Jeff Beck

Jeff Beck is both one of the most talented, and most maddening guitarists in the worlds of rock and blues-rock music. An adventuresome artist, he has never chosen a single style or musical genre and stuck with it, preferring to experiment in pop, rock, blues, and jazz formats depending on his whim at the time.

A notorious perfectionist with a well-documented temper, Beck has retired from music and reappeared with reckless disregard for the commercial considerations of the music industry. Regardless, through the years Beck has created a considerable catalog of music that has proven to be influential and groundbreaking beyond the sales of any individual album.

Shapes Of Things

Influenced by guitarists like Les Paul, Chuck Berry, and Steve Cropper, Jeff Beck first picked up the instrument while in his teens. His efforts at building his own guitar were less than successful, so he learned to play on a borrowed guitar. After school, he attended Wimbledon Art College, later working as a painter, decorator, and other odd jobs as he focused on developing his musical skills.

Beck became an in-demand session guitarist, and played behind London cult figure "Screaming" Lord Sutch. His sister introduced him to fellow studio musician Jimmy Page, who recommended him to the Yardbirds when Eric Clapton departed that group to join John Mayall's Bluesbreakers.

Beck joined the Yardbirds in 1965, leaving the band a little over a year-and-a-half later. Beck recorded a single album during his tenure with the legendary blues-rock band, 1966's Roger the Engineer, and appeared with the band in the movie Blow Up. During his last few months with the Yardbirds, Beck shared the lead guitar spotlight with Page, who had originally joined the band as a bass player. Beck left in late-1966, citing health issues as the reason.

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