Beck ranked in the top five of Rolling Stone and other magazine's list of 100 greatest guitarists. He was often called a "guitarist's guitarist". Rolling Stone describes him as "one of the most influential lead guitarists in rock". Although he recorded two hit albums (in 1975 and 1976) as a solo act, Beck did not establish or maintain the sustained commercial success of many of his contemporaries and bandmates.
Beck earned wide critical praise and received the Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance six times and Best Pop Instrumental Performance once. In 2014 he received the British Academy's Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. Beck was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: as a member of the Yardbirds (1992) and as a solo artist (2009).
Beck was born on 24 June 1944 to Arnold and Ethel Beck at 206 Demesne Road, Wallington, England. As a 10-year-old, Beck sang in a church choir. He attended Sutton Manor Schoo and Sutton East County Secondary Modern School.
Beck cited Les Paul as the first electric guitar player who impressed him. Beck said that he first heard an electric guitar when he was 6 years old and heard Paul playing "How High the Moon" on the radio. He asked his mother what it was. After she replied it was an electric guitar and was all tricks, he said, "That's for me". Cliff Gallup, lead guitarist with Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps, was also an early musical influence, followed by B.B. King and Steve Cropper. Beck considers Lonnie Mack "a rock guitarist [who] was unjustly overlooked [and] a major influence on him and many others."
As a teenager he learned to play on a borrowed guitar and made several attempts to build his own instrument, first by gluing and bolting together cigar boxes for the body and an unsanded fence-post for the neck with model aircraft control-lines and frets simply painted on.
Upon leaving school, he attended Wimbledon College of Art, after which he was briefly employed as a painter and decorator, a groundsman on a golf course and a car paint-sprayer. Beck's sister Annetta introduced him to Jimmy Page when both were teenagers.
Beck stopped regular use of a pick in the 1980s. He produces a wide variety of sounds by using his thumb to pluck the strings, his ring finger on the volume knob and his little finger on the vibrato bar on his signature Fender Stratocaster. By plucking a string and then 'fading in' the sound with the volume knob he creates a unique sound that can resemble a human voice, among other effects. He frequently uses a wah-wah pedal both live and in the studio. Eric Clapton once said, "With Jeff, it's all in his hands".
Along with Stratocasters, Beck occasionally played Fender Telecaster and Gibson Les Paul models as well. His amplifiers were primarily Fender and Marshall. In his earlier days with the Yardbirds, Beck also used a 1954 Fender Esquire guitar (now owned by Seymour W. Duncan, and housed in the Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) through Vox AC30s. He also played through a variety of fuzz pedals and echo units along with this set-up and has used the Pro Co RAT distortion pedal. The pickup was based on a Gibson pickup rewound by Duncan and used in a salvaged Telecaster dubbed the "Tele-Gib" which he had constructed as a gift to Beck. Scott Morgan of the Rationals, who at one point shared a dressing room with the Yardbirds, recalls how Beck amplified his lead guitar through a Vox Superbeetle while using banjo strings for the unwound G string on his guitar because "they didn't make sets with an unwound G at that point."
During the ARMS Charity Concerts in 1983 Beck used his battered Fender Esquire along with a 1954 Stratocaster and a Jackson Soloist. On Crazy Legs (1993) he played a Gretsch Duo Jet, his signature Stratocaster and various other guitars. In 2007, Fender created a Custom Shop Tribute series version of his beat-up Fender Esquire as well as his Artist Signature series Stratocaster.
Described by Rolling Stone as "one of the most influential lead guitarists in rock", Beck cited his major influences as Les Paul, the Shadows, Cliff Gallup, Ravi Shankar, Roy Buchanan, Chet Atkins, Django Reinhardt, Steve Cropper and Lonnie Mack. Of John McLaughlin, Beck said: "[he] has given us so many different facets of the guitar and introduced thousands of us to world music, by blending Indian music with jazz and classical. I'd say he was the best guitarist alive."
According to musicologist and historian Bob Gulla, Beck is credited for popularising the use of audio feedback and distortion in rock guitar. Prior to Beck's arrival, guitar playing generally conformed to the "clean, bright, and jangly" sounds of early-1960s British Invasion bands or the bluesy aesthetic of 1950s African-American performers like Muddy Waters and Bo Diddley. During his short time with the Yardbirds, Beck's experimentation with feedback, distortion, and "fuzz" tone "pushed the band into directions that would open the door for psychedelic rock" while "jolt[ing] British rock forward", according to Gulla. While Beck was not the first rock guitarist to experiment with electronic distortion, he nonetheless helped to redefine the sound and role of the electric guitar in rock music. Beck's work with the Yardbirds and the Jeff Beck Group's 1968 album Truth were seminal influences on heavy metal music, which emerged in full force in the early 1970s. Gulla identifies one of Beck's characteristic traits to be his sense of pitch, particularly in exercising the whammy bar to create sounds ranging from "nose-diving bombs to subtle, perfectly pitched harmonic melodies".
According to guitarist and author Jack Wilkins, Beck is regarded alongside Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton as one of his generation's greatest guitarists, receiving praise for his technical skill and versatile playing. Stephen Thomas Erlewine finds him to be "as innovative as Jimmy Page, as tasteful as Eric Clapton, and nearly as visionary as Jimi Hendrix", although unable to achieve their mainstream success, "primarily because of the haphazard way he approached his career" while often lacking a star singer to help make his music more accessible. On his recorded output by 1991, Erlewine remarked that "never has such a gifted musician had such a spotty discography", believing Beck had largely released "remarkably uneven" solo records and only "a few terrific albums". In Christgau's Record Guide (1981), Robert Christgau essentialised Beck as "a technician" and questioned his ability to "improvise long lines, or jazz it up with a modicum of delicacy, or for that matter get funky", although he later observed a "customary focus, loyalty, and consistency of taste".
