Jeff Beck

At 78 years old, Jeff Beck has this physical status:

Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist.

He is one of the three noted guitarists to have played with the Yardbirds (the other two being Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page).

Beck also formed the Jeff Beck Group and with Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice, he formed Beck, Bogert & Appice. Much of Beck's recorded output has been instrumental, with a focus on innovative sound, and his releases have spanned genres ranging from blues rock, hard rock, and an additional blend of guitar-rock and electronica.

Although he recorded two hit albums (in 1975 and 1976) as a solo act, Beck has not established or maintained the sustained commercial success of many of his contemporaries and bandmates.

Beck appears on albums by Rod Stewart, Mick Jagger, Tina Turner, Morrissey, Donovan, Diana Ross, Jon Bon Jovi, Malcolm McLaren, Kate Bush, Roger Waters, Stevie Wonder, Les Paul, Zucchero, Cyndi Lauper, Brian May, Roger Taylor, Stanley Clarke, Screaming Lord Sutch, ZZ Top, and Toots and the Maytals.He was ranked fifth in Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and the magazine, upon whose cover Beck has appeared three times, has described him as "one of the most influential lead guitarists in rock".

He is often called a "guitarist's guitarist".

Beck has earned wide critical praise and received the Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance six times and Best Pop Instrumental Performance once.

In 2014 he received the British Academy's Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music.

Beck has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: as a member of The Yardbirds (1992) and as a solo artist (2009).

Early life

Geoffrey Arnold Beck was born on 24 June 1944 to Arnold and Ethel Beck at 206 Demesne Road, Wallington, England. As a 10-year-old, Beck sang in a church choir. He attended Sutton Manor School and Sutton East County Secondary Modern School.

Beck has cited Les Paul as the first electric guitar player who impressed him. Beck has said that he first heard an electric guitar when he was 6 years old and heard Paul playing "How High the Moon" on the radio. He asked his mother what it was. After she replied it was an electric guitar and was all tricks, he said, "That's for me". Cliff Gallup, lead guitarist with Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps, was also an early musical influence, followed by B.B. King and Steve Cropper. Beck considers Lonnie Mack "a rock guitarist [who] was unjustly overlooked [and] a major influence on him and many others."

As a teenager he learned to play on a borrowed guitar and made several attempts to build his own instrument, first by gluing and bolting together cigar boxes for the body and an unsanded fence-post for the neck with model aircraft control-lines and frets simply painted on.

Upon leaving school, he attended Wimbledon College of Art, after which he was briefly employed as a painter and decorator, a groundsman on a golf course and a car paint-sprayer. Beck's sister Annetta introduced him to Jimmy Page when both were teenagers.

Personal life

Beck has been married to Sandra Beck since 2005 and has been a vegetarian since 1969. He is a patron of the Folly Wildlife Rescue Trust. He has an interest in classic Ford hot rods, performing much of the work on the exteriors and engines of the cars by himself. Beck has a house near Wadhurst, East Sussex.

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Career

Beck, who was still attending Wimbledon College of Art, was playing in a variety of bands, including Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages, when they released "Dracula's Daughter"/"Come Back Baby" for Oriole Records in 1962.

Ian Stewart of the Rolling Stones introduced him to R&B in 1963, he formed the Nightshift, alongside Who performed at the 100 Club in Oxford Street, and released "That's My Story" as a bonus on the Piccadilly label. Beck joined the Rumbles, a Croydon band, in 1963 for a short time as lead guitarist, performing Gene Vincent and Buddy Holly songs, demonstrating a natural talent for imitating guitar styles. He joined the Tridents, a Chiswick band. "They were really my game because they were playing flat-out R&B, like Jimmy Reed," they were doing, and we made it all rocky." Even though it was only twelve-bar blues, I got it off because it was just twelve-bar blues. He appeared on a 1964 Parlophone album titled "I'm Not Running Away," featuring B-side "So Sweet."

