Beginnings and Yardbirds: 1963–1967 While attending
Wimbledon College of Art, Beck played in a succession of groups. In 1963, after
Ian Stewart of
the Rolling Stones introduced him to
R&B, he formed The Nightshift with whom he played at the
100 Club in Oxford Street. In March 1965, Beck was recruited by
the Yardbirds to succeed
Eric Clapton on the recommendation of fellow session musician Jimmy Page, who had been their initial choice. The Yardbirds recorded most of their
Top 40 hit songs during Beck's short but significant 20-month tenure with the band allowing him only one full album, which became known as
Roger the Engineer (titled
Over Under Sideways Down in the U.S.), released in 1966. In May 1966, Beck recorded an instrumental titled "
Beck's Bolero". Rather than members of the Yardbirds, he was backed by Page on 12-string rhythm guitar,
Keith Moon on drums,
John Paul Jones on bass, and
Nicky Hopkins on piano. In June, Page joined the Yardbirds, at first on bass and later on second lead guitar. Beck was fired during a U.S. tour for being a consistent no-show and for difficulties caused by his perfectionism and explosive temper on stage.
Band leader and co-leader: 1967 to 1974 In 1967, he recorded several solo singles for pop producer
Mickie Most, including "
Hi Ho Silver Lining" and "Tallyman", which also included his vocals. He then formed
the Jeff Beck Group, which included
Rod Stewart on vocals,
Ronnie Wood on bass,
Nicky Hopkins on piano, and
Aynsley Dunbar on drums (replaced by
Micky Waller). The group produced two albums for Columbia Records (Epic in the US):
Truth (as Jeff Beck, August 1968) and
Beck-Ola (July 1969).
Truth, released five months before the first
Led Zeppelin album, features "
You Shook Me", a song written by Willie Dixon and first recorded by
Muddy Waters, also covered on the Led Zeppelin debut with a similar arrangement. It sold well (reaching No. 15 on the
Billboard charts).
Beck-Ola saw drummer Micky Waller replaced by
Tony Newman, and, while well-received, was less successful both commercially and critically. Resentment, coupled with touring incidents, led the group to disband in July 1969. In his autobiography,
Nick Mason recalls that, during 1967,
Pink Floyd had wanted to recruit Beck to be its guitarist after the departure of
Syd Barrett, but "none of us had the nerve to ask him." In 1969, following the death of
Brian Jones, Beck was approached about joining the Rolling Stones. Beck later remarked on the 1960s period of his life: "Everyone thinks of the 1960s as something they really weren't. It was the frustration period of my life. The electronic equipment just wasn't up to the sounds I had in my head." In 1970, after Beck had regained his health, he set about forming a band with the drummer
Cozy Powell. Beck, Powell, and producer
Mickie Most flew to the United States and recorded several tracks at
Motown's famed Studio A in Hitsville U.S.A. with the
Funk Brothers, Motown's in-house band, but the results remained unreleased. By April 1971 Beck had completed the line-up of this new group with guitarist/vocalist
Bobby Tench, keyboard player
Max Middleton, and bassist
Clive Chaman. The new band performed as "The Jeff Beck Group" but had a substantially different sound from the first line-up.
Rough and Ready (October 1971), the first album they recorded, on which Beck wrote or co-wrote six of the album's seven tracks, included elements of soul, rhythm-and-blues, and jazz, foreshadowing the direction Beck's music would take later in the decade. A second album,
Jeff Beck Group (July 1972), was recorded at TMI studios in
Memphis with the same personnel. Beck employed
Steve Cropper as producer and the album displayed a strong
soul influence, five of the nine tracks being covers of songs by American artists. One, "I Got to Have a Song", was the first of four
Stevie Wonder compositions covered by Beck. Shortly after the release of the
Jeff Beck Group album, the band was dissolved and Beck's management put out the statement that: "The fusion of the musical styles of the various members has been successful within the terms of individual musicians, but they didn't feel it had led to the creation of a new musical style with the strength they had originally sought". Beck then started collaborating with bassist
Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice, who became available following the demise of
Cactus but continued touring as the Jeff Beck Group in August 1972, to fulfill contractual obligations with his promoter, with a line-up including Bogert, Appice,
Max Middleton and vocalist
Kim Milford. After six appearances, Milford was replaced by
Bobby Tench, who was flown in from the United Kingdom for the
Arie Crown Theatre Chicago performance and the rest of the tour, which concluded at the
Paramount North West Theatre, Seattle. After the tour, Tench and Middleton left the band and the
power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice emerged. Appice took on the role of vocalist with Bogert and Beck contributing occasionally. They were included on the bill for
Rock at The Oval in September 1972, still as "The Jeff Beck Group", which marked the start of a tour schedule of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany. Another U.S. tour began in October 1972, starting at the
