1944 Jeff Beck*
1947 Mick Fleetwood*
1950 Sandy Ross*
1956 Michael Coleman*
1956 Tad Robinson*
1983 Chris Pitts*
2014 Lee McBee+
Happy Birthday
Jeff Beck *24.05.1944
Jeff Beck (eigentlich Geoffrey Arnold Beck, * 24. Juni 1944 in Wallington, England) ist ein britischer Rock-Gitarrist und mehrfacher Grammy-Preisträger.Wie viele Gitarristen der frühen 1960er Jahre in England verdiente Jeff Beck sein Geld als Sessionmusiker. 1965 – nach dem Wechsel Eric Claptons zu John Mayall – suchten die Yardbirds einen neuen Leadgitarristen. Beck war einer der ersten Electric-Gitarristen, der mit electronic fuzz distortion und noise experimentierte. Nach einem legendären, aber kurzen Leadgitarren-Duo mit Jimmy Page verließ er Ende 1966 die Gruppe.
Anfang 1967 veröffentlichte er seine Solo-Single Hi Ho Silver Lining/ Beck's Bolero, die ein großer Hit wurde. Beck sang hier selbst. Im selben Jahr gründete Jeff Beck eine neue Band, die Jeff Beck Group. Dabei waren Rod Stewart (Gesang), Ron Wood (Bass), Micky Waller (Schlagzeug) und Nicky Hopkins (Keyboard). Die Gruppe produzierte zwei Alben, Truth (1968) und Cosa Nostra Beck-Ola (1969). Dessen ungeachtet entwickelten sich Spannungen in der Jeff Beck Group, und 1969 stiegen Stewart und Wood aus, um sich den Faces anzuschließen. Ron Wood wechselte dann 1975 zu den Rolling Stones.
1968 wollte die Psychedelic-Rock-Band Pink Floyd Beck als Gitarristen anwerben. Pink Floyd benötigte wegen der psychischen Probleme Syd Barretts, der zu dieser Zeit der Bandleader von Pink Floyd war, einen zusätzlichen Gitarristen; letztendlich fiel die Wahl dann aber auf David Gilmour.
Nach dem zweiten Scheitern der Jeff Beck Group (die 1972 auseinanderfiel) gründete Beck das hochkarätige Trio Beck, Bogert & Appice (BBA) mit Carmine Appice (Schlagzeug) und Tim Bogert (Bass), beide früher bei Vanilla Fudge und Cactus. Auch diese Gruppe fand vornehmlich in Spezialistenkreisen Beachtung und löste sich bald wieder auf. Immerhin hatten sie einen Hit mit Stevie Wonders Superstition und Beck spielte die Lead-Gitarre auf Wonders Album Talking Book. 1975 veröffentlichte Beck ein instrumentales, sehr vom Jazz inspiriertes Solo-Album mit dem Titel Blow by Blow, das von der Kritik sehr gelobt wurde. Dem folgte eine Gemeinschaftsarbeit mit dem Jazz-Rock-Keyboarder Jan Hammer und dessen Band 1976: Wired, die ebenfalls große Zustimmung fand. In dieser Zeit produzierte Beck auch zwei Alben der Gruppe Upp, bei denen er auch selbst mitspielte.
In den 1980ern und 1990ern brachte Jeff Beck nur gelegentlich Alben heraus: Flash (1985, darunter einige Stücke zusammen mit Rod Stewart und Jan Hammer), Guitar Shop (1989), Crazy Legs (1993, eine Hommage an Cliff Gallup, den Gitarristen von Gene Vincent),[1] Who else (1999), und You Had It Coming (2001). Jeff Beck gewann den Grammy zum dritten Mal in der Kategorie Best Rock Instrumental Performance für sein Stück Dirty Mind aus dem Album You Had It Coming. Nebenbei spielte er als Gastmusiker in Projekten anderer Musiker (z. B. Jon Bon Jovis Blaze of Glory und Roger Waters Amused to Death 1992).
Jeff Beck hatte nie solche Erfolge gefeiert wie Eric Clapton oder Jimmy Page, dennoch gilt er mit seinen musikalischen Visionen zwischen Jazz-Rock bzw. Fusionmusik (z. B. auf Wired und auf There and Back, feat. Simon Phillips), Psychedelic und Progressive Guitar Music als eine ebenso bestimmende Kraft der Rockmusik. Für seine Rockinstrumentals wurde er bislang sechsmal mit einem Grammy Award ausgezeichnet: 1986 für Escape, 1990 für Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop mit Terry Bozzio und Tony Hymas, 2002 für Dirty Mind, 2004 für Plan B, 2010 für A Day in the Life und 2011 für Nessun dorma.
Beck spielt fast ausschließlich Fender Stratocaster-Gitarren. Fender hat mit ihm zusammen ein „Signature“-Stratocaster-Modell konzipiert, das durch den Fender-Custom Shop produziert und vertrieben wird.[2]
Gibson hat vor kurzem ein Jeff-Beck-Modell einer Les Paul vorgestellt. Die Farbe ist originalgetreu „Oxblood“. Eine weit verbreitete Annahme ist, dass das Unternehmen Seymour Duncan seit den 70er Jahren serienmäßig einen Humbucker der den Namen von Jeff Beck trägt (Artikel-Nr. SH-4 im Sortiment), anfertigt. Dies ist jedoch falsch, die Bezeichnung „JB“ steht für „Jazz/Blues“ anstelle von „Jeff Beck“.
