Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press Published Wednesday, January 11, 2023 5:16 PM EST Last Updated Wednesday, January 11, 2023 7:38 PM EST
NEW YORK (AP) – Jeff Beck, a guitar virtuoso who pushed the boundaries of blues, jazz and rock ‘n’ roll, influencing generations of shredders along the way and becoming known as the guitarist’s guitarist, has died. He was 78.
Beck died Tuesday after “a sudden onset of bacterial meningitis,” his representatives said in a statement released Wednesday. The location was not immediately known.
“Jeff was such a nice guy and an extraordinary iconic, genius guitarist – there will never be another Jeff Beck,” Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi tweeted, among many tributes.
Beck first came to prominence as a member of the Yardbirds, and then went on to pursue a solo career spanning hard rock, jazz, funky blues and even opera. He was known for his improvisation, love of harmonicas and the drum bar of his preferred Fender Stratocaster guitar.
“Jeff Beck is the best guitarist on the planet,” Joe Perry, Aerosmith’s lead guitarist, told The New York Times in 2010. “He’s head, hands and feet above all the rest of us, with such talent which only appears once every generation or two.”
Beck was among the pantheon of rock guitarists of the late 1960s that included Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix. Beck has won eight Grammy Awards and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice – once with the Yardbirds in 1992 and again as a solo artist in 2009. He was ranked fifth on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the ‘100 greatest guitarists of all’. time.
“Jeff can channel music from the air,” Page tweeted Wednesday.
Beck has played guitar with vocalists as diverse as Luciano Pavarotti, Macy Gray, Chrissie Hynde, Joss Stone, Imelda May, Cyndi Lauper, Winona Judd, Buddy Guy and Johnny Depp. He made two recordings with Rod Stewart — 1968’s “Truth” and 1969’s “Beck-Ola” — and one with a 64-piece orchestra, “Emotion & Commotion.”
“I like an element of chaos in music. This feeling is the best thing, as long as you don’t experience it too much. It has to be in balance. I just saw Cirque du Soleil and it seemed like complete organized chaos,” he told Guitar World in 2014. “If I can turn that into music, it’s not far from my ultimate goal, which is to delight people with chaos and beauty at the same time.”
Beck’s career highlights include joining bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice to form the power trio that released Beck, Bogert and Appice in 1973, touring with Brian Wilson and Buddy Guy and a tribute album to the late guitarist Les Paul, ‘Rock’ `n’ Roll Party (Honoring Les Paul).”
Beck’s album includes “Talking Book,” Stevie Wonder’s landmark album from 1972. His tender guitar solo on the ballad “Lookin’ For Another Pure Love” earned him a warm song “Do it Jeff” by Wonder, which was featured on the album .
Geoffrey Arnold Beck was born in Surrey, England, and attended Wimbledon Art College. His father was an accountant and his mother worked in a chocolate factory. As a boy, he built his first instrument using a cigar box, a picture frame for a door, and a string from a toy radio-controlled airplane.
He was in several bands – including Nightshift and The Tridents – before joining the Yardbirds in 1965, replacing Clapton, only to make way for Page just a year later. During his tenure, the band produced the memorable singles “Heart Full of Soul”, “I’m a Man” and “Shapes of Things”.
Beck’s first hit single was the 1967 instrumental “Beck’s Bolero”, which featured future Led Zeppelin members Page and John Paul Jones and The Who drummer Keith Moon. The Jeff Beck Band – with Stewart singing – were later booked to play the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival, but their appearance was cancelled. Beck later said there was unrest in the group.
“I could see the end of the tunnel,” he told Rolling Stone in 2010.
Beck was friends with Hendrix and they performed together. Before Hendrix, most rock guitarists concentrated on a similar style and technical vocabulary. Hendrix smashed that.
“He came in and reset all the rules for one night,” Beck told Guitar World.
Beck teamed up with legendary producer George Martin – aka “the fifth Beatle” – to help create the genre-blending, jazz-fusion classics Blow by Blow (1975) and Wired (1976). He collaborated with Seal on the Hendrix tribute Stone Free, formed a jazz fusion band led by synthesizer Jan Hammer and paid tribute to rockabilly guitarist Cliff Gallup with the Crazy Legs album. He released ‘Loud Hailer’ in 2016.
Beck’s guitar work can be heard on the soundtracks of films such as Stomp the Yard, Shallow Hal, Casino, Honeymoon in Vegas, Twins, Observe and Report and Little Big League. Beck recently completed a tour in support of his Depp album, 18, and was featured on Ozzy Osbourne’s Patient Number 9 album.
Beck’s career never reached Clapton’s commercial heights. A perfectionist, he preferred to make critically acclaimed music records and left the limelight for a long time, enjoying his time restoring vintage cars. He and Clapton had a strained relationship at first, but became friends in later life and toured together.
Why did the two wait nearly four decades to tour together?
“Because we were all trying to be big bananas,” Beck told Rolling Stone in 2010. “It’s just that I didn’t have the luxury of the hit songs that Eric has.”
Beck is survived by his wife, Sandra.
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AP reporter Scott Stroud in Nashville contributed to this report.
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