Beck was hired by the Yardbirds in March 1965 to replace Eric Clapton on the recommendation of fellow session musician Jimmy Page, who had been their first pick. During Beck's brief but memorable 20-month tenure with the band, the Yardbirds recorded the majority of their Top 40 hits songs, with Roger the Engineer releasing only one complete album, which was titled Over Under Sideways Down in the United States), which was released in 1966. Beck's Bolero, an instrumental, was released in May 1966. He was backed by Page on 12-string rhythm guitar, Keith Moon on drums, John Paul Jones on bass, and Nicky Hopkins on piano, rather than members of the Yardbirds. Page formed the Yardbirds in June, placing first on bass and later on second lead guitar. This dual lead-guitar team was filmed for the 1966 Michelangelo Antonioni film "Train Kept A-Rollin" ("Stroll On" as a result of the translation of "Train Kept A-Rollin."

Beck was banned from traveling in the United States for being a consistent no-show, as well as the challenges posed by his perfectionionism and eruptive temper. Mickie Most, a pop singer, released several solo albums for him, including "Hi Ho Silver Lining" and "Tallyman," which also included his vocals. Rod Stewart on vocals, Ronnie Wood on bass, Nicky Hopkins on piano, and Aynsley Dunbar on drums were among the Jeff Beck Group's (replaced by Micky Waller).

Columbia Records (Epic in the United States): Truth (as Jeff BecK, August 1968) and Beck-Ola (July 1969). Truth is a product of Led Zeppelin, a Led Zeppelin album that was released five months before the first Led Zeppelin album was released. "You Shook Me," written by Willie Dixon and first released by Muddy Waters, was also included on Led Zeppelin's debut with a similar theme. It's a hot deal (reaching No. 1). On the Billboard charts, 15 are listed. Micky Waller, a Beck-Ola saw drummer, was replaced by Tony Newman, who was both well-received and less fruitful both professionally and financially. The organisation disbanded in July 1969 due to resentment and tour incidents.

Nick Mason recalled that after 1964, Pink Floyd had hoped to recruit Beck to be its guitarist following Syd Barrett's resignation, but "none of us had the nerve to ask him." Beck was considering joining the Rolling Stones in 1969, after Brian Jones' death.

Beck took part in the Music From Free Creek "super session" project, which was billed as "A.N. "Because" after his band's breakup. On four songs, including one co-written by him, the Other" and contributed lead guitar, as well as one that was co-written by him. He collaborated with Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice in September 1969 to work on contractual issues, but the project was postponed for two and a half years until Beck fractured his skull in a car accident near Maidstone in December. Beck later wrote about the 1960s as "everyone thinks of the 1960s as something they clearly weren't." It was the worst time of my life. The electronic equipment was just not up to the sounds I had in my head."

In 1970, when Beck had recovered his fitness, he started playing with drummer Cozy Powell. Beck, Powell, and producer Mickie Most of the Funk Brothers, Motown's in-house band, travelled to the United States and recorded several tracks at Motown's famed Studio A, but the results were not revealed. Beck's line-up with guitarist/vocalist Bobby Tench, keyboard player Max Middleton, and bassist Clive Chaman had all been assembled by April 1971. The new band appeared as "the Jeff Beck Group," but the new band had a different sound from the first line-up.

Rough and Ready (October 1971), the first album they released on which Beck wrote or co-wrote six of the album's seven tracks (the exception being written by Middleton), foreshadowing Beck's musical direction later this decade.

Jeff Beck Group (July 1972) was shot at TMI studios in Memphis, Tennessee, with the same staff. Beck employed Steve Cropper as producer and the album had a strong soul — five of the nine tracks were covers of songs by American artists. "I Got to Have a Song" was the first of four Stevie Wonder compositions to be covered by Beck. The band was disbanded shortly after the unveiling of the Jeff Beck Group album, but Beck's administration denied that "the mixing of the musical styles of the various members has been fruitful within the context of individual performers, but not in the sense of a new musical style with the confidence they had hoped for."

Beck began working with bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice after Cactus' demise, but he went out on tour with his promoter in August 1972 to fulfill contractual obligations with his promoter, including Bogert, Appice, Max Middleton, and singer Kim Milford. After six appearances, Milford was replaced by Bobby Tench, who had flown in from the United Kingdom for the Arie Crown Theatre Chicago performance and the remainder of the tour, which concluded at the The Until now. Beck, Bogert & Appice emerged after the band's tour Tench and Middleton departed, and the power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice appeared. With Bogert and Beck occasionally appearing, Appice took on the role of a vocalist.

