Call him a “guitar god” or “guitarist’s guitarist,” but Jeff Beck was in a class by himself. Beck, one of the most famous guitarists in rock and roll history, died Tuesday after contracting bacterial meningitis, according to a statement released by a publicist on behalf of his family. He was 78 years old.
Beck could play rock, jazz, blues, soul, and whatever caught his ear. For Beck, the guitar – at least the way he played it – could be as versatile an instrument as the human voice. “I just tried to be a singer,” he told NPR in a 2010 interview. “I think the Stratocaster, the typical guitar Stratocaster, lends itself to endless possibilities because of the spring-loaded bridge. I can press that whammy bar they call it, but it’s really a vibrato bar. And I can make infinite variations through it. Raising or lowering the pitch. I can play one chord and lower that pitch—six chords at once.”
Beck was born in 1944 in Wallington, England. He became obsessed with the guitar as a child and first came to prominence playing in The Yardbirds – where he replaced Eric Clapton and joined Jimmy Page. Beck left the band shortly after and formed the Jeff Beck Group (with a lesser-known singer named Rod Stewart).
Jeff Beck received eight Grammy Awards and was twice inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
In debates over guitar proficiency, Beck is often listed in the same breath as players such as Clapton, Page, and Keith Richards. But Beck was always a recluse – wary of the attention that came with being a famous musician. He explained to The New York Times in 2010 how he felt about the music industry as a whole:
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“It’s a diabolical business,” he said. “I can’t imagine how hellish it must be to be hounded like Amy Winehouse and people like that. I have a little peripheral place on the outskirts of celebrity when I go to premieres and that sort of stuff, which is as close as I want to get. I cherish my privacy, and woe betides anyone who tries to interfere with that.”
Despite his best efforts to stay out of the spotlight, Beck was still recognized and admired. They collected 17 Grammy nominations, including one for Best Rock Performance, and won eight at this year’s ceremony. He has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice – once with the Yardbirds and once by himself.
