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The world received very sad news today when it was just announced a few minutes ago that the legendary rock guitarist Jeff Beck has passed away. His publicist Melissa Dragich stated that Jeff Beck passed away due to a sudden case of bacterial meningitis. Jeff Beck died in a hospital close to his home in England. There has not been much more information released yet.
Jeff Beck first arrived on the music scene as a member of The Yardbirds. It was the guitarist’s first claim to fame. A claim he would soon turn into a hall-of-fame career as one of the most influential rock guitarists in history. Jeff Beck would soon develop his own unique guitar sound. Nobody sounded like Jeff Beck. to call him a rock guitarist is simply not enough. Jeff Beck’s playing and music crossed all genres. One only has to listen to what he did as a member of the Yardbirds right next to his ’70s jazz fusion albums like Wired and Blow by Blow. Every album the guitarist released as a solo artist were unique, full of substance and as entertaining as any music album could be.
Jeff Beck was born on June 24th 1944, a year before the end of World War II. He was born in Wallington Surrey, England. Early on, Jeff Beck was said to be inspired by Les Paul. Jeff Beck played in many bands in the early ’60s until joining the Yardbirds in 1965 replacing Eric Clapton. After leaving The Yardbirds in 1967, he formed the Jeff Beck Group that included Rod Stewart on vocals, Niki Hopkins on piano, Aynsley Dunbar on drums and Ronnie Wood on bass. Moving on from the Jeff Beck Group, the legendary guitarist formed the band called Beck, Bogart and Appice. Jeff Beck would begin releasing solo albums in the mid-1970s to much success and critical praise. Throughout his career, Jeff Beck would also earn sixteen Grammy Awards mostly for best Rock instrumental performances.
As a solo artist, Jeff Beck has released seventeen Studio albums, eleven live records and multiple compilations. However, his passionate performances and creative guitar style have influenced millions of guitar players over the past 50 years. He will be incredibly missed.
Jeff Beck Passes Away At 78 Years Old article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2022
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(In no particular order)
Jeff Beck, Rory Gallagher, Johnny Winter, Duane Allman, Roy Buchanan, B.B. King, Gary Moore, Jimi Hendrix, Alvin Lee, Frank Zappa, Jerry Garcia, Prince, Albert Collins, Hughie Thomasson, J. Geils, Randy Rhoads, Eddie Van Halen, Rod Price…to name a few.
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The list of great guitarists/legends is getting shorter and shorter….
Rest In Piece, Jeff Beck – your distinct music, and instrumental style, will far outlive all of us – but thanking Providence that your work is preserved in our recorded media.
You have always been, since “Truth” came out, been in my personal Top Five.