industry.

Celebrities from far and wide expressed their mourning for the recent passing of the man Rolling Stone magazine once called “one of the most influential lead guitarists in rock.”

Beck’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction and eight Grammy Awards attest to that fact, as do the many accolades he received during his life as well as after his death.

Rod Stewart, former member of The Jeff Beck Group, acknowledged his help in breaking through in his own career.

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Jeff Beck was on another planet . He took me and Ronnie Wood to the USA in the late 60s in his band the Jeff Beck Group
and we haven’t looked back since . pic.twitter.com/uS7bbWsHgW

— Sir Rod Stewart (@rodstewart) January 11, 2023

“I am devastated…,” David Gilmour declared. “He will be forever in our hearts.”

I am devastated to hear the news of the death of my friend and hero Jeff Beck, whose music has thrilled and inspired me and countless others for so many years.
Polly‘s and my thoughts go out to his lovely wife Sandra.
He will be forever in our hearts. pic.twitter.com/369rHU7BCX

— David Gilmour (@davidgilmour) January 11, 2023

“We have lost…one of the greatest guitar players in the world,” Mick Jagger tweeted.

With the death of Jeff Beck we have lost a wonderful man and one of the greatest guitar players in the world. We will all miss him so much. pic.twitter.com/u8DYQrLNB7

— Mick Jagger (@MickJagger) January 11, 2023