Prog-Watch 1017
I hope you will join me on Prog-Watch this week when I will be paying tribute to a very progressive and iconic guitarist who sadly passed away earlier this year…Jeff Beck. I had so much great music slated that you will hear very little of me after a short preamble. Following that, get ready for nearly two hours of sublime guitar-oriented rock from a true innovator and virtuoso.
Geoffrey Arnold Beck was born 24 June 1944 in Wallington, Surrey, now part of greater London. He became interested in the gutar after hearing Les Paul on the radio as a child, and began playing seriously in his teens. He rose to prominence in the mid sixties as a member of the Yardbirds, following the departure of Eric Clapton. After his stint in the Yardbirds, he founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. By 1975, he had switched to an instrumental style with focus on his innovative sound, and his releases spanned genres and styles ranging from blues rock, hard rock, jazz fusion and a blend of guitar-rock and electronica.
Beck was ranked in the top five of Rolling Stone and other magazines’ lists rankings of the greatest guitarists. He was often called a “guitarist’s guitarist”. Rolling Stone also described him as “one of the most influential lead guitarists in rock”.
Beck earned wide critical praise and received the Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance six times and Best Pop Instrumental Performance once. In 2014, he received the British Academy’s Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: first as a member of the Yardbirds (1992) and secondly as a solo artist (2009).
Sadly, Jeff died unexpectedly from a bacterial meningitis infection on 10 January 2023, at the age of 78.
Music with some meat to it!
Prog-Watch is a weekly podcast and internet radio program dedicated to bringing the listener contemporary Progressive Rock music from around the world. Your big, hairy host, the “Prog-Squatch” wanders the woods of the world, beats the bushes, and digs in the dirt to bring the best Prog back for YOU! Sometimes solo and sometimes with a guest host, the Prog-Squatch will bring you new and interesting artists in each episode, and give you some background info and a taste of their music.