Jeff Beck
b. June 24, 1944
Wallington, Surrey, England
Jeff Beck began his career in 1962, taking part in many bands through out the 1960’s and 1970’s and continues on today. Beck broke into the music world by replacing Eric Clapton in the Yardbirds, however, he left the band in the midst of their popularity. He went on to form The Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart and Ron Wood, which put out two albums in 1968 and 1969.
The band ran into problems and lost both Stewart and Wood. By the early 1970’s The Jeff Beck Group had replaced its lost members and released two more
albums. Shortly after the second album the group came to an end and the trio, Beck, Bogert & Appice was formed.The trio did not last long and Beck then released a solo album.
Later in his career Beck recorded what many consider one of his best albums, There and Back, and also won his third Grammy Award for ‘Best Rock Instrumental Performance’. Jeff has also recorded with Jan Hammer, Les Paul, Cyndi Lauper, Roger Waters, Stevie Wonder, ZZ Top, Brian May, Tina Turner. Beck is known for his aggressive playing style and has covered many different types of music including blues rock, heavy metal, jazz fusion, and most recently mixing heavy guitar rock and electronica.
Unlike most guitarists, Jeff Beck does not rely heavily on outboard effects. He has developed the ability to conjure up a wide variety of sounds by using his thumbnail and the tremolo bar. Beck was one of the first guitarists to use electronic distortion which helped define rock music as we know it.
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