The first Jeff Beck Group was formed in the U.K. in 1967, consisting of Jeff Beck guitar, Rod Stewart vocals, Ron Wood bass, and Aynsley Dunbar drums. Beck had unfortunately signed a personal management contract with famed U.K. singles producer and manager, Mickie Most. Beck had envisioned forming the band he eventually did, but for the first part of their existence (early '67), they were relegated to being a 'backup band' for Beck, but Most lost interest in Beck quickly, and the group floundered for the better part of a year. In fact, if it weren't for Most's employee Peter Grant, they would have almost certainly ended up on the scrap heap before they ever got started.
Grant's interests were not entirely philanthropic though, as he was keenly interested in managing his own band. Having been to the States as tour manager for The New Vaudeville Band, he was well aware of a new Concert and Album trend developing in the U.S., where a band could be launched through concerts - without a hit single. Beck's outfit was made to order for this new market. And so he tried - repeatedly, desperately, and in vain to buy Beck's contract from Mickie Most. And although Most had lost interest in Beck, he stubbornly refused to sell. Grant however, wasn't beaten, and in early '68, he arranged a six week U.S. tour for the band. It was their last chance... Dunbar had left to play 'straight blues', being replaced briefly by Roy Cook and then eventually by Micky Waller, and according to Beck, they were down to "literally one clothing change!!" ...The gamble paid off - they took the States by storm... The response was phenominal, and Grant used their reviews (most notably The New York Times) to secure a contract with Epic records for a U.S. release. Upon return to the U.K., Most left the project in the hands of the band and a young, budding genius engineer/producer, Ken Scott, who had worked with The Beatles, and was soon to produce all of David Bowie and The Spiders From Mars records... The result was "Truth", to this day considered a 'touchstone' to many musicians, and a seminal influence on all 'Hard Blues','Hard Rock', and 'Heavy Metal' music that was to follow, (via Led Zeppelin), often sighted as usurpers of Beck's act, and largely (behind the scenes) responsible for its breakup.
This four piece lineup then toured the U.S. to coincide with the release of 'Truth' in early/mid 1968. The tour was another huge success, and they were being touted as the obvious replacement to Cream. The album climbed to number 15 on the Billboard charts and at Peter Grant's insistence, Jimmy Page was present for most of the second tours shows - apparently studying the band, their audience and material. Many insiders claim that Grant and Page were plotting to form a similar group, which they quickly did; trying to snag the 'gravel-sounding' vocal stylings of Steve Marriott, Terry Reid, and Paul Rodgers among others, before settling on Robert Plant temporarily.
Late in the year, well-known session keyboardist Nicky Hopkins accepted an offer to tour with The Beck Group, although offered more money to tour with Led Zeppelin. This lineup (Beck, Stewart, Wood, Waller and Hopkins), is considered by many to be one of the finest in rock history. But they would ultimately suffer from internal stuggles, jealousies and firings (reportedly from 'he said,'she said' rumours, whispered into Beck and Stewart's ears by Grant himself). Ron Wood was fired at least twice, and in 1969 Micky Waller was replaced by drummer Tony Newman, who stayed with the group until they disbanded. It really must be said that this was definitely a 'live' band. Their list of gigs from 1967 to 1969 is staggering... Through most of 1967 they played the club circuit up and down England, as well as short tours to Europe and Scandinavia. 1968 and 1969 saw them playing an almost unbelievable amount of shows, mostly in the U.S., but again in Europe as well.
Sadly though, for a band that stayed together almost three years, their output is lacking. They were only to produce three ill-conceived U.K. singles, and two L.P.'s. There are however, dozens of early recordings produced at DeLane Lea studios in 1967 and 1968, specifically for various BBC radio shows, including 'Saturday Club', 'Top Gear', and the "Simmonds Show'. Although bootlegged in very poor quality, these have never been officially released.
In mid 1969, after completing the admittedly rushed 'Beck-Ola', The JBG toured the States for the last time with Nicky Hopkins, who had to stop touring for health reasons. They were to do a bit more touring as a four-piece in '69, notably appearing at the Newport Jazz Festival, but unfortunately the forces working against them proved too great, and the band dissolved on the eve of the Woodstock Festival, at which they were scheduled to appear (they are listed on the promotional posters and ads). One wishes this had been their swansong, as it would have cemented their rightful place in history, and as there is virtually no known TV or film footage of this band.
After the group disbanded, Rod Stewart and Ron Wood went on to join The Small Faces, who were about to break up because of the loss of Steve Marriott. Meanwhile, Jeff Beck planned to join Vanilla Fudge Rhythm section, Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice, but suffered a head injury in a car wreck. Bogert and Appice would go on to form Cactus while Beck recovered.
After recovering from his injuries, Beck reformed the group with vocalist Bob Tench, keyboardist Max Middleton, drummer Cozy Powell and bassist Clive Chaman. The band would go on to release two more albums, "Rough & Ready" in '71 and a self-titled album in 1972, before disbanding.
Jeff Beck Group is also on Last.fm as The Jeff Beck Group.
