Jeff Beck

Over the course of his five-decade career, Jeff Beck has proven himself one of music's most versatile, skilled and influential guitarists, making important contributions to rock, heavy metal, jazz and even electronic music. Beck found his first work as a musician playing with Screaming Lord Sutch and the Tridents in the early '60s. In 1965, Beck joined the Yardbirds, replacing lead guitarist Eric Clapton. After a two-year stint with the Yardbirds, Beck formed a new band, The Jeff Beck Group, featuring vocalist Rod Stewart. The group's gritty, rough sound helped pave the way for future hard rock/heavy metal bands. By the mid-'70s, Beck had changed directions musically, recording the gro...

Over the course of his five-decade career, Jeff Beck has proven himself one of music's most versatile, skilled and influential guitarists, making important contributions to rock, heavy metal, jazz and even electronic music. Beck found his first work as a musician playing with Screaming Lord Sutch and the Tridents in the early '60s. In 1965, Beck joined the Yardbirds, replacing lead guitarist Eric Clapton. After a two-year stint with the Yardbirds, Beck formed a new band, The Jeff Beck Group, featuring vocalist Rod Stewart. The group's gritty, rough sound helped pave the way for future hard rock/heavy metal bands. By the mid-'70s, Beck had changed directions musically, recording the ground-breaking jazz-fusion albums Blow By Blow and Wired (in collaboration with keyboardist Jan Hammer). Beck reemerged in the '80s with There and Back and Flash, featuring the Grammy Award-winning track "Escape." Beck won another Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental with his 1989 release Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop with Terry Bozzio and Tony Hymas. In the early '90s Beck released Crazy Legs, a tribute to rockabilly singer Gene Vincent and guitarist Cliff Gallup, followed by Who Else! in 1999. The song "Dirty Mind" from the 2001 album You Had It Coming won Beck his third Grammy. On the 2003 release Jeff, Beck continued to break new ground, collaborating with trip-hop artist David Torn, the electronic group Apollo 440 and a 40-piece orchestra.