Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. Jeff Beck was one of the three noted guitarists, the others being Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, to have played with The Yardbirds. Beck was ranked 5th in Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
Beck burst onto the music scene in 1966 after joining The Yardbirds. Although his stint with the band lasted only 18 months, Beck played on almost all of the group’s hits. Read Full BioGeoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. Jeff Beck was one of the three noted guitarists, the others being Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, to have played with The Yardbirds. Beck was ranked 5th in Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
Beck burst onto the music scene in 1966 after joining The Yardbirds. Although his stint with the band lasted only 18 months, Beck played on almost all of the group’s hits. More importantly, Beck’s innovative style heard on classics released as singles like “Shapes of Things” and “Heart Full of Soul” helped influence the psychedelic sound of the ‘60s. “Heart Full of Soul” was later released as a track on Having a Rave Up.
At the height of the Yardbirds’ popularity in 1967, Beck was fired from the group for failing to show up to gigs in addition to his demanding personality and explosive temper. He embarked upon an unpredictable journey of musical discovery that has lasted nearly four-decades as an Epic recording artist. During that time, Beck has left his distinctive mark on hard rock, jazz-fusion and modern music history.
While many of his contemporaries are satisfied with musical inertia, Beck continues to add to his legacy as an innovator with the release of his 14th album, simply titled “Jeff .” Produced by Andy Wright (Simply Red, Eurythmics) and mixed by Mike Barbiero (Blues Traveler, Metallica), the 13 songs on “Jeff” reflect how Beck’s fascination with electronic music continues to evolve.
“On my last album, ‘You Had It Coming,’ I spent a lot of time in the studio with Andy Wright just toying around with different sounds. We had a great time, but I bogged down in the possibilities,” says Beck, who earned a Grammy for instrumental performance for the song “Dirty Mind” from that album. “When I went back to the studio for ‘Jeff ,’ I didn’t want to get bogged down again so I brought in a few people to help push us along.”
Although they only met when the album was almost finished, Beck says David Torn of the New York trip-hop group Splattercell became an important collaborator. Much to Beck’s delight, Torn gutted an early version of the song, “Plan B.” “Dave ripped the vocals out straight away and made my guitar line the song’s main hook. That’s what I should have done in the first place, but it takes a remix guy to come along and put a different spin on what you’re doing,” he says. “The instant I heard Dave’s album with Splattercell, I wanted him to dismember one of my songs, and he came through beautifully.”
While working on the album at Metropolis Studio, Beck met Liverpudlian electronic trio Apollo 440—programmers Howard Gray, his brother Trevor and guitarist Noko Fisher-Jones. Before long, Beck had recorded three songs using the group’s rhythms.
“When we first met, they wrote me one of those amazing ‘nail your head to the wall’ kinds of grooves that they’re famous for and I ate it up,” says Beck. “I played off that track for two hours and wound up writing ‘Grease Monkey’ around their groove.”
Finding inspiration in a unique rhythm track is how songs like “Dirty Mind” from “You Had It Coming” and “Psycho Sam” from “Who Else!” were written, says Beck. “I play guitar, but that’s rarely my starting point,” he explains. “The drums have to kick me in the ass and make me want to play or I’ll just sit there all day. Sure, I can write a song on guitar and then try to add drums in later, but it never sounds quite right. For me, a good song has to begin with an inspiring rhythm.”
Another Apollo 440 rhythm track provided the spark for “Hot Rod Honeymoon,” which juxtaposes a raging club beat against 60s surf-pop harmonies and blues slide guitar. The unexpected contrast gives the song a fresh edge. “If I used a shuffle on this song, which is the kind of beat you would expect to hear, it would have killed the song instantly,” explains Beck. “Instead, the Apollo guys and I came up with a tongue-in-cheek Beach Boys song complete with techno-drums and screaming guitar, which I think sounds more interesting.”
With its haunting melody anchored by Beck’s violin-like tone and a 40-piece orchestra, “Bulgarian”—a traditional folk song arranged by Beck and Wright—is one of the guitarist’s most majestic songs. At the other end of the spectrum is the album’s wildest ride, “Trouble Man.” Beck starts out by coaxing numb-tongue mumbles from his Fender Stratocaster before launching into a mercurial solo that soars, spirals out of control and crashes into a pulsating heap of noise that sounds like an overdriven modem. The song, like much of Beck’s work, creates an atmosphere of violent elegance by pitting the raw emotions of the heart against the calculated technique of the mind.
A rare breed of guitarist like Chuck Berry and Jimi Hendrix, Beck is not only compelling for what he plays, but for how he plays it. While some guitar players use racks of gear to create sound, Beck prefers a simple, natural approach that emphasizes manual dexterity over gadgets. As Eric Clapton once said, “With Jeff, it’s all in his hands.”
Like few guitarists before him, Beck plays the entire guitar. Using his fingers instead of a guitar pick for greater speed and control over the fretboard, Beck adds deft twists of the volume and tone knobs to shape the notes as he’s playing them and further bends sounds into a rubbery tangle with his controlled cruelty on the whammy bar. “I play the way I do because it allows me to come up with the sickest sounds possible. That’s the point now isn’t it?” says Beck with a wicked grin. “I don’t care about the rules. In fact, if I don’t break the rules at least 10 times in every song then I’m not doing my job properly.”
ELECTRONIC ROOTS
Beck started his career by exploring the heavier side of rock before switching gears in 1975 with the groundbreaking instrumental jazz-fusion albums, “Blow By Blow” and “Wired .”
