RIFF Magazine

Obituary: Guitar great Jeff Beck dead at 78 after brief illness

Jeff Beck

Jeff Beck performs in Cologne, Germany on Oct. 27, 2016. Photo: HENNING KAISER/dpa | usage worldwide.

Two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Jeff Beck, a guitar icon who influenced countless others, has passed away after brief illness on Jan. 10, his family announced on Wednesday. He was 78.

According to his family, he recently contracted bacterial meningitis.

“On behalf of his family, it is with deep and profound sadness that we share the news of Jeff Beck’s passing,” a family statement read. “After suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis, he peacefully passed away yesterday. His family ask for privacy while they process this tremendous loss.”



Beck was instrumental in the progression of not only rock and roll but the blues and jazz. He first gained fame with British band the Yardbirds, who recruited him after Eric Clapton left the band. He played his first show with them just two days later. He was enshrined into the rock hall, both with the Yardbirds and as a solo artist.

During his two-year stint with the band, he developed a feedback-laden, fuzzy psychedelic rock sound that became popular in the next decade, moving away from the clean-sounding British Invasion era of British rock. At one point, the Yardbirds included both Beck and Jimmy Page (who recommended Beck to the band in the first place). The band didn’t record much with the Page/Beck lineup, but 1966’s “Psycho Daisies” is recognized as one of the templates for what would become punk rock.

“The six stringed Warrior is no longer here for us to admire the spell he could weave around our mortal emotions,” Page wrote on social media. “Jeff could channel music from the ethereal. His technique unique. His imaginations apparently limitless. Jeff I will miss you along with your millions of fans.”

Jeff Beck

Jeff Beck performs with Beck, Bogert and Appice at Imperial College, London in April 1973. Photo by David Warner Ellis/Redferns/Getty Images.

Beck’s connection to the guitar was profoundly tactile, as he avoided guitar picks and instead exerted precise control over his sound by plucking the strings with the fleshy side of his thumb. This unique approach gave him his signature dexterity with the whammy bar. Drawing from jazz, Beck’s note choice was often unconventional and avoided the relatively straightforward pentatonic scales used by so many guitarists, preferring surprising and often acrobatic intervalic leaps on the fretboard.

Jeff Beck left the Yardbirds in 1966 (he was fired) over his personality; anger issues and not showing up, among other issues. The next year he founded his own trio, the Jeff Beck Group, with Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood and others, releasing two albums before breaking up in 1969. He reformed the group in the ’70s with a different lineup, releasing two more records.

“Now Jeff has gone, I feel like one of my band of brothers has left this world, and I’m going to dearly miss him,” Wood posted online. “I’m sending much sympathy to [his wife] Sandra, his family, and all who loved him. I want to thank him for all our early days together in Jeff Beck Group, conquering America.”



Around the same time, The Rolling Stones had asked Beck to join the band after the death of Brian Jones, and according to stories, Pink Floyd considered asking him to replace Sod Barrett. Neither came to fruition. At the turn of the ’70s, he formed trio Beck, Bogert & Appice (with Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice of Cactus), then released a self-titled solo album in 1974 that charted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and was later certified platinum.

His next albums were also hits, but it wasn’t until 1985 that Jeff Beck won the first of eight Grammys. The first, for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, was awarded for “Escape” from 1985’s Flash. He won that award a total of six times, as well as awards for Best Pop Instrumental Performance and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. Beck released his final solo album, Loud Hailer, in 2016, and his final collaborative album—18, with actor Johnny Depp—last year. The two toured last year, including last November at the San Jose Civic.













David Gill contributed to this story. Follow editor Roman Gokhman at Twitter.com/RomiTheWriter.

(1) Comment

  1. Tamara Hodge

    For he shall send his Angels to watch over thee and keep thee in all thy ways Psalm :91:12,. Prayers for the family of Jeff Beck, and Johnny Depp... So sorry for your loss, HEARTS ARE HURTING ALL OVER THE WORLD... 👉💜👈

    Reply

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