Beck spielt fast ausschließlich mit den Fingern und benutzt nur sehr selten ein Plektrum (nur für besonders schnelle Soliläufe). Ebenso charakteristisch für sein Spiel ist seit den 1990er Jahren das exzessive Nutzen des Tremolo-Hebels sowie des Volumen- und des Klangreglers seiner Gitarre.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck (born June 24, 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He is one of the three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds (the other two being Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page). Beck also formed The Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice.
Much of Beck's recorded output has been instrumental, with a focus on innovative sound, and his releases have spanned genres ranging from blues rock, Hard Rock, jazz fusion, and an additional blend of guitar-rock and electronica. Although he recorded two hit albums (in 1975 and 1976) as a solo act, Beck has not established or maintained the sustained commercial success of many of his contemporaries and bandmates.[1][2] Beck appears on albums by Mick Jagger, Tina Turner, Morrissey, Jon Bon Jovi, Malcolm McLaren, Kate Bush, Roger Waters, Donovan, Stevie Wonder, Les Paul, Zucchero, Cyndi Lauper, Brian May, Stanley Clarke and ZZ Top.
He was ranked fifth in Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and the magazine, upon whose cover Beck has appeared three times, has described him as "one of the most influential lead guitarists in rock".[3] He is often called a "guitarist's guitarist".[1] Beck has 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.[4] Beck has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: as a member of the Yardbirds (1992) and as a solo artist (2009).
Early life
"I was interested in the electric guitar even before I knew the difference between electric and acoustic. The electric guitar seemed to be a totally fascinating plank of wood with knobs and switches on it. I just had to have one."
Beck[5]
Geoffrey Arnold Beck was born on June 24, 1944 to Arnold and Ethel Beck at 206 Demesne Road, Wallington, England.[6] As a 10-year-old, Beck sang in a church choir.[7] As a teenager he learned to play a borrowed guitar and made several attempts to build his own instrument, first by gluing and bolting together cigar boxes for the body and an unsanded fence-post for the neck with model aircraft control-lines and frets simply painted on. When fabricating a neck for his next try he attempted to use measurements for a bass guitar.
Beck has cited Les Paul as the first electric guitar player who impressed him.[5] Beck has said that he first heard an electric guitar when he was 6 years old and heard Paul playing "How High the Moon" on the radio. He asked his mother what it was. After she replied it was an electric guitar and was all tricks, he said, "That's for me".[8] Cliff Gallup, lead guitarist with Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps, was also an early musical influence, followed by B.B. King and Steve Cropper.[9]
Upon leaving school he attended Wimbledon College of Art, after which he was briefly employed as a painter and decorator, a groundsman on a golf course and a car paint-sprayer. Beck's sister Annetta introduced him to Jimmy Page when both were teenagers.
Career
1960s
Beck began his career in the early 1960s. Drifting from one group to another, he would play eight or nine gigs and move on. He joined the Rumbles, a Croydon band, in 1963 for a short period as lead guitarist, playing Gene Vincent and Buddy Holly songs, displaying a talent for mimicking guitar styles. Later in 1963 he joined The Tridents, a band from the Chiswick area. "They were really my scene because they were playing flat-out R&B, like Jimmy Reed stuff, and we supercharged it all up and made it really rocky. I got off on that, even though it was only twelve-bar blues." [10] His first appearance on vinyl was as a session guitarist on a 1964 Parlophone single by the Fitz and Startz titled "I'm Not Running Away", with B-side "So Sweet".
In March 1965, Beck was recruited by The Yardbirds to succeed Eric Clapton on the recommendation of fellow session man Jimmy Page, who had been their initial choice.[11] The Yardbirds recorded most of their Top 40 hit songs during Beck's short but significant 20-month tenure with the band allowing him only one full album, which became known as Roger the Engineer (titled Over Under Sideways Down in the United States), released in 1966. Beck was actually pictured on the cover of For Your Love, which was released by the Yardbirds' American label in June 1965, however Clapton played guitar on most of the songs. From September to November 1966, Beck shared lead guitar duties with Page in the Yardbirds, who initially joined as bass player[11] in June that year. A clip of this iteration of the band can be seen in the 1966 British film Blow Up.
Beck was fired in the middle of a U.S. tour for being a consistent no-show—as well as difficulties caused by his perfectionism and explosive temper.[12] After leaving the Yardbirds, Beck recorded the one-off "Beck's Bolero" (with Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Nicky Hopkins and Keith Moon) and two solo hit singles in the UK, "Hi Ho Silver Lining" and "Tallyman". He then formed the Jeff Beck Group, which briefly featured former Shadow Jet Harris on bass, Rod Stewart on vocals, Ronnie Wood firstly on rhythm guitar and later bass, Nicky Hopkins on piano and, after a series of drummers, eventually Micky Waller in early 1967.