They were included on the bill for Rock at The Oval in September 1972, later known as "the Jeff Beck Group" at the start of a tour of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany, which marked the start of a tour tour of UK, Germany and Germany. In October 1972, another U.S. tour began, beginning at the Hollywood Sportsatorium Florida and ending on November 11, 1972 at The Warehouse in New Orleans. Beck, Bogert & Appice was released on Epic Records in April 1973. Though critics acknowledged the band's musical prowess, the album was not well received outside of its treatment of Stevie Wonder's hit "Superstition."

Beck appeared with David Bowie onstage on "The Jean Genie"/"Love Me Do" and "Around and Around" on July 3, 1973. Beck was filmed and shot on the program, but no of the new editions included Beck. Beck recorded tracks for Michael Fennelly's album Lane Changer in October 1973 and attended sessions with Hummingbird, a band based on the Jeff Beck Group, but did not sign up to their eponymous first album.

As part of a European tour, Beck, Bogert & Appice appeared at the Rainbow Theatre in January 1974. In September of the same year, the concert was on full on the US show Rock Around the World. The band's last live recording appeared on At Last Rainbow, a collection of recorded works destined for a second studio album. "Blues Deluxe" and "BBA Boogie" from this concert were later included on Jeff Beck's Jeff Beck compilation Beckology (1991).

Beck, Bogert & Appice disbanded in April 1974 before their second studio album (produced by Jimmy Miller) was released. Epic/Sony's live album Beck, Bogert & Appice Live in Japan, recorded during their 1973 tour of Japan, was not released until February 1975.

Beck came to Underhill Studio and met with the company Upp, who was hired as a backband for his appearance on the BBC TV show Guitar Workshop in August 1974. Beck recorded and performed on their self-titled debut album and their second album This Way Upp, but his contributions to the second album were uncredited. Max Middleton, bassist Phil Chen, and drummer Richard Bailey began recording instrumentals at AIR Studios in October, with George Martin as producer and arranger.

Jeff Beck's solo album Blow by Blow (March 1975) emerged from these sessions and showcased Beck's technical prowess in jazz-rock. The album debuted at number four in the charts and is Beck's most commercially profitable release. Beck, a quickidious about overdubs and often dissatisfied with his solos, would not return to AIR Studios until he was satisfied. George Martin, a producer who wanted to record a solo section a few months after the sessions ended, was contacted by Beck a few months after. Martin said, "I'm sorry, Jeff, but the record is in the stores."

Beck assembled a live band for a US tour, followed by a small and unannounced performance at The Newlands Tavern in Peckham, London. He toured through 1975 through May, 1975, mainly supporting the Mahavishnu Orchestra, but with the addition of a new rhythm section of bassist Wilbur Bascomb and noted session drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie, he continued supporting the Mahavishnu Orchestra.

He became ill with an early version of a talk box he used on his show "She's a Woman" in Cleveland, Ohio, and after breaking a string, he threw his legendary Yardbirds-era Stratocaster guitar off the stage. He did the same with the talk box and ended the show as a Les Paul and without the box. During this tour, he appeared at Yuya Uchida's "World Rock Festival," delivering a total of eight songs with Purdie. In addition, he performed a guitar and drum instrumental with Johnny Yoshinaga and, at the conclusion of the festival, he and bassist Felix Pappalardi of Mountain and vocalist Akira "Joe" Yamanaka of the Flower Travellin' Band joined in a live jam. Only Purdie's set was recorded and broadcast.

He returned to the studio and recorded Wired (1976), which partnered ex-Mahavishnu Orchestra drummer and composer Narada Michael Walden and keyboardist Jan Hammer. The album was released in a jazz-rock fusion style, and it appeared to be similar to his two collaborators' work. Beck joined forces with the Jan Hammer Group in May 1976, playing a show for Alvin Lee at The Roundhouse before embarking on a seven-month world tour. Jeff Beck of the Jan Hammer Group Live (1977) was a result of this.