Produced by Sir George Martin, famed producer of The Beatles, the two albums shattered people’s preconceptions of what a rock guitarist was supposed to sound like. By fusing the complexity of progressive rock and improvisatory freedom of jazz with intergalactic guitar tones and a sense of humor, Beck opened up the horizon for future guitar instrumentalists like Steve Vai and Joe Satriani.
In the wake of those two albums, Beck became increasingly interested in the possibilities of electronic music thanks to his collaborations with former Mahavishnu Orchestra keyboardist, Jan Hammer. On stage, Hammer’s legendary mastery of the Mini-Moog synthesizer imbued Beck classics like “Freeway Jam” and “Blue Wind” with a funky, otherworldly aura that was ahead of its time. Looking back on the tour for “Wired”—documented on “Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live” (1978)—Beck says the shows left some in the audience scratching their heads.
“I don’t suppose many people knew what the hell was happening on stage,” says Beck. “I can tell you it was an exciting—electric—time for us as musicians because we were pushing the music in new directions. At the time, I think we were a little out there for most people, but when you look back now…it sounds like we were on to something.”
Although their partnership only lasted a few years, Beck says Hammer continues to inspire him to search out and use new sounds in his music. “The way Jan used technology really turned my head around and opened up a new world for me,” says Beck. “He made me realize that things are always changing and you can’t sit still. You have to keep your ears wide open to hear what’s going on or the music will pass you by.”
BACKGROUND
Born on 24th June 1944, just before the end of World War II, Beck grew up in Wallington, England. His mother’s piano playing, and the family’s radio tuned to everything from dance to classical, made sure Beck was surrounded by music from a young age.
“For my parents, who lived through the war, music was a source of comfort to them. Life was tense and music helped them forget about their troubles. I’m sure that made an impression on me,” recalls Beck. “I was really small when jazz broke through in England and I can still remember sneaking off to the living room to listen to it on the radio—much to my parent’s disapproval.”
Inspired by the music he heard, it wasn’t long before Beck picked up a guitar and began playing around London. He briefly attended Wimbledon’s Art College before leaving to devote all of his time to music. Beck worked as a session player, with Screaming Lord Sutch—the British equivalent to Screaming Jay Hawkins—and the Tridents, before he replaced Eric Clapton as the Yardbirds’ lead guitarist in 1965.
Beck left the band in 1967 and formed The Jeff Beck Group, which featured Rod Stewart on vocals and Ron Wood on bass. The band released two albums—“Truth” (1968) and “Beck-Ola ” (1969)—that became musical touchstones for hard rockers in the years to come.
Stewart and Wood left to join the Faces and Beck disbanded the group until 1971, when he formed a new version of the band and recorded two albums—“Rough and Ready” (1971) and “The Jeff Beck Group” (1972). Beck again dissolved the group and formed a power trio with bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice, which released “Beck, Bogert and Appice” (1973).
Veering away from hard rock, Beck created two landmark jazz-fusion albums—“Blow By Blow” (1975) and “Wired” (1976). The all-instrumental albums were a critical and popular success and remain two of the top-selling guitar instrumental albums of all time. The live album, “Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live” followed in 1977.
Music may have been one of Beck’s earliest passions but it has always shared space with a love of hot rods that began as soon as he could see over the dashboard. After the success “Blow By Blow” and “Wired ,” Beck began devoting more time to his fleet of hot rods. “I like the studio because it’s delicate; you’re working for sound. I like the garage because chopping up lumps of steel is the exact opposite of delicate,” explains Beck. “The garage is a more dangerous place though. I’ve never almost been crushed by a guitar, but I can’t say the same about one of my Corvettes.”
Beck returned in 1980 with “There and Back,” but he wouldn’t be heard from again until 1985’s “Flash,” which earned him the Best Rock Instrumental Grammy—his first—for the song “Escape.” Beck re-emerged from semi-retirement in 1989 with “Jeff Beck’s Guitar Shop with Terry Bozzio and Tony Hymas .” The album earned him his second Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental. After a co-headlining tour with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Beck gave retirement another try, but it didn’t last.
Beck returned to the studio in 1993 backed by the Big Town Playboys to record “Crazy Legs,” a tribute to seminal rockabilly artist Gene Vincent and his guitarist Cliff Gallup. Six years passed before the release of “Who Else!” (1999) but the album opened a relative floodgate of music by Beck standards. It only took two years before “You Had It Coming ,” (2001), which earned Beck his third Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental for the song “Dirty Mind.”
To support his album “Jeff ”, Beck returned to the road in the summer of 2003 on a coast-to-coast tour with blues legend B.B. King on the 12th Annual B.B. King Music Festival. The landmark event, presented by VH1 Classic, also featured New Orleans-based progressive funk outfit Galactic and up-and-coming Florida-bred murky blues band Mofro. An official bootleg “Live at B.B. King Blues Club” was recorded in the New York club in September 2003, and released for online retail only at www.jeffbeckmusic.com.
In the summer of 2004 Jeff Beck toured the UK, the first time since 1990, using momentum gained from a fourth Grammy for the track “Plan B” on the album “Jeff”. He put together a new band for comprising Vinnie Coliauta, Pino Palladino and Jason Rebello for Japan in July 2005 and kept them for a 6 date US West Coast tour in the spring of 2006. It was from those dates that the ‘must have’ Jeff Beck live CD, the “Official Bootleg” was created. Although Pino wasn’t available, Jeff kept Vinnie and Jason, adding Randy Hope-Taylor for UK and European dates, plus two Japanese festivals in the summer of that year, followed by a long tour of the US in September.