The group produced two albums for Columbia Records (Epic in the United States): Truth (August 1968) and Beck-Ola (July 1969). Truth, released five months before the first Led Zeppelin album, features "You Shook Me, a song written and first recorded by Muddy Waters, and was also covered on the Led Zeppelin debut. It sold well (reaching No. 15 on the Billboard charts). Beck-Ola saw drummer Micky Waller replaced by Tony Newman, and, while well-received, was less successful both commercially and critically. Resentment, coupled with touring incidents, led the group to dissolve in July 1969.
In his autobiography, Nick Mason recalls that during 1967 Pink Floyd had wanted to recruit Beck to be its guitarist after the departure of Syd Barrett[13] but "None of us had the nerve to ask him."[14] In 1969, following the death of Brian Jones, Beck was approached about joining the Rolling Stones.[12]
After the break-up of his group, Beck took part in the Music from Free Creek "super session" project, billed as "A.N. Other" and contributed lead guitar on four songs, including one co-written by him. In September 1969, he teamed with the rhythm section of Vanilla Fudge: bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice (when they were in England to resolve contractual issues), but when Beck fractured his skull in a car accident near Maidstone in December the plan was postponed for two and a half years, during which time Bogert and Appice formed Cactus. Beck later remarked on the 1960s period of his life: "Everyone thinks of the 1960s as something they really weren't. It was the frustration period of my life. The electronic equipment just wasn't up to the sounds I had in my head."[15]
1970s
In 1970, when Beck had regained his health, he set about forming a band with drummer Cozy Powell. Beck, Powell and producer Mickie Most flew to the United States and recorded several tracks at Motown's famed Studio A in Hitsville U.S.A. with the Funk Brothers, Motown's in-house band, but the results remained unreleased. By April 1971 Beck had completed the line-up of this new group with guitarist/vocalist Bobby Tench, keyboard player Max Middleton and bassist Clive Chaman. The new band performed as "the Jeff Beck Group" but had a substantially different sound from the first line-up.
Rough and Ready (October 1971), the first album they recorded, on which Beck wrote or co-wrote six of the album's seven tracks (the exception being written by Middleton), included elements of soul, rhythm-and-blues and jazz, foreshadowing the direction Beck's music would take later in the decade.
A second album Jeff Beck Group (July 1972) was recorded at TMI studios in Memphis, Tennessee with the same personnel.[16] Beck employed Steve Cropper as producer[17] and the album displayed a strong soul influence, five of the nine tracks being covers of songs by American artists. One, "I Got to Have a Song", was the first of four Stevie Wonder compositions covered by Beck. Shortly after the release of the Jeff Beck Group album, the band was dissolved and Beck's management put out the statement that: "The fusion of the musical styles of the various members has been successful within the terms of individual musicians, but they didn't feel it had led to the creation of a new musical style with the strength they had originally sought."[18]
Beck then started collaborating with bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice, who became available following the demise of Cactus but continued touring as the Jeff Beck Group in August 1972, to fulfill contractual obligations with his promoter, with a line-up including Bogert, Appice, Max Middleton and vocalist Kim Milford. After six appearances Milford was replaced by Bobby Tench, who was flown in from the UK[19] for the Arie Crown Theatre Chicago performance and the rest of the tour,[20] which concluded at the Paramount North West Theatre, Seattle.[21] After the tour Tench and Middleton left the band and the power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice appeared: Appice took on the role of vocalist with Bogert and Beck contributing occasionally.[21] They were included on the bill for Rock at The Oval in September 1972, still as "the Jeff Beck Group," which marked the start of a tour schedule of UK, the Netherlands and Germany. Another U.S. tour began in October 1972, starting at the Hollywood Sportatorium Florida and concluding on 11 November 1972 at The Warehouse, New Orleans.[22] In April 1973 the album Beck, Bogert & Appice was released (on Epic Records). While critics acknowledged the band's instrumental prowess the album was not commercially well received except for its cover of Stevie Wonder's hit "Superstition".
On 3 July 1973 Beck joined David Bowie onstage to perform "The Jean Genie"/"Love Me Do" and "Around and Around." The show was recorded and filmed, but none of the released editions included Beck. During October 1973 Beck recorded tracks for Michael Fennelly's[23] album Lane Changer and attended sessions with Hummingbird, a band derived from the Jeff Beck Group, but did not to contribute to their eponymous first album.[24]
Early in January 1974 Beck, Bogert & Appice played at the Rainbow Theatre, as part of a European tour. The concert was broadcast in full on the US show Rock Around the World in September of the same year. This last recorded work by the band previewed material intended for a second studio album, included on the bootleg At Last Rainbow. The tracks "Blues Deluxe" and "BBA Boogie" from this concert were later included on the Jeff Beck compilation Beckology (1991).[25] Beck, Bogert & Appice dissolved in April 1974 before their second studio album (produced by Jimmy Miller) was finished. Their live album Beck, Bogert & Appice Live in Japan, recorded during their 1973 tour of Japan, was not released until February 1975 by Epic/Sony.
