At the age of thirteen, inspirred to play guitar, Beck built his own, and used a radio as an amplifier.
His first band was the 'Deltones', which he joined at 15. They played covers of their heroes, including songs by 'The Shadows'. In 1965, Jeff replaced Eric Clapton in The Yardbirds. Eric had grown tired of 'The Yardbirds' increasingly "pop"-orientated songs, and left to join John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Beck played with "very futuristic ideas", said drummer Jim McCarty, as opposed to Eric's R&B style.
After The Yardbirds, Beck worked with Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Keith Moon, recording Beck's Bolero, and then formed The 'Jeff Beck Group' with Rod Stewart on vocals,and Ron Wood of The 'Rolling Stones'. The group disbanded in 1972
'BBA' - Beck / Tim Bogert (bass) / Carmine Appice (drums) - was Jeff's next project, lasting two years, until 1974.
From there, Beck recorded "Blow by Blow", an instrumental album produced by George Martin - of ex-Beatles fame. Jeff said of the album: "I went from heavy riff tunes to things which were a bit more classy."
His next album, "Wired", featured keyboard player Jan Hammer, who had previously been a member of The 'Mahvishnu Orchestra'.
"There and Back" - 1978 - was the last album that Beck used a plectrum, stating that "If you use a pick, you've got several fingers...that are not doing anything".
After "Guitar Shop", Beck seemed to disappear but re-emerged in 1999 with "Who Else" and an accompanying tour. The album was a great success, mixing modern sounds with classic rock and blues, and everything else along the way.
It's follow up, last year, "You Had It Coming", just confirmed that Beck is back.
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