2007 began in public with a duet with Kelly Clarkson on TV’s American Idol Gives Back to a reputed audience of 30 million! During the summer Jeff undertook 7 dates in Europe and finished playing to a crowd of over 30,000 at the Crossroads Guitar festival in Chicago.
www.jeffbeck.com
Jeff Beck has appeared on:
John's Childrens single "Just What You Want - Just What You'll Get" b/w "But She's Mine" (rel. Feb 1967) as uncredited session musician.
Beck's group plays with Donovan on the songs "Goo Goo Barabajagal (Love is Hot)," "Trudi" and "Homesickness"
Stevie Wonder's Talking Book (guitar on Looking For Another Pure Love)
Stanley Clarke's 1975 album Journey to Love
Stanley Clarke's 1978 album Modern Man
The soundtrack to the movie Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band featuring The Bee Gees and Peter Frampton (Beck was once quoted as saying that after he saw Peter Frampton use the talk box, he gave it up).
Murray Head's "Voices" (1981)
Rod Stewart's 1983 album "Camouflage" on three tracks, also appears in video for the song "Infatuation" and in the video for " People Get Ready"
Tina Turner's Private Dancer
Reunited with former Yardbirds bandmates in 1984 with the group Box of Frogs
Mick Jagger's "She's the Boss"
The Honeydrippers: Volume One
Malcolm McLaren's album Waltz Darling, released in 1989, on the songs "House Of The Blue Danube" and "Call A Wave".
Tony Hymas's Oyaté, on the track "Crazy Horse" (feat. John Trudell) and "Tashunka Witko" 1990.
Buddy Guy's Damn Right, I've Got the Blues, on the tracks "Mustang Sally" and "Early In The Morning" 1991.
Kate Bush's 1993 album The Red Shoes
Two songs of the Italian singer Zucchero: the song Papa Perche? (from the 1995 album Spirito DiVino) and Like the sun (from out of nowhere) (from the 2004 album ZU & Co, also featuring Macy Gray).
The 2003 Yardbirds' reunion album Birdland - on track "My Blind Life"
Toots & the Maytals 2004 album "True Love" on the song "54-46."
Ursus Minor's Zugzwang released in 2005
Cyndi Lauper's song "Above The Clouds" from her 2005 album The Body Acoustic
American Idol on 24 April 2007 for the Idol Gives Back special, with Kelly Clarkson, playing "Up to the Mountain", originally by Patty Griffin
played guitar solo in Pavarotti's rendition of "Caruso"
The rare blues album Guitar Boogie with Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page
Guitarist for Hans Zimmer's Days of Thunder Instrumental Score.
Beck plays an instrumental version of Lennon/McCartney classic "A Day in the Life" on Sir George Martin's album In My Life (1998), which also appeared in Julie Taymor's Beatles-inspired movie, Across the Universe.
His song "Hot Rod Honeymoon" was on the soundtrack for the video game Gran Turismo 4
Stone Free: A Tribute To Jimi Hendrix on Manic Depression with Seal.
The Pretenders album Viva El Amor on the song "Legalise Me"
Stevie Wonder originally wrote "Superstition" for Beck. However, Wonder's manager insisted that he record it before Beck did.
John McLaughlin's The Promise, on the track "Django".
Joe Cocker's Heart & Soul album on 4th track I (Who Have Nothing) playing lead guitar.
Brian May's "The Guv'nor" from the album Another World
Imogen Heap's Speak for Yourself
Roger Waters' Amused to Death
Mood Swings' song Skinthieves
Jon Bon Jovi's solo album Blaze of Glory
Paul Rodgers' song "Good Morning Little School Girl"
Appears in the movie Twins with Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger
Morrissey album Years of Refusal on the song Black Cloud.
"Mystery Train" on Never Stop Rockin', Carlo Little All Stars album (released 2009, Angel Air Records)
Beck burst onto the music scene in 1966 after joining The Yardbirds. Although his stint with the band lasted only 18 months, Beck played on almost all of the group’s hits. Read Full BioGeoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. Jeff Beck was one of the three noted guitarists, the others being Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, to have played with The Yardbirds. Beck was ranked 5th in Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
Beck burst onto the music scene in 1966 after joining The Yardbirds. Although his stint with the band lasted only 18 months, Beck played on almost all of the group’s hits. More importantly, Beck’s innovative style heard on classics released as singles like “Shapes of Things” and “Heart Full of Soul” helped influence the psychedelic sound of the ‘60s. “Heart Full of Soul” was later released as a track on Having a Rave Up.
At the height of the Yardbirds’ popularity in 1967, Beck was fired from the group for failing to show up to gigs in addition to his demanding personality and explosive temper. He embarked upon an unpredictable journey of musical discovery that has lasted nearly four-decades as an Epic recording artist. During that time, Beck has left his distinctive mark on hard rock, jazz-fusion and modern music history.
While many of his contemporaries are satisfied with musical inertia, Beck continues to add to his legacy as an innovator with the release of his 14th album, simply titled “Jeff .” Produced by Andy Wright (Simply Red, Eurythmics) and mixed by Mike Barbiero (Blues Traveler, Metallica), the 13 songs on “Jeff” reflect how Beck’s fascination with electronic music continues to evolve.
“On my last album, ‘You Had It Coming,’ I spent a lot of time in the studio with Andy Wright just toying around with different sounds. We had a great time, but I bogged down in the possibilities,” says Beck, who earned a Grammy for instrumental performance for the song “Dirty Mind” from that album. “When I went back to the studio for ‘Jeff ,’ I didn’t want to get bogged down again so I brought in a few people to help push us along.”