After a few months Beck entered Underhill Studio and met with the group Upp, whom he recruited as backing band for his appearance on the BBC TV programme Guitar Workshop in August 1974. Beck produced and played on their self-titled debut album and their second album This Way Upp, though his contributions to the second album went uncredited. In October Beck began to record instrumentals at AIR Studios with Max Middleton, bassist Phil Chen and drummer Richard Bailey, using George Martin as producer and arranger.
Jeff Beck's solo album Blow by Blow (March 1975) evolved from these sessions and showcased Beck's technical prowess in jazz-rock. The album reached number four in the charts and is Beck's most commercially successful release. Beck, fastidious about overdubs and often dissatisfied with his solos, often returned to AIR Studios until he was satisfied. A couple of months after the sessions had finished producer George Martin received a telephone call from Beck, who wanted to record a solo section again. Bemused, Martin replied: "I'm sorry, Jeff, but the record is in the shops!"[5]
Beck put together a live band for a US tour, preceded by a small and unannounced gig at The Newlands Tavern in Peckham, London. He toured through April and May 1975, mostly supporting the Mahavishnu Orchestra, retaining Max Middleton on keyboards but with a new rhythm section of bassist Wilbur Bascomb and noted session drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie. In a May 1975 show in Cleveland, Ohio (Music Hall), he became frustrated with an early version of a talk box he used on his arrangement of the Beatles' "She's a Woman", and after breaking a string, tossed his legendary Yardbirds-era Stratocaster guitar off the stage. He did the same with the talk box and finished the show playing a Les Paul and without the box. During this tour he performed at Yuya Uchida's "World Rock Festival", playing a total of eight songs with Purdie. In addition he performed a guitar and drum instrumental with Johnny Yoshinaga and, at the end of the festival, joined in a live jam with bassist Felix Pappalardi of Mountain and vocalist Akira "Joe" Yamanaka from the Flower Travellin' Band. Only his set with Purdie was recorded and released.
He returned to the studio and recorded Wired (1976), which paired ex-Mahavishnu Orchestra drummer and composer Narada Michael Walden and keyboardist Jan Hammer. The album used a jazz-rock fusion style, which sounded similar to the work of his two collaborators. To promote the album, Beck joined forces with the Jan Hammer Group, playing a show supporting Alvin Lee at The Roundhouse in May 1976, before embarking on a seven-month-long world tour. This resulted in the live album Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live (1977).
At this point, Beck was a tax exile and took up residency in the US, remaining there until his return to the UK in the autumn of 1977. In the spring of 1978, he began rehearsing with ex-Return to Forever bassist Stanley Clarke and drummer Gerry Brown towards a projected appearance at the Knebworth Festival, but this was cancelled after Brown dropped out. Beck toured Japan for three weeks in November 1978 with an ad-hoc group consisting of Clarke and newcomers Tony Hymas (keyboards) and Simon Phillips (drums) from Jack Bruce's band. Work then began on a new studio album at the Who's Ramport Studios in London and continued sporadically throughout 1979, resulting in There & Back in June 1980. It featured three tracks composed and recorded with Jan Hammer, while five were written with Hymas. Stanley Clarke was replaced by Mo Foster on bass, both on the album and the subsequent tours. Its release was followed by extensive touring in the USA, Japan and the UK.
1980s
In 1981 Beck made a series of historic live appearances with his Yardbirds predecessor Eric Clapton at the Amnesty International-sponsored benefit concerts dubbed The Secret Policeman's Other Ball shows. He appeared with Clapton on "Crossroads", "Further on up the Road", and his own arrangement of Stevie Wonder's "Cause We've Ended As Lovers". Beck also featured prominently in an all-star band finale performance of "I Shall Be Released" with Clapton, Sting, Phil Collins, Donovan and Bob Geldof. Beck's contributions were seen and heard in the resulting album and film, both of which achieved worldwide success in 1982. Another benefit show, the ARMS Concert for Multiple Sclerosis featured a jam with Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page. They performed "Tulsa Time" and "Layla". In 1985 Beck released Flash, featuring a variety of vocalists, but most notably former bandmate Rod Stewart on a rendition of Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready". At Stewart's induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, Beck gave the induction speech, saying of Stewart, "We have a love hate relationship – he loves me and I hate him."[26][27] During this period, Beck made several guest appearances with other performers, including the movie Twins, where he played guitar with singer Nicolette Larson.
After a four-year break, Jeff made a return to instrumental music with the album Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop (1989), the first album to feature Beck as a fingerstyle guitarist, leaving the plectrum playing style. It was only his 3rd album to be released in the 1980s. Much of Beck's sparse and sporadic recording schedule was due in part to a long battle with noise-induced tinnitus.
1990s
In the 1990s, Beck had a higher musical output. He is featured on lead guitar on Roger Waters' 1992 concept album Amused to Death, and on Kate Bush's 1993 album The Red Shoes.
He recorded the instrumental soundtrack album Frankie's House (1992), as well as Crazy Legs (1993), a tribute album to 1950s rockabilly group Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps and their influential guitarist Cliff Gallup.
