Jeff Beck performs at Shepher’s Bush Empire in London. Photo by Nicky J. Sims/Redferns.

As you no doubt already know, legendary guitarist Jeff Beck died. There have been countless remembrances of his life and music, including in this publication, so I don’t want to reiterate all that. Instead, I’d like to go beyond his songs.

Beck, great guitarist that he was, appears on dozens of songs by other artists. And that doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. If you’re a musician who needs a guitar solo, and you know that Jeff freaking Beck is known to play guitar on other people’s songs, why wouldn’t you at least ask?

Here are five artists who did just that and what those collaborations produced.

Tina Turner — “Private Dancer”

“Private Dancer” was originally supposed to be a Dire Straits song. Frontman Mark Knopfler wrote it, and the band recorded it, but Knopfler rightfully decided it didn’t really work with a male singer. The song was dropped from the album and a couple years later it ended up with Tina Turner.

Due to some sort of legal issue, Turner couldn’t use the already-recorded instrumentals on her version of the song, so she brought back most of Dire Straits to re-record it. The only changes were that drummer Pick Withers and Knopfler, who played guitar, weren’t available. New Dire Straits drummer Terry Williams replaced Withers, but who could replace Knopfler’s fantastic guitar work?

Jeff Beck. The answer is Jeff Beck. Some would say it’s even an upgrade.

Jon Bon Jovi — “Blaze of Glory”

When I’ve told people about these songs since Beck died, this was the point at which most people stopped believing me, but, yes, Jeff Beck played lead guitar on “Blaze of Glory,” including the main riff that immediately popped in your head when you read the name of the song.

“Blaze of Glory,” written for “Young Guns II,” was nominated for an Academy Award. Technically, the Academy Award for Best Original Song goes to the songwriter, but I’m gonna ignore technicalities like “the rules of the award” and say this means Beck was nominated for an Oscar. Of course that means Randy Jackson, the “American Idol” guy who played bass on the song, was also nominated for an Oscar. Hmm. Well, you win some; you lose some. Either way they didn’t win; they lost to a Madonna song from “Dick Tracy.”

Stevie Wonder — “Superstition”

I’m kinda cheating on this one because Beck didn’t play on “Superstition,” but he did cowrite it, and that’s somehow even more impressive.

As the story goes, Jeff Beck was a big Stevie Wonder fan and agreed to join the recording sessions for Talking Book in exchange for Wonder writing Beck a song—which is a great deal for both parties. Between sessions, Beck came up with the opening beat, and Wonder told him to keep playing so he could improvise on top of it. That improvised jam session, made up on the spot, was turned into a demo that day and became “Superstition.”

I know “improvised,” “jam session” and “made up on the spot” communicate the same thing, but I really want to reinforce that part. Stevie Wonder and Jeff Beck just kind of sat around and came up with some of the catchiest riffs and hooks of all time. It blows my mind.

And, as promised, Stevie Wonder did give Jeff Beck a song: “Superstition.”

Pretenders — “Legalise Me”

We’ve reached the part of the list where the songs aren’t big hit singles, just songs Beck played on that I like.

Chrissie Hynde is, to say the least, no slouch on the guitar. But Jeff Beck is Jeff Beck, so she handed lead guitar duties to him on this song from 1999, and his solo at about the 2:13 mark is amazing. He really does add a lot to any song he appears on, and this one, I think more than most, is proof of that.

What’s funny to me is that in 1997, Hynde cited Jeff Beck as an inspiration in a Rolling Stone interview. Specifically she said, “Jeff Beck, though I never had a hope to play like him.” Then a couple years later this happened, and even though it happened over 20 years ago, I’m still happy for her.

Ozzy Osbourne — “Patient Number 9”

I include this one not because it’s a classic or because it’s one of my favorites, but because it came out four months ago. Right up to the end Beck was shredding, showing up all over the place and making every song he touched cooler.

This song is amazing for a lot of reasons—that Ozzy Osbourne is still able to record music despite apparently never knowing where he is, that Ozzy still somehow sounds exactly the same as he did in the ’70s, that it’s really good—but one of the major reasons is Beck. The call-and-response between Ozzy’s vocals and Beck’s guitar brings up the quality level of everything around it.

The world will miss Jeff Beck for his own music, of course. But hopefully, you now have a better idea of how much further his influence and contributions went.

Follow publisher Daniel J. Willis and tweet column ideas to him at Twitter.com/BayAreaData.