Hollywood Sportatorium Florida and concluding on 11 November 1972 at The Warehouse in
New Orleans. In April 1973 the album
Beck, Bogert & Appice was released (on Epic Records). While critics acknowledged the band's instrumental prowess the album was not commercially well received except for its cover of Stevie Wonder's hit "
Superstition". On 3 July 1973, Beck joined
David Bowie onstage to perform "
The Jean Genie"/"
Love Me Do" and "
Around and Around". The show was filmed and was finally released in the 2022 Bowie documentary
Moonage Daydream. During October 1973 Beck recorded tracks for
Michael Fennelly's album
Lane Changer. Early in January 1974, Beck, Bogert & Appice played at the
Rainbow Theatre in London as part of a European tour. The concert was broadcast in full on the U.S. show
Rock Around the World in September of the same year. This last recorded work by the band previewed material intended for a second studio album, included on the bootleg
At Last Rainbow. The tracks "Blues Deluxe" and "BBA Boogie" from this concert were later included on the Jeff Beck compilation
Beckology (1991). Beck, Bogert & Appice dissolved in April 1974 before their second studio album (produced by Jimmy Miller) was finished. Their live album
Beck, Bogert & Appice Live in Japan, recorded during their 1973 tour of Japan, was not released until February 1975 by Epic/Sony. After a few months, Beck entered Underhill Studio and met with the band
Upp; he recruited them to be the backing band for his appearance on the BBC TV program
Guitar Workshop in August 1974. Beck produced and played on their
self-titled debut album and their second album
This Way Upp, though his contributions to the second album went uncredited. During 1974, he participated in recording sessions for the first album by former Jeff Beck Group member
Bobby Tench's band
Hummingbird' but did not contribute to the album.
Going solo: 1974 to 1980 In October the same year, Beck began to record instrumental sessions at
AIR Studios with
Max Middleton who was also associated with Hummingbird, bassist
Phil Chen and drummer Richard Bailey using
George Martin as producer and arranger. These formed the basis for Beck's solo album
Blow by Blow (March 1975) and showcased Beck's technical prowess in jazz-rock. The album reached number four in the charts and is Beck's most commercially successful release. Beck, fastidious about
overdubs and often dissatisfied with his solos, often returned to AIR Studios until he was satisfied. A couple of months after the sessions had finished, producer George Martin received a telephone call from Beck, who wanted to record a solo section again. Bemused, Martin replied: "I'm sorry, Jeff, but the record is in the shops!" Beck put together a live band for a US tour, which was preceded by a small and unannounced gig at The Newlands Tavern in
Peckham, London. He toured through April and May 1975, mostly supporting the
Mahavishnu Orchestra, retaining Max Middleton on keyboards but with a new
rhythm section of bassist
Wilbur Bascomb and noted session drummer
Bernard "Pretty" Purdie, who was also associated with Hummingbird. In a May 1975 show in
Cleveland at the Music Hall, he became frustrated with an early version of a
talk box he used on his arrangement of the Beatles' "
She's a Woman", and after breaking a string, tossed his legendary Yardbirds-era
Fender Stratocaster guitar off the stage. He did the same with the talk box and finished the show playing a Les Paul guitar without the box. During this tour he performed at
Yuya Uchida's "World Rock Festival", playing eight songs with Purdie. In addition, he performed a guitar and drum instrumental with Johnny Yoshinaga and, at the end of the festival, joined in a live jam with bassist
Felix Pappalardi of
Mountain and vocalist
Akira "Joe" Yamanaka from the
Flower Travellin' Band. Only his set with Purdie was recorded and released. Beck returned to the studio and recorded
Wired (1976), which paired ex-Mahavishnu Orchestra drummer and composer
Narada Michael Walden and keyboardist
Jan Hammer. The album used a jazz-rock fusion style, which sounded similar to the work of his two collaborators. To promote the album, Beck joined forces with the Jan Hammer Group, playing a show supporting
Alvin Lee at
The Roundhouse in May 1976, before embarking on a seven-month-long world tour. This resulted in the live album
Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live (1977). At this point, Beck was a
tax exile and took up residency in the US, remaining there until his return to the UK in the autumn of 1977. In the spring of 1978, he began rehearsing with ex-
Return to Forever bassist
Stanley Clarke and drummer
Gerry Brown towards a projected appearance at the Knebworth Festival, but this was cancelled after Brown dropped out. Beck toured Japan for three weeks in November 1978 with an ad hoc group consisting of Clarke and newcomers
Tony Hymas (keyboards) and
Simon Phillips (drums). Work then began on a new studio album at
the Who's
Ramport Studios in London and continued sporadically throughout 1979, resulting in
There & Back in June 1980. It featured three tracks composed and recorded with Jan Hammer, while five were written with Hymas. Stanley Clarke was replaced by
Mo Foster on bass, both on the album and the subsequent tours. Its release was followed by extensive touring in the US, Japan, and the UK.
Collaboration years: 1980s and 1990s In 1981, Beck made a series of historic live appearances with his Yardbirds predecessor
Eric Clapton at the
Amnesty International-sponsored benefit concerts dubbed ''
The Secret Policeman's Other Ball'' shows. In that show, he appeared with Clapton on "
Crossroads", "
Further on Up the Road", and his arrangement of Stevie Wonder's "Cause We've Ended As Lovers". Beck also featured prominently in an all-star band finale performance of "
I Shall Be Released" with Clapton,
Sting,
Phil Collins,
Donovan, and
Bob Geldof. Beck's contributions were seen and heard in the resulting album and film, both of which achieved worldwide success in 1982. Another benefit show, the
ARMS Concert for
multiple sclerosis, featured a jam with Beck, Eric Clapton, and Jimmy Page, during which they performed "
Tulsa Time" and "
Layla". In 1985, Beck released
Flash, featuring a variety of vocalists, but most notably former bandmate
Rod Stewart on a rendition of
Curtis Mayfield's "
People Get Ready". The aforementioned cover song was also released as a single which went on to become a hit. A video was made for the track and the clip achieved heavy rotation on
MTV. The two also played a few dates together during this time but a full tour in tandem never materialized. At Stewart's induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, Beck gave the induction speech saying of Stewart, "We have a
love hate relationship—he loves me and I hate him." During this time, Beck made several guest appearances with other performers, including one in the 1988 movie
Twins, where he played guitar with singer
Nicolette Larson. After a four-year break, he made a return to instrumental music with the 1989 album ''
Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop'', the first album to feature Beck as a
fingerstyle guitarist, leaving the
plectrum playing style. It was only his third album to be released in the 1980s. Much of Beck's sparse and sporadic recording schedule was due in part to a long battle with
tinnitus. in
Sydney, 2009 In the 1990s, Beck had a higher musical output. He contributed to
Jon Bon Jovi's solo debut album
Blaze of Glory in 1990, playing the main solo of the album's title song, which was also the
theme song to the movie
Young Guns II. The same year, he was a featured performer on
Hans Zimmer's score for the film
Days of Thunder. He played lead guitar on
Roger Waters' 1992 concept album
Amused to Death, and on the 1993 albums
The Red Shoes by
Kate Bush and
Love Scenes by
Beverley Craven. He recorded the 1992 instrumental soundtrack album ''
Frankie's House, as well as Crazy Legs'' (1993), a tribute album to 1950s rockabilly group
Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps and their influential guitarist
Cliff Gallup. Beck rehearsed with
Guns N' Roses for their concert in Paris in 1992, but did not play in the actual concert due to ear damage caused by a
Matt Sorum cymbal crash, causing Beck to become temporarily deaf. The Yardbirds were inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. In Beck's acceptance speech, he humorously noted that "Someone told me I should be proud tonight... But I'm not, because they kicked me out... They did... Fuck them!" He accompanied
Paul Rodgers of
Bad Company on the album
Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters in 1993.
Solo career renewal: 1999 to 2020s Beck's next release was in 1999, his first foray into guitar-based
electronica,
Who Else!. The album was Beck's first collaboration with a female instrumentalist,
Jennifer Batten, in touring, writing, and recording as well as the first time he had worked with another guitarist on his own material since playing in the Yardbirds. Beck continued to work with Batten through the post-release tour of
You Had It Coming in 2001. Beck won his third
Grammy Award, this one for "Best Rock Instrumental Performance" for the track "Dirty Mind" from
You Had It Coming (2000). on the 2007
Crossroads Guitar Festival tour In 2007, he accompanied
Kelly Clarkson for her cover of
Patty Griffin's "
Up to the Mountain", during the
Idol Gives Back episode of
American Idol. The performance was recorded live and afterward, was immediately released for sale. In the same year, he appeared once again at Clapton's
Crossroads Guitar Festival, performing with
Vinnie Colaiuta,
Jason Rebello, and then 21-year-old bassist
Tal Wilkenfeld. Beck announced a world tour in early 2009 and remained faithful to the same lineup of musicians as in his tour two years before, playing and recording at
Ronnie Scott's in London to a sold-out audience. Beck played on the song "Black Cloud" on the 2009
Morrissey album
Years of Refusal and later that year,
Harvey Goldsmith became Beck's manager. Beck was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist on 4 April 2009; the award was presented by Jimmy Page. Beck performed "
Train Kept A-Rollin'" along with Page, Ronnie Wood,
Joe Perry,
Flea, and
Metallica members
James Hetfield,
Robert Trujillo,
Lars Ulrich,
Kirk Hammett, and
Jason Newsted. On 4 July 2009,
David Gilmour joined Beck onstage at the Albert Hall. Beck and Gilmour traded solos on "Jerusalem" and closed the show with "
Hi Ho Silver Lining". Beck's album
Emotion & Commotion was released in April 2010. It features a mixture of original songs and
covers such as "
Over the Rainbow", Puccini's
Nessun Dorma and
Benjamin Britten's
Corpus Christi Carol, interpreted through Beck's "uniquely sensitive touch".
Joss Stone and
Imelda May provided some of the guest vocals. Two tracks from
Emotion & Commotion won Grammy Awards in 2011: "Nessun Dorma" won the
Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, and "Hammerhead" won the
Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Beck collaborated on "
Imagine" for the 2010
Herbie Hancock album,
The Imagine Project along with
Seal,
P!nk,
India.Arie,
Konono N°1,
Oumou Sangare and others and received a third Grammy in 2011 for
Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for the track. Beck's 2010 World Tour band featured Grammy-winning musician
Narada Michael Walden on drums,
Rhonda Smith on bass, and
Jason Rebello on keyboards. He released a live album titled
Live and Exclusive from the Grammy Museum on 25 October 2010. On 9 June 2010 Beck with Imelda May's band recorded a DVD named ''
Rock 'n' Roll Party (Honoring Les Paul)'', of a concert at the Iridium in NYC featuring several Les Paul songs (with Ms. May doing the Mary Ford vocals). In 2011, Beck received two honorary degrees from British universities. On 18 July 2011, he was honoured with a fellowship from the
University of the Arts London in recognition of his "outstanding contribution to the field of Music". On 21 July 2011, Beck was also presented with an honorary doctorate from the
University of Sussex (by
Sanjeev Bhaskar, the university's chancellor), the citation stating that the honour acknowledged "an outstanding musical career and celebrated the relationship between the university and the
Brighton Institute of Modern Music (BIMM)". In 2013, it was announced that Beck would be performing on
Beach Boys founder
Brian Wilson's solo album (alongside Beach Boys
Al Jardine and
David Marks) on Capitol Records. On 20 June, Wilson's website announced that the material might be split into three albums: one of new pop songs, another of mostly instrumental tracks with Beck, and another of interwoven tracks dubbed "the suite". Beck also accompanied Wilson (along with Jardine and Marks) on an
18-date fall 2013 tour, which started in late September and ended in late October (prior to which, Beck made clear that he regarded sharing the stage with Wilson as a complete honour for himself). In 2014, to mark the beginning of Jeff's World Tour in Japan, a three-track CD titled
Yosogai was released on 5 April; the album had yet to be finalized at the time of the tour. In November 2014, he accompanied
Joss Stone at
The Royal British Legion's Festival of Remembrance at the
Royal Albert Hall. For the 2016 album
Loud Hailer, Beck teamed up with Carmen Vandenberg and Rosie Bones of
Bones UK. The album protests the state of the world, with titles ranging from ''Thugs' Club
via Scared for the Children
to O.I.L. (Can't Get Enough of That Sticky)''. On 16 April 2020, Beck released a new single, in which he collaborated with
Johnny Depp to record
John Lennon's song "
Isolation", explaining that this was a first record release from an ongoing musical collaboration between the two men. They had been recording music together for some time, with the track being produced the year before, but Beck explained that the decision to release it was influenced by the
COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns: "We weren't expecting to release it so soon but given all the hard days and true 'isolation' that people are going through in these challenging times, we decided now might be the right time to let you all hear it". On 2 June 2022, Beck was in the news after Depp appeared with him at
The Sage in
Gateshead, following his victory in
the high-profile defamation case against his ex-wife
Amber Heard. Both also had performed at the
Royal Albert Hall in London earlier in the week. Beck and Depp's first single from their collaborative album
18, titled "
This Is a Song for Miss Hedy Lamarr", was announced on 10 June 2022. Beck is featured on two tracks (the title track and "A Thousand Shades") from
Ozzy Osbourne's album
Patient Number 9, which was released on 24 June 2022. On
Dion DiMucci's 2020 album
Blues with Friends he played lead guitar on "Can't Start Over Again". Beck's final recording before his death was his contribution to a supergroup recording of "
Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero" to support the
Teenage Cancer Trust and Teen Cancer America. == Style and influence ==