Beck rehearsed with Guns N' Roses for their concert in Paris in 1992, but did not play in the actual concert due to ear damage caused by a Matt Sorum cymbal crash, causing Beck to become temporarily deaf.[28] The Yardbirds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. In Beck's acceptance speech he humorously noted that:
“ Someone told me I should be proud tonight ... But I'm not, because they kicked me out. ... They did ... Fuck them![29] ”
He accompanied Paul Rodgers of Bad Company on the album Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters in 1993. Jeff's next release would not be until 1999, his first foray into guitar based electronica, Who Else!. The album also marked Beck's first collaboration with a female musician, Jennifer Batten,[30] in touring, writing, and recording as well as the first time he had worked with another guitarist on his own material since playing in the Yardbirds. Beck continued to work with Batten through the post-release tour of You Had It Coming in 2001.[31]
2000s
Jeff Beck won his third Grammy Award, this one for 'Best Rock Instrumental Performance' for the track "Dirty Mind" from You Had It Coming (2001).
The song "Plan B" from the 2003 release Jeff, earned Beck his fourth Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, and was proof that the new electro-guitar style he used for the two earlier albums would continue to dominate. Jeff Beck was the opening act for B.B. King in the summer of 2003 and appeared at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2004.
In 2007, he accompanied Kelly Clarkson for her cover of Patty Griffin's "Up to the Mountain", during the Idol Gives Back episode of American Idol. The performance was recorded live and afterwards was immediately released for sale. In the same year, he appeared once again at Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival, performing with Vinnie Colaiuta, Jason Rebello, and the then 21-year-old bassist Tal Wilkenfeld.
Beck announced a world tour in early 2009 and remained faithful to the same lineup of musicians as in his tour two years before, playing and recording at Ronnie Scott's in London to a sold out audience. Beck played on the song "Black Cloud" on the 2009 Morrissey album Years of Refusal and later that year, Harvey Goldsmith became Beck's Manager.[32]
Beck was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 4 April 2009, as a solo artist.[33] The award was presented by Jimmy Page.[34] On 4 July 2009, David Gilmour joined Beck onstage at the Albert Hall. Beck and Gilmour traded solos on "Jerusalem" and closed the show with "Hi Ho Silver Lining".
2010s
Beck's recent album, Emotion & Commotion, was released in April 2010. It features a mixture of original songs and covers such as "Over the Rainbow" and "Nessun Dorma". Joss Stone and Imelda May provided some of the guest vocals.[35] Two tracks from Emotion & Commotion won Grammy Awards in 2011: "Nessun Dorma" won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, and "Hammerhead" won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.[36] Beck collaborated on "Imagine" for the 2010 Herbie Hancock album, The Imagine Project along with Seal, P!nk, India.Arie, Konono N°1, Oumou Sangare and others and received a third Grammy in 2011 for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for the track.[37][38]
Beck's 2010 World Tour band featured Grammy-winning musician Narada Michael Walden on drums, Rhonda Smith on bass and Jason Rebello on keyboards. He has also released a live album titled Live and Exclusive from the Grammy Museum on 25 October 2010.[citation needed]< 9 June 2010 Beck with Imelda May's band recorded a DVD of a concert at the Iridium in NYC featuring several Les Paul songs with Ms May doing the Mary Ford vocals.>
In 2011, Beck received two honorary degrees from British universities. On 18 July 2011, he was honoured with a fellowship from University of the Arts London in recognition of his "outstanding contribution to the field of Music".[39] He was also presented with an honorary doctorate from University of Sussex by Sanjeev Bhaskar, the university's chancellor for "an outstanding musical career and celebrated the relationship between the university and the Brighton Institute of Modern Music (BIMM)" on 21 July 2011.[40][41]
In 2013, it was announced that he will be performing on Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson's new solo album (alongside Beach Boys Al Jardine and David Marks) on Capitol Records.[42] On 20 June, Wilson's website announced that the material might be split into three albums; one of new pop songs, another of mostly instrumental tracks with Beck, and another of interwoven tracks dubbed "the suite".[43] Beck also accompanied Wilson (along with Jardine and Marks) on an eighteen date fall 2013 tour starting in late September and ending in late October. According to Beck pre-tour, "Brian will kick things off, but I'll also be given enough time to establish what I'm about. In the end, we'll mix and match. It's a complete honor to be on stage with him."[44]
In 2014, to mark the beginning of Jeff's World Tour in Japan, a three-track CD titled Yosogai was released on April 5; the album had yet to be finalized at the time of the tour.[45] In November 2014 he accompanied Joss Stone at The Royal British Legion's Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.