Although they only met when the album was almost finished, Beck says David Torn of the New York trip-hop group Splattercell became an important collaborator. Much to Beck’s delight, Torn gutted an early version of the song, “Plan B.” “Dave ripped the vocals out straight away and made my guitar line the song’s main hook. That’s what I should have done in the first place, but it takes a remix guy to come along and put a different spin on what you’re doing,” he says. “The instant I heard Dave’s album with Splattercell, I wanted him to dismember one of my songs, and he came through beautifully.”
While working on the album at Metropolis Studio, Beck met Liverpudlian electronic trio Apollo 440—programmers Howard Gray, his brother Trevor and guitarist Noko Fisher-Jones. Before long, Beck had recorded three songs using the group’s rhythms.
“When we first met, they wrote me one of those amazing ‘nail your head to the wall’ kinds of grooves that they’re famous for and I ate it up,” says Beck. “I played off that track for two hours and wound up writing ‘Grease Monkey’ around their groove.”
Finding inspiration in a unique rhythm track is how songs like “Dirty Mind” from “You Had It Coming” and “Psycho Sam” from “Who Else!” were written, says Beck. “I play guitar, but that’s rarely my starting point,” he explains. “The drums have to kick me in the ass and make me want to play or I’ll just sit there all day. Sure, I can write a song on guitar and then try to add drums in later, but it never sounds quite right. For me, a good song has to begin with an inspiring rhythm.”
Another Apollo 440 rhythm track provided the spark for “Hot Rod Honeymoon,” which juxtaposes a raging club beat against 60s surf-pop harmonies and blues slide guitar. The unexpected contrast gives the song a fresh edge. “If I used a shuffle on this song, which is the kind of beat you would expect to hear, it would have killed the song instantly,” explains Beck. “Instead, the Apollo guys and I came up with a tongue-in-cheek Beach Boys song complete with techno-drums and screaming guitar, which I think sounds more interesting.”
With its haunting melody anchored by Beck’s violin-like tone and a 40-piece orchestra, “Bulgarian”—a traditional folk song arranged by Beck and Wright—is one of the guitarist’s most majestic songs. At the other end of the spectrum is the album’s wildest ride, “Trouble Man.” Beck starts out by coaxing numb-tongue mumbles from his Fender Stratocaster before launching into a mercurial solo that soars, spirals out of control and crashes into a pulsating heap of noise that sounds like an overdriven modem. The song, like much of Beck’s work, creates an atmosphere of violent elegance by pitting the raw emotions of the heart against the calculated technique of the mind.
A rare breed of guitarist like Chuck Berry and Jimi Hendrix, Beck is not only compelling for what he plays, but for how he plays it. While some guitar players use racks of gear to create sound, Beck prefers a simple, natural approach that emphasizes manual dexterity over gadgets. As Eric Clapton once said, “With Jeff, it’s all in his hands.”
Like few guitarists before him, Beck plays the entire guitar. Using his fingers instead of a guitar pick for greater speed and control over the fretboard, Beck adds deft twists of the volume and tone knobs to shape the notes as he’s playing them and further bends sounds into a rubbery tangle with his controlled cruelty on the whammy bar. “I play the way I do because it allows me to come up with the sickest sounds possible. That’s the point now isn’t it?” says Beck with a wicked grin. “I don’t care about the rules. In fact, if I don’t break the rules at least 10 times in every song then I’m not doing my job properly.”
ELECTRONIC ROOTS
Beck started his career by exploring the heavier side of rock before switching gears in 1975 with the groundbreaking instrumental jazz-fusion albums, “Blow By Blow” and “Wired .”
Produced by Sir George Martin, famed producer of The Beatles, the two albums shattered people’s preconceptions of what a rock guitarist was supposed to sound like. By fusing the complexity of progressive rock and improvisatory freedom of jazz with intergalactic guitar tones and a sense of humor, Beck opened up the horizon for future guitar instrumentalists like Steve Vai and Joe Satriani.
In the wake of those two albums, Beck became increasingly interested in the possibilities of electronic music thanks to his collaborations with former Mahavishnu Orchestra keyboardist, Jan Hammer. On stage, Hammer’s legendary mastery of the Mini-Moog synthesizer imbued Beck classics like “Freeway Jam” and “Blue Wind” with a funky, otherworldly aura that was ahead of its time. Looking back on the tour for “Wired”—documented on “Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live” (1978)—Beck says the shows left some in the audience scratching their heads.
“I don’t suppose many people knew what the hell was happening on stage,” says Beck. “I can tell you it was an exciting—electric—time for us as musicians because we were pushing the music in new directions. At the time, I think we were a little out there for most people, but when you look back now…it sounds like we were on to something.”
Although their partnership only lasted a few years, Beck says Hammer continues to inspire him to search out and use new sounds in his music. “The way Jan used technology really turned my head around and opened up a new world for me,” says Beck. “He made me realize that things are always changing and you can’t sit still. You have to keep your ears wide open to hear what’s going on or the music will pass you by.”
BACKGROUND
Born on 24th June 1944, just before the end of World War II, Beck grew up in Wallington, England. His mother’s piano playing, and the family’s radio tuned to everything from dance to classical, made sure Beck was surrounded by music from a young age.
“For my parents, who lived through the war, music was a source of comfort to them. Life was tense and music helped them forget about their troubles. I’m sure that made an impression on me,” recalls Beck. “I was really small when jazz broke through in England and I can still remember sneaking off to the living room to listen to it on the radio—much to my parent’s disapproval.”
