Jeff Beck, legendary guitarist for English rock bands The Yardbirds and The Jeff Beck Group, has died at the age of 78.
This news was announced on Wednesday on confirmed by Beck Twitter Account.
“On behalf of his family, it is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Jeff Beck,” said a statement released to USA TODAY, noting that the musician died on Tuesday “after a sudden infection with bacterial meningitis.”
“His family asks for privacy while they grieve this huge loss,” the statement said.
Beck was part of the late 1960s pantheon of rock guitarists that included Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix. In his long career, Beck has received eight Grammy Awards and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: once with the Yardbirds in 1992 and again as a solo artist in 2009. It was ranked fifth on Rolling Stone’s “100” list. Greatest guitarists of all time.”
Jeff Beck was a guitar god, but he was also human. That’s what happened when I met him.
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In 2010, when USA TODAY asked him if he regretted not becoming a more famous deity, Beck joked, “Don’t you? Oh shit! No, I couldn’t handle any of it. What a terrible thing. the worst thing you can ever have.”
Born Geoffrey Arnold Beck in Surrey, England, he started playing guitar in college and performed in many local bands before rising to prominence as a member of The Yardbirds in 1965. Beck famously replaced Clapton in the blues-rock band on Page’s recommendation. fellow session musician who later joined the band.
With Beck in the herd, The Yardbirds had their biggest success with songs like “Heart Full of Soul”, “Shapes of Things” and a cover of Bo Diddley’s “I’m a Man”.
Beck’s volatility on tour, as well as his occasional irascible temper, led to his dismissal from The Yardbirds, but this did not dampen his musical ambitions. Beck’s distinctive playing style included frequent improvisation, as well as his fondness for harmonics and strumming on his beloved Fender Stratocaster guitar.
His solo career continued with his next creative endeavor, The Jeff Beck Group, which included hard rock, jazz, blues and funk and brought Rod Stewart and pre-Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood mainstream success.
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After the group broke up in 1972, he enlisted two musicians he had long admired – bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice – to form the supergroup Beck, Bogert and Appice. But the musical marriage was short-lived, and the trio broke up in 1974, releasing only one self-titled album.
He then teamed up with legendary Beatles producer George Martin to help him create the fusion of genres, the jazz fusion classics Blow by Blow (1975) and Wired (1976).
Beck was introduced to the younger generation in 1985 with his album Flash, which included a cover of Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready” with old friend Stewart on vocals. The video for the song was widely played on MTV, and the instrumental “Escape” earned Beck his first Grammy Award.
Over the decades, the guitarist has performed for a wide variety of singers including Brian Wilson, David Bowie, Macy Gray and Luciano Pavarotti, and also featured on Ozzy Osbourne’s latest album, Patient Number 9.
His guitar parts can also be heard on soundtracks for films such as Stomp the Yard, Shallow Hall, Casino, Vegas Honeymoon, The Twins, Watch and Report, and Little Big League. ”
In July, Beck and his friend Johnny Depp released Beck’s latest album, 18, a collection of Depp originals and covers of artists including Lennon and Janice Yan. The couple embarked on a fall tour that ended in November. These were Beck’s last live performances.
Beck told USA TODAY in 2016 that he still trains on his Fender Stratocaster every day, even on vacation. Even he seemed a little surprised that he was still in it.
“When I was 22 and I read that John Lennon was 29, I thought, ‘Shut up buddy, it’s time to pack up the tent.’ But here we are, it’s incredible,” he said then. “The fans are still there.”
There were times, he told USA TODAY in 2011, “when I treated my guitars like a nuisance. But they are my best friends.”
“The other day I looked at one of them and thought: “Thanks a lot, buddy, I traveled the whole world with you.” People give me so much for making noise with him. And this is just a piece of wood with wires.
Contributing: Marco della Cava and Jerry Shriver, USA TODAY and Associated Press.
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