Beck, RIP // (Scott Johnson)

Jeff Beck, guitarist, died Tuesday at the age 78. Jim Farber’s New York Times Obituary informed me of Beck’s death. It does a great job of covering Becks long career in music. You can also view the documentary Still on the Run — The Jeff Beck Story (2018). It explores Beck’s interest in making music and building cars.

He was seen with Jimmy Page in Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blowup (1966), before he joined the Jeff Beck Group on truth (1968), and Beck–Ola ( 1969). It was a great group with Ronnie Wood on bass, Nicky Hopkins playing keyboards, and Tony Newman ( -Ola ) on drums. Oh, yeah, and vocalist extraordinaire (as Beck Ola had it) Rod Stewart singing the vocals.

Beck was a creative, impulsive, and sophisticated guitarist. He let his guitar play the melody of Howlin Wolf’s “Ain’t Superstitious.” It sounded truth.

Truth also featured “Beck’s Bolero”. I didn’t know the story behind this song until I read Farber’s obituary. Farber mentions that this instrumental features Jimmy Page playing rhythm guitar, Keith Moon on drums and John Paul Jones on bass. Nicky Hopkins plays the piano.

I believed Beck Ola to be truth. I believed that “All Shook Up” was truth. It was possible to be beautiful even though it was raucous.

“Jailhouse Rock” was the truth.

In 2013, Beck toured with Brian Wilson. Wilson on Twitter remembers their love for Danny Boy. Here’s a taste. It’s possible to be beautiful even if you are not raucous.

Yesterday, driving home, I heard the Jeff Beck/Johnny Depp song “This Is A Song for Miss Hedy Lamarr” via one of the SiriusXM channels. I was curious where that came from. It turns out that it is from their 2022 album 18.

Farber’s obituary reveals the multifaceted nature Beck’s career, far beyond my comprehension. RIP.