Inspired by the music he heard, it wasn’t long before Beck picked up a guitar and began playing around London. He briefly attended Wimbledon’s Art College before leaving to devote all of his time to music. Beck worked as a session player, with Screaming Lord Sutch—the British equivalent to Screaming Jay Hawkins—and the Tridents, before he replaced Eric Clapton as the Yardbirds’ lead guitarist in 1965.
Beck left the band in 1967 and formed The Jeff Beck Group, which featured Rod Stewart on vocals and Ron Wood on bass. The band released two albums—“Truth” (1968) and “Beck-Ola ” (1969)—that became musical touchstones for hard rockers in the years to come.
Stewart and Wood left to join the Faces and Beck disbanded the group until 1971, when he formed a new version of the band and recorded two albums—“Rough and Ready” (1971) and “The Jeff Beck Group” (1972). Beck again dissolved the group and formed a power trio with bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice, which released “Beck, Bogert and Appice” (1973).
Veering away from hard rock, Beck created two landmark jazz-fusion albums—“Blow By Blow” (1975) and “Wired” (1976). The all-instrumental albums were a critical and popular success and remain two of the top-selling guitar instrumental albums of all time. The live album, “Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live” followed in 1977.
Music may have been one of Beck’s earliest passions but it has always shared space with a love of hot rods that began as soon as he could see over the dashboard. After the success “Blow By Blow” and “Wired ,” Beck began devoting more time to his fleet of hot rods. “I like the studio because it’s delicate; you’re working for sound. I like the garage because chopping up lumps of steel is the exact opposite of delicate,” explains Beck. “The garage is a more dangerous place though. I’ve never almost been crushed by a guitar, but I can’t say the same about one of my Corvettes.”
Beck returned in 1980 with “There and Back,” but he wouldn’t be heard from again until 1985’s “Flash,” which earned him the Best Rock Instrumental Grammy—his first—for the song “Escape.” Beck re-emerged from semi-retirement in 1989 with “Jeff Beck’s Guitar Shop with Terry Bozzio and Tony Hymas .” The album earned him his second Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental. After a co-headlining tour with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Beck gave retirement another try, but it didn’t last.
Beck returned to the studio in 1993 backed by the Big Town Playboys to record “Crazy Legs,” a tribute to seminal rockabilly artist Gene Vincent and his guitarist Cliff Gallup. Six years passed before the release of “Who Else!” (1999) but the album opened a relative floodgate of music by Beck standards. It only took two years before “You Had It Coming ,” (2001), which earned Beck his third Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental for the song “Dirty Mind.”
To support his album “Jeff ”, Beck returned to the road in the summer of 2003 on a coast-to-coast tour with blues legend B.B. King on the 12th Annual B.B. King Music Festival. The landmark event, presented by VH1 Classic, also featured New Orleans-based progressive funk outfit Galactic and up-and-coming Florida-bred murky blues band Mofro. An official bootleg “Live at B.B. King Blues Club” was recorded in the New York club in September 2003, and released for online retail only at www.jeffbeckmusic.com.
In the summer of 2004 Jeff Beck toured the UK, the first time since 1990, using momentum gained from a fourth Grammy for the track “Plan B” on the album “Jeff”. He put together a new band for comprising Vinnie Coliauta, Pino Palladino and Jason Rebello for Japan in July 2005 and kept them for a 6 date US West Coast tour in the spring of 2006. It was from those dates that the ‘must have’ Jeff Beck live CD, the “Official Bootleg” was created. Although Pino wasn’t available, Jeff kept Vinnie and Jason, adding Randy Hope-Taylor for UK and European dates, plus two Japanese festivals in the summer of that year, followed by a long tour of the US in September.
2007 began in public with a duet with Kelly Clarkson on TV’s American Idol Gives Back to a reputed audience of 30 million! During the summer Jeff undertook 7 dates in Europe and finished playing to a crowd of over 30,000 at the Crossroads Guitar festival in Chicago.
www.jeffbeck.com
Jeff Beck has appeared on:
John's Childrens single "Just What You Want - Just What You'll Get" b/w "But She's Mine" (rel. Feb 1967) as uncredited session musician.
Beck's group plays with Donovan on the songs "Goo Goo Barabajagal (Love is Hot)," "Trudi" and "Homesickness"
Stevie Wonder's Talking Book (guitar on Looking For Another Pure Love)
Stanley Clarke's 1975 album Journey to Love
Stanley Clarke's 1978 album Modern Man
The soundtrack to the movie Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band featuring The Bee Gees and Peter Frampton (Beck was once quoted as saying that after he saw Peter Frampton use the talk box, he gave it up).
Murray Head's "Voices" (1981)
Rod Stewart's 1983 album "Camouflage" on three tracks, also appears in video for the song "Infatuation" and in the video for " People Get Ready"
Tina Turner's Private Dancer
Reunited with former Yardbirds bandmates in 1984 with the group Box of Frogs
Mick Jagger's "She's the Boss"
The Honeydrippers: Volume One
Malcolm McLaren's album Waltz Darling, released in 1989, on the songs "House Of The Blue Danube" and "Call A Wave".
Tony Hymas's Oyaté, on the track "Crazy Horse" (feat. John Trudell) and "Tashunka Witko" 1990.
Buddy Guy's Damn Right, I've Got the Blues, on the tracks "Mustang Sally" and "Early In The Morning" 1991.
Kate Bush's 1993 album The Red Shoes
Two songs of the Italian singer Zucchero: the song Papa Perche? (from the 1995 album Spirito DiVino) and Like the sun (from out of nowhere) (from the 2004 album ZU & Co, also featuring Macy Gray).
