Jeff Beck, Legendary Guitarist, Dies At 78
Jeff Beck, one of the most influential and admired rock guitarists, has died at the age of 78. Beck’s verified Twitter account first broke the news to the public.
The post read, “On behalf of his family, it is with deep and profound sadness that we share the news of Jeff Beck’s passing. After suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis, he peacefully passed away yesterday. His family ask for privacy while they process this tremendous loss.”
In 1965, Jeff replaced Eric Clapton in the British group, The Yardbirds. Although the band was already famous and doing well, Jeff took it to new heights. Jeff’s daring leads and stinging licks, completely at home with the group’s electric blue roots, aided the emerging psychedelic rock revolution.
After a sudden exit from the group, where he was replaced by Jimmy Page, Beck formed his own group, The Jeff Beck Group. The group was fronted by Rod Stewart, a little-known singer at the time who went on to become a solo star, and included an equally obscure Ron Wood on bass.
The group was only able to release two albums, Truth (1968) and Beck-Ola (1969). They were unhappy and had a lot of arguments. In 1970, both Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood quit to join another group, Small Faces (later The Faces).
He later formed another group with bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice of Vanilla Fudge and Cactus. However, it was unsuccessful commercially, and Beck went solo in 1975.
He achieved commercial success with his all-instrumental albums, “Blow by Blow” and “Wired”. The former made the Billboard Top 5 and sold more than a million copies, making it a platinum hit.
Beck was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice—once as a member of the Yardbirds in 1992 and again as a solo artist in 2009.
He had eight Grammys under his belt, the first of which he earned in 1985 for best rock instrumental performance for “Escape”. The pantheon of rock guitarists from the late 1960s included Beck, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Clapton.
Rolling Stone magazine listed Beck in the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” at the fifth position. Last year, he toured with Johnny Depp after the pair recorded a cover album together, “18”.
As soon as the unfortunate news broke on the internet, the world started mourning the loss of a rock legend. Many celebrities took to social media to express how they were feeling and what a great loss it was.
Ozzy Osbourne, singer/songwriter, tweeted, “I can’t express how saddened I am to hear of (Jeff Beck’s) passing. What a terrible loss for his family, friends & his many fans. It was such an honor to have known Jeff & an incredible honor to have had him play on my most recent album, #PatientNumber9 Long Live #JeffBeck.”
Jimmy Page, ex-guitarist of The Yardbirds and the founder and guitarist of Led Zeppelin called Beck a “six-stringed warrior” who could weave a spell and channel music from the ethereal. “His technique unique. His imaginations apparently limitless,” Page tweeted. “Jeff I will miss you along with your millions of fans.”
Jeff was from England and is survived by his wife, Sandra.