Beck was a tax prisoner who took up residency in the United States and remained there until returning to the United Kingdom in 1977. He began rehearsing with ex-Return to Forever bassist Stanley Clarke and drummer Gerry Brown in the spring of 1978, but it was postponed after Brown dropped out. In November 1978, Beck and Tony Hymas (keyboards) and Simon Phillips (drums) from Jack Bruce's band toured Japan for three weeks.

Since beginning on a new studio album at the Who's Ramport Studios in London, work on a new album has continued sporadically throughout 1979, resulting in There & Back in June 1980. Three songs were created and recorded with Jan Hammer, while five were written with Hymas. Both on the album and subsequent tours, Stanley Clarke was replaced by Mo Foster on bass. Its arrival in the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom was followed by extensive touring.

During 1981, Beck performed a series of rare live appearances with his Yardbirds colleague Eric Clapton, who was introduced to Amnesty International-sponsored charity benefit concerts dubbed The Secret Policeman's Other Ball Show. He appeared on "Crossroads," "Further on the Road," and his own arrangement of Stevie Wonder's "Cause We've Ended As Lovers." Beck appeared in an all-star band finale of "I Shall Be Released" with Clapton, Sting, Phil Collins, Donovan, and Bob Geldof. Beck's contributions were seen and heard in the resulting album and film, both of which were also very popular in 1982. The ARMS Concert for Multiple Sclerosis featured a jam with Beck, Eric Clapton, and Jimmy Page, according to another charity display. They performed "Tulsa Time" and "Layla." In 1985, Beck released Flash, which featured a mix of singers, but most notable was former bandmate Rod Stewart on a version of Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready." The aforementioned cover song was also released as a single and went on to become a hit. On MTV, a video was made for the track, and the clip received a lot of rotation. During this period, the two also did a few dates together, but no full tour in tandem was scheduled. "We have a love hate relationship with him," Beck said of Stewart at his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. During this time, Beck appeared in numerous guest appearances, including the movie Twins, where he performed guitar with singer Nicolette Larson.

With the album Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop (1989), the first album to feature Beck as a fingerstyle guitarist, he returned to instrumental music after a four-year absence. It was only his third album to be released in the 1980s. Much of Beck's sporadic recording schedule was due in large part to a long battle with tinnitus.

Beck had a higher musical output in the 1990s. He appeared on Jon Bon Jovi's debut album "Blaze of Glory" in 1990, as the album's main soloist, as well as the movie Young Guns II's theme tune. He appeared on Hans Zimmer's score for the film Days of Thunder in the same year. He appeared on Roger Waters' 1992 concept album Amused to Death, as well as Beverley Craven's 1993 album The Red Shoes by Kate Bush and Love Scenes. Frankie's House (1992), as well as Crazy Legs (1993), a tribute to 1950s rockabilly band Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps and their influential guitarist Cliff Gallup, appeared on Frankie's House (1992).

Beck rehearsed with Guns N' Roses for their 1992 Paris show, but did not participate in the actual performance due to ear damage caused by a Matt Sorum cymbal crash, which caused Beck to become temporarily disabled. In 1992, the Yardbirds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He jokingly said in Beck's acceptance address that:

On the album Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters, he joined Paul Rodgers of Bad Company in 1993. Who Else! Beck's next appearance was in 1999, his first foray into guitar-based electronicsa. Beck's debut with Jennifer Batten, a female singer, in touring, writing, and recording, as well as the first time he had collaborated with another guitarist on his own material since being a member of the Yardbirds. Beck continued to work with Batten through the 2001 post-release tour of You Had It Coming.

Beck received his third Grammy Award, this one for the track "Dirty Mind" from You Had It Coming (2000).

Beck's third Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance from Jeff Beck, was for the first time, and it was clear that the new electro-guitar style he used for his previous albums would continue to dominate. Beck was the opening act for B.B. King appeared at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2004 in the summer of 2003. Beck appeared on Toots and the Maytals' "54-46 Was My Number" as part of their album True Love, which received the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album.

The song "Hot Rod Honeymoon," which is also from Jeff's album, is included in Gran Turismo 4.