The 2003 Yardbirds' reunion album Birdland - on track "My Blind Life"
Toots & the Maytals 2004 album "True Love" on the song "54-46."
Ursus Minor's Zugzwang released in 2005
Cyndi Lauper's song "Above The Clouds" from her 2005 album The Body Acoustic
American Idol on 24 April 2007 for the Idol Gives Back special, with Kelly Clarkson, playing "Up to the Mountain", originally by Patty Griffin
played guitar solo in Pavarotti's rendition of "Caruso"
The rare blues album Guitar Boogie with Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page
Guitarist for Hans Zimmer's Days of Thunder Instrumental Score.
Beck plays an instrumental version of Lennon/McCartney classic "A Day in the Life" on Sir George Martin's album In My Life (1998), which also appeared in Julie Taymor's Beatles-inspired movie, Across the Universe.
His song "Hot Rod Honeymoon" was on the soundtrack for the video game Gran Turismo 4
Stone Free: A Tribute To Jimi Hendrix on Manic Depression with Seal.
The Pretenders album Viva El Amor on the song "Legalise Me"
Stevie Wonder originally wrote "Superstition" for Beck. However, Wonder's manager insisted that he record it before Beck did.
John McLaughlin's The Promise, on the track "Django".
Joe Cocker's Heart & Soul album on 4th track I (Who Have Nothing) playing lead guitar.
Brian May's "The Guv'nor" from the album Another World
Imogen Heap's Speak for Yourself
Roger Waters' Amused to Death
Mood Swings' song Skinthieves
Jon Bon Jovi's solo album Blaze of Glory
Paul Rodgers' song "Good Morning Little School Girl"
Appears in the movie Twins with Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger
Morrissey album Years of Refusal on the song Black Cloud.
"Mystery Train" on Never Stop Rockin', Carlo Little All Stars album (released 2009, Angel Air Records)
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54-46 Was My Number
Jeff Beck Lyrics
We have lyrics for '54-46 Was My Number' by these artists:
Aswad Stick it up, mister Can you hear what I'm saying…
Jeff Beck And Toots & The Maytals I said yeah (I said yeah), listen what I say…
The Maytals Stick it up, mister! Hear what I say, sir, yeah... Get you…
Toots I said yeah, listen what I say I said hear me…
toots the maytals Stick it up, mister! Hear what I say, sir, yeah... Get your…
Toots & The Maytals Stick it up, mister! Hear what I say, sir, yeah... Get your…
Toots & The Maytals & Jeff Beck I said yeah (I said yeah), listen what I say…
Toots & The Maytals Feat. Ben Harper Stick it up, mister! Hear what I say, sir, yeah... Get you…
Toots & The Maytals Feat. Jeff Beck I said yeah (I said yeah), listen what I say…
Toots and The Maytals Stick it up, mister! Hear what I say, sir, yeah... Get you…
Toots And The Maytals (This is England - Это Англия) I said yeah (I said yeah), listen what I say…
Toots feat. The Maytals Stick it up, mister! Hear what I say, sir, yeah... Get your…
Toots& The Maytals I said yeah (I said yeah), listen what I say…
Toots&Maytals Stick it up, mister! Hear what I say, sir, yeah... Get your…
We have lyrics for these tracks by Jeff Beck:
'Cause We've Ended As Lovers Sneaking kisses in the hall Parting love notes are on the…
A Day in the Life I read the news today oh boy About a lucky man…
Ain Ain't superstitious, Black cat crossed my trail. I ain't s…
Ain't No Sunshine Ain't no sunshine when she's gone, It's not warm when she's…
All Shook Up (presley, blackwell) Bless my soul, what's wrong with me ? …
Ambitious Here is a rich boy, a bit of a brat To…
B-I-Bickey-Bi Bo-Bo-Go As I was walking down the street I heard a…
Baby Blue Well, I've got a brand new lover I love her, yes…
Back in the Neighbourhood Take a look a around You tell me what you see Just…
Back On The Street Whoa Whoa On a routine night lots of high rollers We can tha…
Barabajagal She came, she came to meet a man, she found…
Blackbird Blackbird singing in the dead of night Take these broken wi…
Blues de Luxe I don't know too much about love, people But I sure…
Blues De-Luxe I don't know too much about love, people, But I sure…
Bye Bye Blues I got a big surprise, when I saw you smile I…
Catman Cat Man's a-coming, you better look out Cat Man's a-comin', …
Cause We've Ended as Lovers Sneaking kisses in the hall Parting love notes are on the…
Chuckles Ê morena quem temperou? Cigana quem temperou? O cheiro do …
Come Dancing When Charlie speaks of Lester You know someone great has gon…
Count to Ten Oh baby I'm gonna have to count to ten Because you…
Crazy Legs Well, I got a little woman called Crazy Legs She's the…
Cruisin' Cruisin', lookin' for my gal I'm cruisin', goin' don't know…
Cry Me A River Now you say you love me But you cry the whole…
Double Talkin My friends tried to tell me, but they were too…
Drinking Again I'm drinkin' again Thinkin' of when You left me That happ…
Early in the Morning Early in the morning Early in the morning Early in the morn…
Earth (Still Our Only Home) ขอแค่เธออยู่กับฉัน และเดินข้ามคืนนี้ไป ขอแค่เธออย่าหวั่นไหว …
Ecstasy Whoa One look from you Could turn anybody inside out You ti…
Elegy for Dunkirk Dear Lord and Father of mankind, Forgive our foolish ways!…
Evil Hearted You Evil hearted you. You always try to put me down, With the…
Five Feet Of Lovin' Well, I've got a little mama and my mama is…
Freeway Jam [instrumental]…
Full Moon Boogie Put your hands together Put your hands together Get down…
Full Moon Boogie - Live Put your hands together Put your hands together Get down Ge…
Get to the Bottom Let's get to the bottom to the bottom of this Let's…
Get Workin' Get get get workin' Work Get workin' Work Get workin' Get w…
Gets Us All In The End It gets us all in the end It gets us all…
Girls From Mill Valley (hopkins) [instrumental]…
Give It to You Here's a tear, for a souvenir And a dream, that's torn…
Glad All Over Ain't no doubt about it, it must be love One little…
Goin Man, you know I've enjoyed things that kings and queens…
Going Down Well I'm going down Down, down, down, down, down I'm going d…
Got The Feeling Yeah the day is right my friends Live life as full…
Grease Monkey Hey grease monkey show me what you got Make it dirty Make…
Guitar Shop Pre-amp, pro-sound performance Groove tube Killer caps Yo…
Hangman Hopkins, Beck, Newman, Stewart, Wood) Hangman, hangman, sla…
Happenings Ten Years Time Ago Meeting people on my way Seemingly I've known one day Famili…
Haunted Haunted haunted haunted Haunted haunted haunted Did the clo…
Heart Full of Soul Sick at heart and lonely Deep in dark despair Thinking one…
Hi Ho Silver You're everywhere and nowhere baby, that's where you're at G…
Hi-Ho Silver Lining You're everywhere and nowhere baby, that's where you're at …
Higher Beat is gettin' stronger. Music gettin' longer, too. Music i…
Highways Well I've been searching uphill, down and around and 'round …
Hold Me Hug Me Rock Me Well, hold me baby, hold me baby Hold me baby, hold…
Hot Rod Honeymoon Hot shots in hot rods The time is now The tempo is…
How High The Moon Somewhere there's music How faint the tune Somewhere there's…
I Got no place to be, no ones needing me My girl…
I Ain Ain't superstitious, Black cat crossed my trail. I ain't s…
I Ain't Done Wrong Yeah the bells have tolled, And my baby caught that train…
I Ain't Got You I got a Maserati G.T. With snakeskin upholstery. I got a cha…
I Ain't Superstitious Ain't superstitious, Black cat crossed my trail. I ain't sup…
I Ain't Superstitous Ain't superstitious, Black cat crossed my trail. I ain't s…
I Aint Done Wrong Yeah the bells have tolled, And my baby caught that train…
I Can't Give Back the Love I Feel for You Here's a tear, for a souvenir And a dream, that's torn…
I Got to Have a Song Got no place to be, no ones needing me My girl…
I Put A Spell On You I put a spell on you Because you're mine Stop the things…
I'm A Fool To Care I'm a fool to care When you treat me this way I…
I'm a Man You pretty women, Standing in line, Make love to babe, In my…
I'm not Talkin' EP version I'm not talking, Well that's all I got to say. Us…
I've Been Drinking I'm drinkin' again Thinkin' of when You left me That happene…
I've Been Used Sometimes I sit alone and wonder all night What happened to…
Ice Cream Cakes Ice cream cakes, lollipops babe Ain't it sweet as you know I…
Jailhouse Rock The warden threw a party in the county jail The prison…
Jeff Beck Hope when your wandering by Where the next lies gonna come O…
Jeff's Boogie Looking at the world around, For the very first time. Neve…
Jeff's One Hope when your wandering by Where the next lies gonna come O…
Jody Jody these are the reasons why The backyard we played in…
Let Me Love You (Over here) Let me love you baby, You're drivin' my poor h…
Lilac Wine I lost myself on a cool damp night Gave myself in…
Lost Woman Don't know where to run to, Don't know where to hide. See…
Lotta Lovin Well I wanna-wanna lotta-lotta lovin' Yes I wanna-wanna lot…
Love Is Blue I gotta take a little time A little time to think…
Love Me Like I Love You Here's a tear, for a souvenir And a dream, that's torn…
Mister You're a Better Man Than I Can you judge a man, By the way he wears his…
Mockin' Bird Hill When the sun in the morning peeps over the hill And…
Morning Dew (Bonnie Dobson and Tim Rose) Walk me out in the…
My Thing My thing My thing My thing Don't you mess with me yeah Wh…
Nazz Are Blue I'm searching for my baby Well I think I'm gonna cry I'm…
New Orleans I said "hey hey hey hey yeah" (I said "hey…
New Ways Been around this place for far to long Some folks think…
New York City If you've ever been to New York City, You know what…
Night After Night Turn it all on, turn it all on Night after night Are…
Nighthawks Yes I, I am a nighthawk Flying to the night (Yes) in…
Nursery Rhyme My sister's name is Puudin' Tame, They asked if she would…
Ol' Man River Old man river, that old man river, He don't say nothin',…
Over Under Sideways Down (Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!) Cars and girls are easy come by…
Pay Me No Mind Now my train is never on time I'm a come in…
People Get Ready People get ready There's a train a-coming You don't need no …
Peter Gunn Every night your line is busy, All that buzzin' makes me…
Pink Thunderbird I got a pink Thunderbird with a red plush seat Oh…
Please Mr. Jailer Please Mr. Jailer, won't you let my man go free? Please…
Plynth I've woken up on mornings such as this And thought exactly…
Pretty Pretty Baby I saw a pretty gal by the nickelodeon I asked her…
Psycho Daisies Pennsylvania snow is pretty thick, Michigan ain't where I ge…
Race With The Devil Well I've led an evil life, so they say But…
Rack My Mind Baby I got a problem, Don't know what to do. Baby I…