Style and influence
One of the most influential guitarists in the history of rock music,[3][46][47] Jeff Beck has cited his major influences as Les Paul,[5] the Shadows, Cliff Gallup, Ravi Shankar, Roy Buchanan,[48] Chet Atkins, Django Reinhardt, Steve Cropper and Lonnie Mack.[49] Of John McLaughlin, he said: "[he] has given us so many different facets of the guitar and introduced thousands of us to world music, by blending Indian music with jazz and classical. I'd say he was the best guitarist alive."[50]
While Beck was not the first rock guitarist to experiment with electronic distortion, he nonetheless helped to redefine the sound and role of the electric guitar in rock music. Beck's work with the Yardbirds and the Jeff Beck Group's 1968 album Truth were seminal influences on heavy metal music, which emerged in full force in the early 1970s.[51]
Beck was ranked No. 5 in Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists".[52]
Technique and equipment
"... we shared a dressing room with the Yardbirds. At that point, it was kind of a peak period, Jimmy Page was playing bass; he had just joined the band. Chris Dreja was still playing rhythm guitar, Jeff Beck was playing lead through a Super Beatle and using banjo strings for the unwound G, 'cos they didn't make sets with an unwound G at that point. So he used banjo strings to complete his set. When he was in the dressing room, our guitar player went into his guitar case trying to find out his secrets and found a banjo string. I think he actually took one."
Scott Morgan of the Rationals.[47]
Beck stopped regular use of a pick (plectrum) in the 1980s. He produces a wide variety of sounds by using his fingers and the vibrato bar on his signature Fender Stratocaster, and he frequently uses a wah-wah pedal both live and in the studio. Eric Clapton once said, "With Jeff, it's all in his hands".[53]
Along with Fender Stratocasters, Beck occasionally plays Fender Telecaster and Gibson Les Paul models as well. His amplifiers are primarily Fender and Marshall. In his earlier days with the Yardbirds, Beck also used a 1954 Fender Esquire guitar (now owned by Seymour W. Duncan, and housed in the Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame[54]) through Vox AC30s. He has also played through a variety of fuzz pedals and echo units along with this set-up and has used the Pro Co RAT distortion pedal. The Seymour Duncan JB model's name is an acronym for both Jazz & Blues and Jeff Beck, as it was designed in conjunction with the guitarist.
During the ARMS Charity Concerts in 1983 Beck used his battered Fender Esquire along with a 1954 Fender Stratocaster and a Jackson Soloist. On Crazy Legs (1993) he played a Gretsch Duo Jet, his signature Fender Stratocaster and various other guitars. In 2007, Fender created a Custom Shop Tribute series version of his beat-up Fender Esquire as well as his Artist Signature series Stratocaster.
Personal life
Beck has been married to Sandra Cush since 2005.[55] He has been a vegetarian since 1969.[56] He is a Patron of the Folly Wildlife Rescue Trust.[57] He has an interest in classic Ford hot rods, performing much of the work on the exteriors and engines of the cars by himself.[58] Beck lives near Wadhurst, East Sussex.
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck (born June 24, 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He is one of the three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds (the other two being Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page). Beck also formed The Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice.Much of Beck's recorded output has been instrumental, with a focus on innovative sound, and his releases have spanned genres ranging from blues rock, Hard Rock, jazz fusion, and an additional blend of guitar-rock and electronica. Although he recorded two hit albums (in 1975 and 1976) as a solo act, Beck has not established or maintained the sustained commercial success of many of his contemporaries and bandmates.[1][2] Beck appears on albums by Mick Jagger, Tina Turner, Morrissey, Jon Bon Jovi, Malcolm McLaren, Kate Bush, Roger Waters, Donovan, Stevie Wonder, Les Paul, Zucchero, Cyndi Lauper, Brian May, Stanley Clarke and ZZ Top.
He was ranked fifth in Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and the magazine, upon whose cover Beck has appeared three times, has described him as "one of the most influential lead guitarists in rock".[3] He is often called a "guitarist's guitarist".[1] Beck has 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.[4] Beck has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: as a member of the Yardbirds (1992) and as a solo artist (2009).
Early life
"I was interested in the electric guitar even before I knew the difference between electric and acoustic. The electric guitar seemed to be a totally fascinating plank of wood with knobs and switches on it. I just had to have one."
Beck[5]
Geoffrey Arnold Beck was born on June 24, 1944 to Arnold and Ethel Beck at 206 Demesne Road, Wallington, England.[6] As a 10-year-old, Beck sang in a church choir.[7] As a teenager he learned to play a borrowed guitar and made several attempts to build his own instrument, first by gluing and bolting together cigar boxes for the body and an unsanded fence-post for the neck with model aircraft control-lines and frets simply painted on. When fabricating a neck for his next try he attempted to use measurements for a bass guitar.
Beck has cited Les Paul as the first electric guitar player who impressed him.[5] Beck has said that he first heard an electric guitar when he was 6 years old and heard Paul playing "How High the Moon" on the radio. He asked his mother what it was. After she replied it was an electric guitar and was all tricks, he said, "That's for me".[8] Cliff Gallup, lead guitarist with Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps, was also an early musical influence, followed by B.B. King and Steve Cropper.[9]
Upon leaving school he attended Wimbledon College of Art, after which he was briefly employed as a painter and decorator, a groundsman on a golf course and a car paint-sprayer. Beck's sister Annetta introduced him to Jimmy Page when both were teenagers.
