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.
Rollin
Jeff Beck Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cried the whole night long.
Well, I rolled and I tumbled,
Cried the whole night long.
Well, I woke up this morning,
Didn't know right from wrong.
Well, if the river was whiskey,
Well, if the river was whiskey,
And I was a diving duck.
Well, I would dive to the bottom,
Never would I come up.
Well, I could a had a religion,
This bad old thing instead.
Well, I could a had a religion,
This bad old thing instead.
Well, all whiskey and women,
Would not let me pray.
"The Train Kept a Rollin'" is a classic rock song about a train ride and an encounter with a woman on that train. The singer describes her as a "hipster" and a "real gone dame," indicating that she is unconventional and edgy. He also notes that she is not conventionally attractive but still catches his eye.
Despite her unconventional appearance, the singer is drawn to her and can't let her go, even as the train keeps rolling throughout the night. He even makes a detour to follow her off the train and pursue her in Albuquerque and El Paso.
The song is known for its driving rhythm, energetic guitar riffs, and powerful vocals. It has been performed by numerous rock bands over the years, including Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, and Metallica, among others.
Line by Line Meaning
Aboard a train
The story of the song begins on a train journey
I met a dame
The singer meets a lady on the train
She was a hipster
The lady had a modern and unconventional sense of style
Man a real gone dame
The lady was very cool, unique and interesting
She wasn't pretty
The lady did not conform to traditional ideas of beauty
For New York City
In the context of New York City where looks matter
As we strut down on that ol' fairlane
The singer and the lady walk down the street confidently
With a heave and a ho
The artist finds it hard to resist the lady's charm
I just couldn't let her go
The artist is captivated by the lady's uniqueness and wants to stay with her
Get along
The artist urges the lady to keep moving
Sweet little woman get along
The singer sweetly addresses the lady and urges her to go
On your way
The artist wants the lady to continue on her journey
The train kept a rollin' all night long
The train's constant rolling all through the night reflects the constant journey of life
I made a stop round Albuquerque
The singer made a brief stop in Albuquerque during the train journey
She must'a thought I was real gone jerk
The lady might have thought the singer was a foolish man
Got off the train at El Paso
The artist left the train at El Paso, Texas
A' looking so good I couldn't let her go
The artist thinks the lady looks amazing and wants to stay with her
The train kept a rollin' all night long
The train's constant movement serves as a metaphor for life's endless journey
With a heave and a ho
The singer struggles with the decision to stay with the lady or continue his journey
I just couldn't let her go
The artist ultimately chooses to stay with the lady he met on the train
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Mckinley Morganfield
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Aliyah
paroles:
Well, I rolled and I tumbled
Cried the whole night long
Well, I rolled and I tumbled
Cried the whole night long
When I woke up this morning
Didn't know right or wrong
Well, if the river was a whiskey
And I was a diving duck
If the river was a whiskey
And I was a diving duck
Well, I would dive to the bottom
I'd swear, I'd never come up
Well, I coulda had religion
In this bad old Sunday
I coulda had religion
In this bad old Sunday
But whiskey and bad love
Wouldn't let me have my way
I rolled and I tumbled
And I rolled and I tumbled
I rolled and I tumbled
johnny zell
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
We were rollin' and tumblin'
Right the whole night long
We were rollin' and tumblin'
Right the whole night long
When I woke up this mornin' baby
All I had was gone
Well I rolled my baby
She's goin' to jump and shout
Well I rolled my baby
She's goin' to jump and shout
When that train rolls up boys
I'm gonna come walkin' on home
Hey, hey, hey, hey , hey , hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey , hey , hey, hey
Engine driver blows that whistle
Fireman rings that bell
Engine driver blows that whistle
Fireman rings that bell
Well I didn't have time boys
To bid my baby farewell
ungertron
One of the greatest songs ever done Imogen's hypnotic voice, Becks pumped up guitar and those doubled up drumbeats - a masterpiece.
David Atkinson
Becks bringing that wild child out. She keeps slipping smiles his way.. I agree with best version ever comment and the whole band was on fire that night!
ungertron
+S Jones: I think Jeff Beck might have straightened her out for this song.
S Jones
Right! Who knew Imogen Heap could sound like this? I don't normally get down with her music.
Stormbringer Coming
ungertron m
Radar Blip
Most original and Kick Ass Cover version of this Blues Classic I've ever had the privilege to listen too!!!!!! Rattles my Bones a bit!
prufrock
This song could play a week, and I'd still want more. Great job, Imogen-- you have risen to the occasion in a legendary fashion. jeff Beck? What can I say? Truly a genius.
DixieChkk77
I love this song. I just stumbled across it and I listen to it every day and am always impressed. Jeff Beck's guitar is so tight and her vocal arrangement rocks it out. THANKS!
Musicplayful
When you hear a good guitarist, you go "wow!". When you hear Jeff, you go "this is pure genius"
Ken Risling
Known this song since Cream covered it when I was a kid. Have heard many versions, I love it. None has electrified me like this recording. Besides the incredible chemistry between guitarist and vocalist, I need to call out the drumming and the sparse arrangement, that adds to the tension. Truly great.