Rock My Mind (J. Rod) Listen! You can rock me, rock me all night…
Rock My Plimsoul (J. Rod) Listen! You can rock me, rock me all night…
Rocking Is Our Business Rockin' is our business And rockin' is what we do (oh…
Rollin Aboard a train I met a dame She was a hipster Man a…
Rollin And Tumblin Well, I rolled and I tumbled, Cried the whole night long. …
Rollin' and Tumblin' Well, I rolled and I tumbled, Cried the whole night long. We…
Say Mama Say Mama, can I go out tonight? Say Mama, will it…
Scared For The Children Billy skipped school again looking like a fool again What a…
Seasons Play me in the winter Play me in the summer Play me…
Shape of Things Shapes of things before my eyes, Just teach me to despise. W…
She Woman, You know you, Woman, You gotta be, Woman, I've got to…
She's a Woman - Live My love don't give me presents I know that she's no…
Short Business Hey Oh Monday morning rain Be sports and feed the flame It's…
Sitting On Top Of The World Was all the summer, and all the fall, Just trying to…
Situation People fight for the basic right to choose To live a…
Sleepwalk Sleep walk Seems like the other day My baby went away He …
Soap Opera We're sitting at this resturant Tears falling in my coffee I…
Someone To Love I ain't got nobody, I ain't got no girl. I ain't got…
Someone to Love Part 1 I ain't got nobody, I ain't got no girl. I ain't got…
Space for the Papa Space for the Papa (repeat)…
Spanish Boots Beck, Stewart, Wood) I used to work and take a…
Still I See the stars come joining down from the sky, Gently passing…
Still I'm Sad See the stars come joining down from the sky, Gently passin…
Stop Look And Listen Look at the love look at the tears Look at the…
Stroll On Strollin' on, 'Cause it's all gone, The reason why. You m…
Sugar Cane [Chorus:] I love ya, love ya like sugar cane I, I love…
Sun Is Shining The sun is shining, Don't you know it's raining in my…
Superstition Very superstitious, writing on the wall Very superstitious,…
Sweet Little Angel I've got the sweetest little angel And I love the way…
Tally Man To our house on a Friday A man calls every…
Tallyman To our house on a Friday A man calls every…
The Hangman's Knee Hopkins, Beck, Newman, Stewart, Wood) Hangman, hangman, sla…
The Nazz Are Blue I'm searching for my baby Well I think I'm gonna cry I'm…
The Sun Is Shining The sun is shining, Don't you know it's raining in my…
The Train Kept A Rollin' Aboard a train I met a dame She was a hipster Man a…
The Train Kept A-Rollin' I hopped a train, umm, I met a real dame She…
The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise Dear one, the world is waiting for the sunrise. Every rose…
There Open up my eyes I see a quarter of life Didn't want…
Throw Down A Line Throw down a line, help a poor boy Who's drowning…
Tiger Rag Hold that tiger, hold that tiger Hold that tiger, hold that…
Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You Throw my ticket out the window, throw my suitcase out…
Train Kept A Rollin' I hopped a train, umm, I met a real dame She…
Train Kept A-Rollin' I hopped a train, umm, I met a real dame She…
Trouble in Mind Trouble in mind, I'm blue But I won't be blue always 'Caus…
Twenty Flight Rock Oh I get a girl with a record machine When it…
Utterly Simple Everything really is stupidly simple And yet all around is u…
Vaya Con Dios Now the hacienda's dark, the town is sleeping, Now the…
Walking in the Sand Seems like the other day My baby, he went away He went…
Wandering Man Blues Listen, you can rock me, babe, rock me all night…
What Do You Want I want somebody here to tell me why, There's always smoke…
What Mama Said Did y'all hear what mama said? (repeat)…
Who Slapped John? Well I heard John say, "Man, she's my gal" I heard…
Wild Thing Wild thing, you make my heart sing You make everything groo…
Woman Love Woman love, hey, hey, hey, woman love, hey, hey Woman love,…
You You know you shook me, You shook me all night long,…
You Better Believe There's a right way of thinking and a wrong way…
You Know What I Mean Shouldn't we two be together You know what I mean To be…
You Need Love Here's a tear, for a souvenir And a dream, that's torn…
You Shook Me You know you shook me, You shook me all night long,…
You're a Better Man Than I (B. Hugg / M. Hugg) Can you judge a man, By the…
The lyrics can frequently be found in the comments below or by filtering for lyric videos.
Sky Miles Dossey
Awesome, thats all I can say, Jeff Beck is to me the Greatest of all the great Guitarists, including Jimi & Eric, and the with Toots & the Maytals soo funky, one of my all time favorite Reggae bands & Toots coined the term "Reggae" well man it doesnt get much better than this!
Scott Kinney
This man was a legend in so many ways not only did he come up with reggae and soul he actually coined the phrase reggae Bob Marley actually said this. Had the blessings in the fortunate I was seeing him live in Seattle September 2003 one of the best gigs I've ever witnessed r i p toots you will be loved and missed
R Ray Clark
Jeff's typically brilliant playing....
wsrhy aw5ehb
True love - proof toots can make anyone sound good!
AgTigress
Outstanding.
lastinghugs
so oooo smoooth... tight! ear candy! good tunes will live forever!
Billy Jango
Big tune!
John Conway
Give it to me ONE time!
OkayThen
Awesome :-)
Headley Lennon
Love neddy