The former member of the Yardbirds, considered one of the five best guitarists in the world, has died of meningitis, his family has reported
Another British music legend saying goodbye: Jeff Beck, considered in its day by the magazine Rolling Stone among the five best guitarists in the world, with six Grammys in his saddlebags, he died at 78 shortly after completing his tour with the actor Johnny Depp, with whom he formed an unusual duo that produced what would be his last album, “18”.
His family confirmed that his death occurred last Tuesday, after contracting bacterial meningitis, at the family home of East Sussex. The reactions in the world of rock did not wait. “Jeff Beck was the best guitar player on the planet,” he declared. Joe Perry, founder of Aerosmith. “He was a genius and there will never be another like him, capable of playing in that special and brilliant way,” he warned. Tony Iommi, guitarist for Black Sabbath.
Beck, born in 1944 in Wallington, south of London, rose to fame as a short-lived guitarist for the Yardbirds, where he had the challenge of replacing Eric Clampton. Con Jimmy Page As godfather, Jeff Beck instigated a turn that led the group to go down in history as pioneers of British psychedelia, with hits like Shapes of Thing, Heart Full of Soul y Over Under Sideways Down.
His time with the Yardbirds lasted just 20 months due to internal tensions. “Every day was like a hurricane,” he came to recount at the time of explaining his departure from the group. While Jimmy Page tried his luck with Led Zeppelin, Jeff Beck made his solo debut in 1968 with Truth, an innovative fusion of blues and hard rock.
In front of his own band, The Jeff Beck Group, He had a relative success cut short by a car accident that caused him serious head injuries. In the mid 70’s he collaborated with the group Mahavishnu Orchestra and exchanged glorious solos with the saxophonist John McLaughlin.
That experiment with jazz-fusion paved the way for Blow-by-Blow, his platinum album which took him to number four in USA and it was the biggest commercial success of his solo career. Over time, however, he regretted that experiment and assured that he should have continued “with his feet on the ground and playing rocknroll”.
In the 80s, after playing with Eric Clapton, Sting y Phil Collins at various benefit concerts, he once again had health problems, this time suffering from tinnitus with an incessant ringing in the ears. I returned to recording after a decade (Jeff Becks Guitar Shop) and frequently collaborated with Roger Waters y Jon Bon Jovi. He came down with the new century and finally settled down in his personal life with his sixth wife, Sandra Cash, whom he married in 2005.
His return to the fore was due precisely to his friend Johnny Depp: together they undertook a final tour as the culmination of the album they recorded together, “18”, criticized by critics but nominated in three categories at the British Awards. It was his last and most personal revenge. “The best thing we can do in his memory is listen to his first two solo albums and vibrate with his greatness”, were the greatest words of the bassist of Kiss Gene Simmons.
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