Career
1960s
Beck began his career in the early 1960s. Drifting from one group to another, he would play eight or nine gigs and move on. He joined the Rumbles, a Croydon band, in 1963 for a short period as lead guitarist, playing Gene Vincent and Buddy Holly songs, displaying a talent for mimicking guitar styles. Later in 1963 he joined The Tridents, a band from the Chiswick area. "They were really my scene because they were playing flat-out R&B, like Jimmy Reed stuff, and we supercharged it all up and made it really rocky. I got off on that, even though it was only twelve-bar blues." [10] His first appearance on vinyl was as a session guitarist on a 1964 Parlophone single by the Fitz and Startz titled "I'm Not Running Away", with B-side "So Sweet".
In March 1965, Beck was recruited by The Yardbirds to succeed Eric Clapton on the recommendation of fellow session man Jimmy Page, who had been their initial choice.[11] The Yardbirds recorded most of their Top 40 hit songs during Beck's short but significant 20-month tenure with the band allowing him only one full album, which became known as Roger the Engineer (titled Over Under Sideways Down in the United States), released in 1966. Beck was actually pictured on the cover of For Your Love, which was released by the Yardbirds' American label in June 1965, however Clapton played guitar on most of the songs. From September to November 1966, Beck shared lead guitar duties with Page in the Yardbirds, who initially joined as bass player[11] in June that year. A clip of this iteration of the band can be seen in the 1966 British film Blow Up.
Beck was fired in the middle of a U.S. tour for being a consistent no-show—as well as difficulties caused by his perfectionism and explosive temper.[12] After leaving the Yardbirds, Beck recorded the one-off "Beck's Bolero" (with Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Nicky Hopkins and Keith Moon) and two solo hit singles in the UK, "Hi Ho Silver Lining" and "Tallyman". He then formed the Jeff Beck Group, which briefly featured former Shadow Jet Harris on bass, Rod Stewart on vocals, Ronnie Wood firstly on rhythm guitar and later bass, Nicky Hopkins on piano and, after a series of drummers, eventually Micky Waller in early 1967.
The group produced two albums for Columbia Records (Epic in the United States): Truth (August 1968) and Beck-Ola (July 1969). Truth, released five months before the first Led Zeppelin album, features "You Shook Me, a song written and first recorded by Muddy Waters, and was also covered on the Led Zeppelin debut. It sold well (reaching No. 15 on the Billboard charts). Beck-Ola saw drummer Micky Waller replaced by Tony Newman, and, while well-received, was less successful both commercially and critically. Resentment, coupled with touring incidents, led the group to dissolve in July 1969.
In his autobiography, Nick Mason recalls that during 1967 Pink Floyd had wanted to recruit Beck to be its guitarist after the departure of Syd Barrett[13] but "None of us had the nerve to ask him."[14] In 1969, following the death of Brian Jones, Beck was approached about joining the Rolling Stones.[12]
After the break-up of his group, Beck took part in the Music from Free Creek "super session" project, billed as "A.N. Other" and contributed lead guitar on four songs, including one co-written by him. In September 1969, he teamed with the rhythm section of Vanilla Fudge: bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice (when they were in England to resolve contractual issues), but when Beck fractured his skull in a car accident near Maidstone in December the plan was postponed for two and a half years, during which time Bogert and Appice formed Cactus. Beck later remarked on the 1960s period of his life: "Everyone thinks of the 1960s as something they really weren't. It was the frustration period of my life. The electronic equipment just wasn't up to the sounds I had in my head."[15]
1970s
In 1970, when Beck had regained his health, he set about forming a band with drummer Cozy Powell. Beck, Powell and producer Mickie Most flew to the United States and recorded several tracks at Motown's famed Studio A in Hitsville U.S.A. with the Funk Brothers, Motown's in-house band, but the results remained unreleased. By April 1971 Beck had completed the line-up of this new group with guitarist/vocalist Bobby Tench, keyboard player Max Middleton and bassist Clive Chaman. The new band performed as "the Jeff Beck Group" but had a substantially different sound from the first line-up.
Rough and Ready (October 1971), the first album they recorded, on which Beck wrote or co-wrote six of the album's seven tracks (the exception being written by Middleton), included elements of soul, rhythm-and-blues and jazz, foreshadowing the direction Beck's music would take later in the decade.
A second album Jeff Beck Group (July 1972) was recorded at TMI studios in Memphis, Tennessee with the same personnel.[16] Beck employed Steve Cropper as producer[17] and the album displayed a strong soul influence, five of the nine tracks being covers of songs by American artists. One, "I Got to Have a Song", was the first of four Stevie Wonder compositions covered by Beck. Shortly after the release of the Jeff Beck Group album, the band was dissolved and Beck's management put out the statement that: "The fusion of the musical styles of the various members has been successful within the terms of individual musicians, but they didn't feel it had led to the creation of a new musical style with the strength they had originally sought."[18]
Beck then started collaborating with bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice, who became available following the demise of Cactus but continued touring as the Jeff Beck Group in August 1972, to fulfill contractual obligations with his promoter, with a line-up including Bogert, Appice, Max Middleton and vocalist Kim Milford. After six appearances Milford was replaced by Bobby Tench, who was flown in from the UK[19] for the Arie Crown Theatre Chicago performance and the rest of the tour,[20] which concluded at the Paramount North West Theatre, Seattle.[21] After the tour Tench and Middleton left the band and the power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice appeared: Appice took on the role of vocalist with Bogert and Beck contributing occasionally.[21] They were included on the bill for Rock at The Oval in September 1972, still as "the Jeff Beck Group," which marked the start of a tour schedule of UK, the Netherlands and Germany. Another U.S. tour began in October 1972, starting at the Hollywood Sportatorium Florida and concluding on 11 November 1972 at The Warehouse, New Orleans.[22] In April 1973 the album Beck, Bogert & Appice was released (on Epic Records). While critics acknowledged the band's instrumental prowess the album was not commercially well received except for its cover of Stevie Wonder's hit "Superstition".
