Jeff Beck is one of the technical, skillful and adventurous guitar pros. Innovative courage and disregard for generally accepted rules - made him one of the pioneers of extreme blues rock, fusion and heavy metal.
Several generations have grown up on his music. Beck has become an excellent motivator for hundreds of aspiring musicians. His work had a great influence on the development of many musical genres.
Jeff has always been known for his "musical fickleness". But, despite this, the tracks, which acquired new musical shades, still sounded “according to Bekovsky”. They occupied the top of the charts and increased the level of the artist's authority.
Childhood and adolescence Jeff Beck
The artist was born at the end of June 1944 in Wellington. He attended a regular elementary school. As a child, Beck sang in the local church choir.
After graduating from elementary school - Jeff became a student of one of the most prestigious educational institutions for boys in the suburbs of London. From a young age, he dreamed of performing on stage.
The love for the sound of the electric guitar woke up in him after the track How High the Moon hit his ears. He wanted to learn a musical instrument. The guy borrowed acoustics from a friend, but did not stop there. Jeff took up the study of piano and drums. Then he tried to make a guitar on his own, although this idea turned out to be a failure.
After some time, the guy entered Wimbledon College. The educational institution of fine arts did not become some serious discovery for Beck. The only advantage of attending college was that he joined the student groups Screaming Lord Sutch and The Savages.
After graduating from college, the guy managed to work a little by profession, but in the end, he could have been interrupted by part-time jobs "not to his liking."
Soon his sister introduced Beck to Jimmy Page. A happy acquaintance opened the door to the wonderful world of music for the beginning artist. From this moment begins a completely different part of the artist's biography.
The creative path of Jeff Beck
In the 60s, the young musician formed the first band. His brainchild was called Nightshift. Soon he recorded several tracks and began to entertain the audience of the local nightclub. Around this time period, he briefly joined the Rumbles. He continued to hone his guitar playing.
Beck's professional career began after he joined the Tridents. The guys coolly processed the blues and successfully performed in London institutions. In parallel with this, Jeff made a living by being listed as a session musician in several bands.
In the mid-80s, Beck replaced Clapton in the Yardbirds. The musician even started working on Roger the Engineer. Despite the fact that Clapton recorded most of the tracks for the 1965 For Your Love compilation, Jeff's photo was on the cover of the publication.
A year later, he shared the duties of lead guitarist along with his old acquaintance - the unsurpassed Jimmy Page. Then a not-so-bright streak began. Jeff was asked to leave the Yardbirds. The band's frontman repeatedly made remarks for Beck's lateness to rehearsals. In addition, the musician did not have the most complaisant character. The mood that reigned within the team left much to be desired, so the decision to fire Jeff seemed to many to be correct and quite logical.
During this period of time, the artist records a couple of solo compositions. We are talking about the songs Hi Ho Silver Lining and Tallyman. Despite the lack of support, the tracks turned out to be quite “tasty” in sound. They were accepted with a bang by fans of heavy music.
Founding of the Jeff Beck Group
Beck is ripe to put together his own project. This time, the brainchild of the musician was called the Jeff Beck Group. Jeff recruited really professional musicians into his team.
The team released several LPs, which from a commercial point of view, were successful. At the end of the 60s, the “fans” learned that the frontman had disbanded the lineup, which seemed to many not entirely logical. After some time, he joined AN Other and recorded several songs with the guys.
1969 - turned out to be not the easiest for the musician. This year he got into a serious accident. He was hospitalized with fractures and head injuries. After a long rehabilitation - he still returned to the stage. Together with other musicians, Beck organized The Jeff Beck Group.
In the 70s, the group's discography was replenished with a debut disc. Longplay was called Rough and ready. 7 songs perfectly conveyed the notes of soul, rhythm and blues and jazz
On the wave of popularity, the musicians presented their new album to their fans. In support of the collection, the group went on a tour that affected not only megacities, but also small towns.
Presentation of the most successful albums of the musician
In the mid-70s, the musician retired a little from the band. He plunged into solo work. During this period of time, the presentation of Blow by Blow and Wired took place. Note that this is the most successful release of the musician.
Enlisting the support of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, the artist organized a series of concerts that lasted until the mid-70s. Some still remember Beck's trash performance at Cleveland's Music Hall. He smashed the Stratocaster musical instrument right on stage. He did not like the sound of his own works.
At the end of the 70s, the artist had problems with taxes. He was forced to settle in the territory of the United States of America. Upon returning to his homeland (early 80s), he presented the disc There & Back. The collection was warmly received not only by fans, but also by music critics.
In 1982, his discography became richer by one more album. Flash repeated the success of the previous album. The track People Get Ready became a real musical decoration of the album. Note that the composition was performed by the inimitable R. Stewart. It was released as a separate single. Beck - again found himself at the top of the musical Olympus. Around this period of time, he took part in the filming of the film "Gemini".
Health problems and forced creative break
The mid-80s was a real test for the artist. For 4 years, he was forced to take a break from creativity. Jeff suffered from severe tinnitus. It turned out that this "side effect" arose after he had an accident. After rehabilitation, the musician released the record Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop. By the way, on this album, for the first time, he demonstrated the "finger" style of playing a musical instrument.
In 2009, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A year later, he presented the collection Emotion & Commotion to fans. Some time later, the presentation of the musical work I'd Rather Go Blind (with the participation of Beth Hart) took place. Since 2014, he began touring the world, and in 2016, he released the LP Loud Hailer. Recall that this is the 11th studio collection of the musician.
Jeff Beck: details of his personal life
He was married to Patricia Brown. Having lived in marriage, the woman was tired of enduring the unbearable character of the man, and she wanted to get a divorce. No children were born in this marriage, so no one was significantly affected.
After the divorce, Beck could not find a life partner for a long time. He spent more than three decades in solitude. But, soon the artist met the charming Sandra Cash. In the new century, he made a marriage proposal to a woman. In 2005, the couple played a gorgeous wedding.
Jeff Beck: Today
In 2018, he told fans about his intention to take a break and take a break from work. He devoted himself to spending time with his wife. They live in East Sussex.
A year later, information appeared in several publications that the artist plans to release a studio album. In 2019, several new products premiered at once - Star Cycle, Live At The Fillmore West, San Francisco and Truth & Beck-Ola.
In 2020, the artist was going to go on tour. But, due to the situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the planned tour was postponed to 2022.
