Well, this wasn't what I was going to be writing about today - but that can wait for another time. For a year that had already gotten off to a bad start, musically speaking, yesterday it took another turn for the worse - and we are barely ten days in....
When I was growing up in the 80s, when discussions were about guitar players, and specifically British ones - it was always about Clapton and occasionally Gilmour or Page, but pretty much never about Jeff Beck. At that point, he had somehow been relegated to that bloke who did Hi Ho Silver Lining!
And while it might not be an awful pop tune, it was not much more than a novelty record for a player so enrobed in the blues.
Luckily for us, his legacy was restored after that and we can look back and celebrate a phenomenal guitarist.
Geoffrey Beck was a Londoner - he sang in the choir - he was attracted to the electric guitar after hearing Les Paul on the radio - he built a guitar as a teenager, from cigar boxes and a fence post. He was already friends with Jimmy Page before he was twenty - and had also played and recorded with Screaming Lord Sutch And The Savages at 18.
He was in a succession of R&B bands, culminating with him joining the Yardbirds in 1965, at the ripe old age of 21, replacing Eric Clapton. It still blows my mind, that a 60s band that most people know little about, at different times featured Clapton, Page and Beck!
The Yardbirds: The Shape Of Things - https://youtu.be/tOc-_GpfF1w
In 1967, having left the Yardbirds, he had his brief dalliance with pop fame, recording Silver Lining for Mickie Most - but he soon returned to the blues, forming the Jeff Beck Group, featuring Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood (on bass).
Jeff Beck Group: Morning Dew - https://youtu.be/yK86g9HONDA
He was never again going to achieve the commercial success he had known in his first few years. His group fell apart by 1969 - he almost joined Pink Floyd (when Syd Barrett left) and the Rolling Stones (after Brian Jones death). But neither of those happened, and a serious car accident also set him back. He formed a new version of the band in 1970, including Cozy Powell on drums.
Jeff Beck Group - Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You - https://youtu.be/vb5GagBpA5s
From the mid-70s on, he was basically recording and touring as a solo artist. In the 90s he was a gun for hire - playing on Jon Bon Jovi's solo debut, Blaze Of Glory, and albums for Roger Waters, Kate Bush and Beverley Craven. There was also soundtrack work, with his playing appearing on scores for Young Guns II and Days Of Thunder. He later recorded and toured with Brian Wilson (2013) and most recently, worked with Johnny Depp.
Jeff Beck: A Day In The Life - https://youtu.be/hHHY3eRUMsM
He has been inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall Of Fame twice - in 1992 with the Yardbirds, and in 2009 as a solo performer.
Rod Stewart & Jeff Beck: I Ain't Superstitious - https://youtu.be/q3K2jwzpc0U
Rod Stewart & Jeff Beck: People Get Ready - https://youtu.be/T43m6dcMk6U
There may be arguments as to whether Beck or Clapton was the greatest British guitarist of the 60s. For me, it is not really a question. Clapton, ignoring his more recent racist and anti-vaccine ranting for a moment, was undoubtedly a fantastic player - full of technique and feel; but Beck blew him out of the water - with power, passion and innovation. Without Beck, a music world without Hendrix, Page and Iommi becomes less likely - they all picked up and ran with his powerful interpretation of the blues.
As Mick Jagger says, "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."
He finally made peace with 'that' song, when he played it on Jools Holland about 20 years ago - and what a cast of friends to help him through! (Robert Plant, Chrissie Hynde, Solomon Burke and Jimmy Cliff) - https://youtu.be/xhpgepbvIhY
I have sprinkled in a liberal mix of his tunes into this story. Listen. Enjoy. Remember.