The world lost a true guitar hero on Tuesday with the sudden passing of Jeff Beck. The iconic guitarist died unexpectedly at the age of 78 after contracting bacterial meningitis.
Over the course of his nearly six-decade career, the British guitarist laid the pillars of blues-rock from his time in the seminal Yardbirds with Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton to the Jeff Beck Group with Ronnie Wood and Rod Stewart to his celebrated solo catalog. He released 11 solo studio albums and scored eight Grammys out of 17 nominations. Along the way, he inspired generations of musicians who have since come out to pay their respects to their late hero.
Bona fide blues guitarist John Mayer took to Instagram to share his remembrance of Beck and his outsized influence, noting, “If you wanted to meet your favorite guitar players, your best bet would be to check the audience at one of Jeff’s concerts. Everyone would watch in awe and laugh like kids.”
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Former Allman Brothers Band guitarist and Gov’t Mule founder Warren Haynes offered a lengthy reflection on Beck. After taking up the guitar in the early 1970s, Haynes was glued to Beck’s run of solo albums that stand as some of his most significant work including Blow By Blow (1975) and Wired (1976).
“Every time he released something new we all waited with anticipation to hear what new direction or directions he would take,” Haynes recalled. “It was uncanny.”
Jimmy Page took to Twitter to honor his fallen Yardbirds bandmate, eulogizing “The six stringed Warrior”.
His technique unique. His imaginations apparently limitless. Jeff I will miss you along with your millions of fans. Jeff Beck Rest in Peace.https://t.co/4h1DfXXmWI
— Jimmy Page (@JimmyPage) January 11, 2023
Jack White dug into his archives for a bootleg clip of him, drummer Meg White, and bassist Jack Lawrence performing with Beck in 2002 at London’s Royal Festival Hall.
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Check out some other Jeff Beck tributes from Paul McCartney, David Gilmour, Mick Jagger, Mark Lettieri, Bootsy Collins, and Rod Stewart.
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