Official Website: Jeff Beck
I Can't Give Back The Love I Feel For You
Jeff Beck Group Lyrics
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And a dream, that's torn at the seams
Here's a promise you made to me
Of the tomorrow I'll never see
And then you're free to go
But I can't give back the love
I feel for you
No matter what I do
Take these arms that held you close
I thought I was the one you needed the most
Take these hands, they're no good to me
That used to touch you so tenderly
But I can't give back the love
That's a part of me
If you want just a little bit
You have to take all of me
Here's a ring
That didn't mean a thing
And the letters you wrote
That gave my young heart hope
Take the pillow where my dreams were made
And the mind, where the thought of you stayed
But baby, you should know
That I can't give back the love
I feel for you
I'm gonna be stuck with it
No matter what I do
Take these eyes that once could see
Now reflections of a misery
The happiness I thought would last
Now a becoming just a thing of the past
But I can't give back the love
That's a part of me
If you want just a little bit
You have to take all of me
No, I can't give back
No, I feel for you
Oh, I'm gonna be stuck
No matter what I do
'cause it'll grow 'till the world
Don't go 'round no more
But I can't give back the love
I feel for you
I'm gonna be stuck with it
No matter what I do
But I can't give back the love
I feel for you
I'm gonna be stuck with it
No matter what I do
But I can't give back the love
I feel for you
I'm gonna be stuck with it
No matter what I do
The song "I Can't Give Back The Love I Feel For You" by Jeff Beck Group describes the emotional pain experienced by someone who is unable to let go of their love for a person who has already left them. The lyrics express the feelings of helplessness and heartbreak that come with being stuck in a one-sided relationship. The singer is torn between a desire to move on and the lingering feelings that they still have for their lost love.
In the first verse, the singer presents a poignant image of a broken dream and an unfulfilled promise of a future together. The second verse goes deeper into the heartbreak, with the singer offering up physical things that represent the lost love, such as arms that held the other person, hands that touched them tenderly, and eyes that saw happiness where there is now only misery. The chorus offers the sad truth that no matter how hard the singer tries, they will always be stuck with the love they feel, even if the other person has moved on.
The lyrics suggest a sense of futility and desperation, with the repetitive use of the lines "I can't give back the love I feel for you" emphasizing the singer's feelings of helplessness. The song captures the essence of unrequited love, where even though the feelings are not reciprocated, they persist, sometimes even growing stronger over time.
Line by Line Meaning
Here's a tear, for a souvenir
I have nothing left to hold onto from our love except for the memory of a tear.
And a dream, that's torn at the seams
My dreams of our future together have been destroyed and are falling apart at the seams.
Here's a promise you made to me
You made a promise to me that you will not keep.
Of the tomorrow I'll never see
The promise of a future together is something I will never experience.
And then you're free to go
Once you break your promise, you are free to leave me.
But I can't give back the love
I feel for you
I'm gonna be stuck with it
No matter what I do
Although you are free to leave me, I cannot take back the love that I still have for you, and I am stuck with it forever.
Take these arms that held you close
My arms used to hold you tightly and keep you close.
I thought I was the one you needed the most
I believed that I was the one you truly needed in your life.
Take these hands, they're no good to me
That used to touch you so tenderly
My hands that used to touch you gently are now useless to me without you.
But I can't give back the love
That's a part of me
If you want just a little bit
You have to take all of me
Even though I am willing to give you everything I have, I cannot give back the love that is a part of who I am. If you want to be with me, you have to accept all of me.
Here's a ring
That didn't mean a thing
The ring that I gave you was meaningless because our love was not real.
And the letters you wrote
That gave my young heart hope
The letters you wrote to me when I was young gave me hope for a future together that will never come true.
Take the pillow where my dreams were made
And the mind, where the thought of you stayed
Take everything that reminds me of the dreams I had for us and the thoughts of you that were constantly on my mind.
That I can't give back the love
I feel for you
I'm gonna be stuck with it
No matter what I do
Even though you are taking everything from me, I cannot take back the love that I still have for you, and I am stuck with it forever.
Take these eyes that once could see
Now reflections of a misery
My eyes that used to see the beauty of our love are now only able to reflect my misery and pain.
The happiness I thought would last
Now a becoming just a thing of the past
The happiness I thought we would have together is now nothing but a distant memory of the past.
No, I can't give back
No, I feel for you
Oh, I'm gonna be stuck
No matter what I do
'cause it'll grow 'till the world
Don't go 'round no more
I cannot take back the love I have for you, and it will continue to grow until the world stops turning.
But I can't give back the love
I feel for you
I'm gonna be stuck with it
No matter what I do
Although I am willing to give you everything I have, I cannot take back the love that is a part of who I am, and I am stuck with it forever.
But I can't give back the love
I feel for you
I'm gonna be stuck with it
No matter what I do
Even though you are free to leave me, I cannot take back the love that I still have for you, and I am stuck with it forever.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BRIAN HOLLAND, NICKOLAS ASHFORD, VALERIE SIMPSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind