Thoreau Thursday 2: "He Hears a Different Drummer"
A Brief Obituary for the Most Innovative and Underrated Guitarist of All Time
Yesterday, my favorite guitarist of all time died at the age of 78 from bacterial meningitis unexpectedly. This is not the post I expected to write, but Jeff Beck deserves the honor of being the topic exemplifying one of Thoreau’s most famous quotes, which is often “used to describe someone who is somehow special, different or iconoclastic” — qualities that certainly describe the most innovative and influential-yet-underrated prodigy to ever pick up a guitar.
My three paragraph T.T. format cannot do justice to explain the many reasons why “Jeff Beck is probably your favorite guitarist’s favorite guitarist” with anywhere close to the full level of detail that this genius deserves… so I will simply share a small handful of bullet points and links that demonstrate why he is so deeply admired by guitar nerds like me around the world.
Among many other legendary accomplishments, Jeff Beck:
…was inducted twice to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and won eight Grammy Awards
…was one of the three iconic guitarists, along with Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton, to famously come from the mid-60s band “The Yardbirds” — which provided the foundation that Page turned into none other than Led fucking Zeppelin
…was one of Jimi Hendrix’s biggest influences
…turned down chances to join both Pink Floyd and The Rolling Stones
…instead pioneered a fusion genre of rock, jazz, and blues
…developed an insanely complex fingerpicking technique in the mid-70s, which nobody else has ever truly managed to imitate with such intricate virtuosity
…produced the greatest full concert video of all time “Live at Ronnie Scott’s” in 2007
…never stopped innovating his entire career, continuing to take guitar playing and indeed music in general to new heights in creative ways that nobody else even considered