Jeff Beck, born June 24, 1944 in Wallington, Surrey, was a singular talent. He started out playing blues and R&B before helping template hard rock, heavy metal and jazz fusion.
Enamoured with Les Paul, Gene Vincent, B.B. King and Steve Cropper, he honed his craft from 1963 in The Tridents, a four-piece led by the Lucas brothers, bassist and vocalist Paul and rhythm guitarist John. They blasted their Eel Pie Island audiences with R&B future classics and, while they never released a 45, their demo tape (hear it on Beckology, see below) proved they were ones to watch.
On joining The Yardbirds as Eric Clapton’s replacement in 1965, Beck stamped his authority with psychedelic rock nuggets Over Under Sideways Down, Happenings Ten Years Time Ago and Psycho Daisies, the latter featuring Beck on lead vocals.
His 1967 debut solo single, Hi Ho Silver Lining, made the UK Top 20, proof he could achieve success as a mainstream artist should he wish. He didn’t, instead forming the Jeff Beck Group where he handed singing duties to Rod Stewart and, over two albums, 1968’s Truth and 1969’s Beck-Ola, provided the hard rock and heavy metal prototype.
Later, 1972’s Jeff Beck Group album, recorded with a reconfigured line-up in Memphis and produced by Steve Cropper, saw Beck try his hand at soul on covers including Ashford and Simpson’s I Can’t Give Back The Love I Feel For You and Stevie Wonder’s I Got To Have A Song.
After a brief sojourn in Beck, Bogert & Appice – a supergroup of sorts, with Vanilla Fudge's Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice – he launched his solo career. On 1975’s Blow By Blow and 1976’s Wired he cemented his reputation as a jazz fusionist; 1993’s Crazy Legs paid homage to Gene Vincent; 1999’s Who Else! experimented with electronica; and 2010’s Emotion & Commotion placed him in an orchestral setting. It also landed him his highest charting album in the US since Blow By Blow.
In his final dozen years he would release two more albums: Loud Hailer, aided and abetted by Carmen Vandenberg and Rosie Bones from Camden Town hopefuls Bones UK, before his final album 18 arrived in 2022, recorded with actor/musician Johnny Depp.
