Jeff Beck
 Born in Surrey, England, in 1944, Jeff Beck was already a guitar veteran of
early 60s bands like Screaming Lord Sutch and The Nightshifts when he joined The
Yardbirds to replace Eric Clapton (at the
suggestion of future band member Jimmy Page).
Leaving The Yardbirds in November 1966, Beck
signed a solo record deal with Columbia and recruited three musicians, vocalist
Rod Stewart, Bass player Ron Wood (who would later
join The Rolling Stones as a guitarist) and
drummer Aynsley Dunbar.
Initially backing him on early solo sessions, the trio
would later become the first incarnation of The Jeff Beck Group.
In 1967, Beck undertook a tour supporting Roy Orbison
and The Small Faces. Beck received poor reviews
and was not asked to complete the tour.
His debut release, Hi-Ho Silver
Lining, was released on March 23 and featured Jeff on guitar and lead
vocals - a role he would rarely undertake again. The single reached Number 14
in the UK charts but eventually proved to be unrepresentative of all his future
work.
 Billed as a blues/rock outfit, The Jeff Beck Group made their US debut in
June 1967 at the Fillmore East, New York, to more positive reviews, including a
description of Beck's guitar playing in the New York Times as "wild
and visionary".
His solo follow-up single, Tallyman, written by
Graham Gouldman (later of 10cc), reached Number 30 in
the UK, again with Beck handling lead vocals rather than Rod
Stewart (at the insistence of producer Mickie Most).
1968 brought line-up changes and a third single, Love Is Blue - an
instrumental version of a song from the Eurovision
Song Contest no less.
The track reached Number 23, while a debut album (Truth)
climbed to Number 15 in the US where touring was now concentrated, but failed
to chart in the UK.
The Jeff Beck Group performed in summer 1969 at the annual jazz festival at
Newport, but seemingly unable to stick to touring commitments, Beck cancelled a
scheduled performance at the forthcoming Woodstock
Festival. This type of last-minute cancellation became a trade mark of
Beck's.
Keyboard player Nicky Hopkins would later recall; "Every
opportunity was there and we blew it by constantly cancelling out tours. We'd
wake up one morning in the States and find Jeff had left the night before and
was back in England".
Late in 1969, the album Beckola was released, and having completed
the album, Rod Stewart and Ron Wood left the band
to join The Faces. Meanwhile, Beck was hospitalised
following a car accident and took 18 months to recuperate.
 By the end of 1971, Jeff had put together a new backing band featuring Clive
Chapman (bass), Max Middleton (keyboards), Cozy Powell (drums) and Bobby Tench
(vocals) who supported him on the solo-released Rough and Ready and
accompanying US and UK tour.
The same line-up recorded 1972's Jeff Beck
Group album (often referred to as "the Orange Album") and
re-issued Hi Ho Silver Lining, reaching No. 17 in the UK.
In 1973, Beck teamed up with ex-Vanilla Fudge
members Tim Bogert (bass) and Carmine Appice (drums) to form the thunderous
rock trio Beck, Bogert and Appice. Their debut self-titled album (containing a
version of Stevie Wonder's Superstition)
reached the Top 40 in both the US and UK.
 Like so many Beck projects, the union proved short-lived and the trio
dissolved in 1974, with Beck forming an instrumental backing group comprising
Middleton, Philip Chen and Richard Bailey, to play on his solo double album Blow
by Blow (an experimental jazz-rock fusion offering, produced by George
Martin).
The album reached No. 4 in the US and re-established Beck as one
of the most respected rock guitarists.
Beck spent most of the remainder of the decade touring as co-headliner with
The Jan Hammer Group and the majority of the 80s working on disparate projects
such as live appearances for charity, touring with Rod
Stewart, playing on Mick Jagger's solo recordings and touring as a duet
with Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Since 1989 Beck has worked on a number of film soundtracks, toured
sporadically, played live with Guns 'n' Roses, and
released (or contributed to) tributes to Gene Vincent,
Jimi Hendrix and Muddy
Waters.
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