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HITS Daily Double

JEFF BECK,
1944-2023

Jeff Beck, one of the most innovative and influential guitarists of the rock era, died Tuesday at the age of 78 following a sudden illness, according to a statement released on 1/11.

“On behalf of his family, it is with deep and profound sadness that we share the news of Jeff Beck’s passing,” reads the statement posted on jeffbeck.com. “After suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis, he peacefully passed away yesterday. His family asks for privacy while they process this tremendous loss.”

Beck’s playing with The Yardbirds, The Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice, as a sideman and on his own, blurred the lines among rock, blues, jazz and funk as he explored the nuances of the Fender Stratocaster, the guitar he helped make iconic.

The trailblazing guitarist was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice, first as a member of The Yardbirds in 1992 and as a solo artist in 2009. Beck received eight Grammys and recorded with such artists as Stevie Wonder, Buddy Guy, Ozzy Osbourne, Tina Turner and Mick Jagger. He was widely regarded by his peers and fans as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, thanks to his ability to make the impossible sound effortless.

“He was a great soul who did great music,” Stevie Wonder told the Detroit Free Press.

The two first met in 1972 when Wonder was working on Talking Book. Beck wound up doing the guitar solo on “Lookin’ for Another Pure Love.”

“I said to him, ‘Why don’t you play on this?’ He thought that would be great. He laid one part down, then another part and another part. It was just amazing.”

“He gave it such a mixture—sort of a jazz feel with a bluesy feel, with the chord structure he took from what I had done. It was great. He put his touch on it. It was just really cool.”

Beck would then record three more of Wonder’s songs: “Superstition,” “Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers” and “Thelonius.”

TAGS: Jeff Beck