In 2015, Beck was ranked No. 5 in Rolling Stone' magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists". In an accompanying essay, guitarist Mike Campbell applauded Beck for his "brilliant technique" and "personality" in his playing, including a sense of humor expressed through the growl of his wah-wah effects. Campbell also credited Beck with expanding the boundaries of the blues, particularly on his two collaborations with Stewart.
Goin' Down
Jeff Beck Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In fact, things kings and queens can't never get.
And they don't even know about it.
And good times?
I have had my fun
if I never get well no more
if I never get well no more
Whoa, my health is fadin'
Oh yeah, I'm goin' down slow.
Now looky here.
I did not say I was a millionare.
But I said I have spent more money than a millionare.
Cause if I had kept all of the money I had already spent,
I'd woulda been a millionare a long time ago.
And women? Well, great googly moogly.
Please write my mama
Tell her the shape I'm in
Please write my mama
Tell her the shape I'm in
Tell her pray for me
Forgive me for my sins
The opening lines of Jeff Becks song "Goin' Down" seem to imply that the singer has experienced pleasures and enjoyed luxuries that even kings and queens don't have access to. The second line suggests he's aware of things beyond material possessions - knowledge or wisdom, perhaps, that outstrip anything the wealthy and the powerful possess - though he does qualify this by stating that "they don't even know about it." It's unclear what exactly he's referring to, but given that his next lines immediately reference good times, it seems plausible that he's talking about the highs and joys of life that are felt regardless of material status.
The chorus of the song reflects the singer's decline, both in terms of health and overall condition. He declares that he's had his fun in life, and nothing else really matters to him anymore. The repeated "if I never get well no more" line drives home the singer's sense of finality and resignation. The grim reality is that he's sick, and he's going down slowly.
The second verse is where the tone shifts slightly, and the singer turns his attention to money and women. He admits that while he's not a millionaire, he has spent more money than one. He wryly muses that he "woulda been a millionaire a long time ago" if he had saved what he had already spent, hinting at a sense of self-awareness and regret. Finally, he mentions women, saying "great googly moogly", a random exclamation to suggest his excitement, which probably means that he's had a lot of relationships, flings and one night stands.
Overall, the song seems to be about the singer coming to terms with his own mortality and declining health. He lists his accomplishments and pleasures he's experienced in the past, but they're all coloured by his awareness that he's running out of time. The lyrics and the bluesy guitar riffs perfectly capture the singer's sense of struggle and resignation, making for a poignant and melancholic song.
Line by Line Meaning
Man, you know I've enjoyed things that kings and queens will never have
I have experienced things that kings and queens cannot access or have the opportunity to witness.
In fact, things kings and queens can't never get.
These experiences are not accessible to kings and queens at any point in their lives.
And they don't even know about it.
In fact, kings and queens are unaware of these experiences.
And good times?
Speaking of enjoyable experiences,
I have had my fun
I have enjoyed my life to the fullest
if I never get well no more
Even if my health deteriorates
I have had my fun
I still feel satisfied with what I’ve experienced so far
Whoa, my health is fadin'
Although I have had good times, my health is now deteriorating.
Oh yeah, I'm goin' down slow.
I am slowly approaching death due to my rapidly declining health.
Now looky here.
Now listen carefully
I did not say I was a millionare.
I am not claiming to be a millionaire.
But I said I have spent more money than a millionare.
I have spent enough money to compete with people who actually have millions of dollars.
Cause if I had kept all of the money I had already spent,
If I had not spent the money I've already spent,
I'd woulda been a millionare a long time ago.
I would have already saved enough to be a millionaire a long time ago.
And women? Well, great googly moogly.
Oh, women‽ My, oh, my!
Please write my mama
Please send a message to my mother
Tell her the shape I'm in
Describe to her the state of my health
Tell her pray for me
Request that she prays for my health
Forgive me for my sins
Ask for her forgiveness for my actions
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JOHNNY WINTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@bryan2.081
+RPG 808 As a young aspiring guitarist a long time ago I had different people telling me who I ought to listen to. one guy said Willie Nelson and another said Jeff Beck. I went to the library and checked out Stardust and Wired. I desperately wanted to play like the guy on the Wired album. At 9 it wasn't really achievable.
More to your point. It's obvious you don't like the way JB plays because you don't like the way he sounds. Nothing wrong with that. Your claim that he is overrated because he doesn't sound like you like, is not valid.
I am going to save you from unnecessary audio tracks with a list of guitarist/bassists who are not known for their pleasing tone.
Jaco Pastorious
Charlie Christian
Wes Montgomery
Robert Johnson
Chris Squire
Mary Osbourn
Grant Green
Chuck Berry
John Entwistle
Steve Howe
Charles Mingus
Tal Wilkenfeld (Seriously, after Geddy Lee's emergence no other bass player matters)
Buddy Holly
Flea( more of a wardrobe concern, obviously he has some skills)
@mcgeesfreedom
RIP Jeff Beck. There was no one quite like you in the history of Rock 'n Roll.
@jimz68
RIP Jeff Beck. Truly one of a kind.
@edsalem6800
Nice work with Imelda May also.
@jimz68
@@edsalem6800 Yes, very!
@gazzzza
@@edsalem6800 yes great work with imelda highly loved 👍👍👍
@MrPoodleguy
Jeff Beck, Tal Wilkenfeld & Beth Hart all together - it just doesn’t get better than this!!
@gazzzza
yes it does just add Imelda may even better
@jamesemanuel3120
Who was the fiddle/violin player ???
@richj011
Oh it has and will be better.
@igordewit7357
@@jamesemanuel3120 Annie Armpitt,... From Oxelburg,under Armenia..