During the American Idol episode "Up to the Peak" in 2007, he accompanied Kelly Clarkson for her reporting of Patty Griffin's "Up to the Peak." The show was streamed live and then immediately released for purchase. In the same year, he appeared at Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival for the second time, alongside Vinnie Colaiuta, Jason Rebello, and Tal Wilkenfeld, a young bassist.

Beck announced a world tour in early 2009 and stayed faithful to the same lineup of musicians as on his tour two years ago, performing and recording at Ronnie Scott's in London to a sold-out audience. Beck appeared on the 2009 Morrissey album "Black Cloud" as the Beck's manager, and later that year, Harvey Goldsmith became Beck's manager.

Beck was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 4th, 2009, as a solo artist. Jimmy Page introduced the award. Beck appeared on "Train Kept A-Rollin" alongside Page, Ronnie Wood, Joe Perry, Flea, and Metallica members James Hetfield, Robert Trujillo, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, and Jason Newsted.

David Gilmour joined Beck onstage at Albert Hall on July 4th, 2009. On "Jerusalem" Beck and Gilmour performed solos and "Hi Ho Silver Lining" closed the show.

Emotion & Commotion, Beck's album, was released in April 2010. It features a mix of original songs and covers including "Over the Rainbow" and "Nessun Dorma." Some of the guest vocals were provided by Joss Stone and Imelda May. In 2011, two tracks from Emotion & Commotion received Grammy Awards for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, while "Nessun Dorma" received the Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, and "Hammerhead" earned the Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Beck and The Imagine Project, 2010, together with Seal, P.nk, India, were among the 2010 Herbie Hancock album's The Imagine Project's supporters, earning their third Grammy Award in 2011 for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

Narada Michael Walden, a Grammy Award-winning singer, appeared on drums, Rhonda Smith on bass, and Jason Rebello on keyboards at Beck's 2010 World Tour band. Live and Exclusive from the Grammy Museum on October 25, 2010. Beck's Band (Honoring Les Paul) recorded a DVD of a concert at the Iridium in NYC on June 9, 2010 (with Ms May performing the Mary Ford vocals).

Beck received two honorary degrees from British universities in 2011. He was given a fellowship from University of the Arts London on July 18 for his "outstanding contribution to the field of Music." Beck was also awarded an honorary doctorate from University of Sussex on July 21, 2011, according to Sanjeev Bhaskar, the university's chancellor), recognizing "an outstanding academic career and the Brighton Institute of Modern Music (BIMM).

Brian Wilson, the founding father of Beach Boys (alongside Beach Boys Al Jardine and David Marks), will be performing on Capitol Records in 2013. Wilson's website revealed on June 20th that the collection would be divided into three albums; one of new pop songs, another of mainly instrumental tracks with Beck; and another of interwoven tracks dubbed "the suite." Beck joined Wilson (along with Jardine and Marks) on an eighteen-date fall 2013 tour, beginning in late September and ending in late October (prior to which Beck said he regarded sharing the stage with Wilson as a complete honor for him).

A three-track CD named Yosogai was released on 5 April, marking Jeff's World Tour in Japan; the album had yet to be decided at the time of the tour. In November 2014, he accompanied Joss Stone at The Royal Albert Hall for the remembrance of the British Legion. In 2016, Loud Hailer's album Loud Hailer was released.

Beck announced a new single on April 16, 2020, in which Beck collaborated with Johnny Depp to cover John Lennon's "Isolation," a first record of the two men's ongoing musical collaboration. They had been recording music together for some time, with the album's release coming a year ahead, but Beck explained that the decision to unleash it was influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns: "We weren't planning to announce it so soon," the group's difficult days and true 'isolation' that people are going through in these difficult times, and that now might be the right time to share it with you all."

After Depp's victory in the high-profile defamation lawsuit involving his ex-wife Amber Heard, Beck appeared in the news on June 2nd. Earlier this week, both of them had appeared at the Royal Albert Hall in London. "This Is a Song for Miss Hedy Lamarr," Beck and Depp's first single from their collaborative album 18 titled "This Is a Song for Miss Hedy Lamarr," was announced on June 20, 2022.

Beck appears on two tracks from Ozzy Osbourne's album "Patient Number 9" and "A Thousand Shades" respectively; the title track "Patient Number 9" and "A Thousand Shades" are included on the album.

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