1/12/23
Newsletter #217
The Crack of Dawn
Rock guitar legend Jeff Beck (real name, Geoffrey Arnold Beck) died at the age of 78. I saw a few interviews of folks looking horribly sad and bereft. 78 in rock star years is like 150 to the rest of us. I have no doubt that Jeff Beck lived a very full life. For those who are unaware of Beck’s place in rock history, here’s why: Jeff Beck was the second of three lead guitarists for the seminal rock band, The Yardbirds. The first was Eric Clapton, and the third was Jimmy Page. Jeff Beck was the first of the three to put out a solo album in 1968 called Truth. This was a really important record in the development of rock & roll. Beck’s band included: Rod Stewart on vocals, recording for the very first time; Ron Wood (later of the Rolling Stones) on bass, and Mick Waller on drums (Mick would go on to be Rod Stewart’s drummer for years). The big song on the album was Beck’s Bolero, written by Jimmy Page.
Beck’s Bolero was recorded before the rest of the record with a different line-up: Jeff Beck on lead guitar, Jimmy Page on rhythm guitar, John Paul Jones on bass, and Keith Moon of the Who on drums. This recording session inspired Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones to form Led Zeppelin. Beck’s and Page’s old bandmate, Eric Clapton, formed the big hit band, Cream, then Blind Faith. Alas, Jeff Beck’s band disbanded after two albums, and he was never again able to put together a decent band. Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin couldn’t have been bigger; Cream, Blind Faith, Derek and the Dominoes (who recorded Layla), then his solo career, were all huge for Eric Clapton. Jeff Beck basically struggled for the rest of his career (with the one exception of his terrific solo album, Blow by Blow, in 1975).
I think that Jeff Beck became bitter about all of this. I heard an interview with him about a decade ago regarding this topic, and Beck had the audacity to blame it on his drummer, Mick Waller. He said that if he’d had a powerful drummer, like John Bonham or Keith Moon, instead of Waller, whom Beck derisively called, “A Motown drummer,” his band would have been as big as Led Zeppelin. I call bullshit. Mick Waller was a great drummer who could be as heavy as he cared to be, had Jeff Beck supplied the material. Sadly for Beck, unlike Page or Stewart, he wasn’t a very good songwriter; he was merely an exceptionally gifted, innovative player with great instincts.
In any case, Jeff Beck’s album, Truth, is brilliant, and established a sound that directly inspired Led Zeppelin and Rod Stewart, who both dominated the charts for the next decade. Jeff Beck may not have profited from that, but he was a major cause of it.
Jeff Beck actually did put together his heavy drum, Led Zeppelin-like, band in 1972 called Beck, Bogert & Appice, with Carmine Appice on drums. Personally, I think Mick Waller is much better. I was a 14-year-old fan at the time eagerly awaiting that record, and I’m sad to report that it both sucked and bombed.
But as a final note, Jeff Beck’s solo, instrumental album, Blow by Blow, produced by George Martin, The Beatles’ producer, in 1975, was a hugely important album in the development of rock & roll, combining rock with jazz-fusion. It contains Beck’s greatest solo song, Freeway Jam, a big hit for an instrumental, that’s so good if it comes on while I’m driving, I speed up an extra 10 mph. Also, Jeff Beck’s cover of Stevie Wonder’s, Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers, is just one of the greatest songs ever recorded.
Jeff Beck was the least successful of the three Yardbirds guitarists – although that is a hell of a trio, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck – but I think he was the most influential. And with his shag haircut, hairy chest, leaned-back stance, and supreme mastery of his instrument, he was unquestionably the coolest.
George Harrison called Tom Petty and said, “Did you hear that Roy Orbison died?” Shocked, Petty said no. George Harrison laughed and said, “Well, better him than me” and hung up.
Have a glorious day.