On 3 July 1973 Beck joined David Bowie onstage to perform "The Jean Genie"/"Love Me Do" and "Around and Around." The show was recorded and filmed, but none of the released editions included Beck. During October 1973 Beck recorded tracks for Michael Fennelly's[23] album Lane Changer and attended sessions with Hummingbird, a band derived from the Jeff Beck Group, but did not to contribute to their eponymous first album.[24]
Early in January 1974 Beck, Bogert & Appice played at the Rainbow Theatre, as part of a European tour. The concert was broadcast in full on the US show Rock Around the World in September of the same year. This last recorded work by the band previewed material intended for a second studio album, included on the bootleg At Last Rainbow. The tracks "Blues Deluxe" and "BBA Boogie" from this concert were later included on the Jeff Beck compilation Beckology (1991).[25] Beck, Bogert & Appice dissolved in April 1974 before their second studio album (produced by Jimmy Miller) was finished. Their live album Beck, Bogert & Appice Live in Japan, recorded during their 1973 tour of Japan, was not released until February 1975 by Epic/Sony.
After a few months Beck entered Underhill Studio and met with the group Upp, whom he recruited as backing band for his appearance on the BBC TV programme Guitar Workshop in August 1974. Beck produced and played on their self-titled debut album and their second album This Way Upp, though his contributions to the second album went uncredited. In October Beck began to record instrumentals at AIR Studios with Max Middleton, bassist Phil Chen and drummer Richard Bailey, using George Martin as producer and arranger.
Jeff Beck's solo album Blow by Blow (March 1975) evolved from these sessions and showcased Beck's technical prowess in jazz-rock. The album reached number four in the charts and is Beck's most commercially successful release. Beck, fastidious about overdubs and often dissatisfied with his solos, often returned to AIR Studios until he was satisfied. A couple of months after the sessions had finished producer George Martin received a telephone call from Beck, who wanted to record a solo section again. Bemused, Martin replied: "I'm sorry, Jeff, but the record is in the shops!"[5]
Beck put together a live band for a US tour, preceded by a small and unannounced gig at The Newlands Tavern in Peckham, London. He toured through April and May 1975, mostly supporting the Mahavishnu Orchestra, retaining Max Middleton on keyboards but with a new rhythm section of bassist Wilbur Bascomb and noted session drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie. In a May 1975 show in Cleveland, Ohio (Music Hall), he became frustrated with an early version of a talk box he used on his arrangement of the Beatles' "She's a Woman", and after breaking a string, tossed his legendary Yardbirds-era Stratocaster guitar off the stage. He did the same with the talk box and finished the show playing a Les Paul and without the box. During this tour he performed at Yuya Uchida's "World Rock Festival", playing a total of eight songs with Purdie. In addition he performed a guitar and drum instrumental with Johnny Yoshinaga and, at the end of the festival, joined in a live jam with bassist Felix Pappalardi of Mountain and vocalist Akira "Joe" Yamanaka from the Flower Travellin' Band. Only his set with Purdie was recorded and released.
He returned to the studio and recorded Wired (1976), which paired ex-Mahavishnu Orchestra drummer and composer Narada Michael Walden and keyboardist Jan Hammer. The album used a jazz-rock fusion style, which sounded similar to the work of his two collaborators. To promote the album, Beck joined forces with the Jan Hammer Group, playing a show supporting Alvin Lee at The Roundhouse in May 1976, before embarking on a seven-month-long world tour. This resulted in the live album Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live (1977).
At this point, Beck was a tax exile and took up residency in the US, remaining there until his return to the UK in the autumn of 1977. In the spring of 1978, he began rehearsing with ex-Return to Forever bassist Stanley Clarke and drummer Gerry Brown towards a projected appearance at the Knebworth Festival, but this was cancelled after Brown dropped out. Beck toured Japan for three weeks in November 1978 with an ad-hoc group consisting of Clarke and newcomers Tony Hymas (keyboards) and Simon Phillips (drums) from Jack Bruce's band. Work then began on a new studio album at the Who's Ramport Studios in London and continued sporadically throughout 1979, resulting in There & Back in June 1980. It featured three tracks composed and recorded with Jan Hammer, while five were written with Hymas. Stanley Clarke was replaced by Mo Foster on bass, both on the album and the subsequent tours. Its release was followed by extensive touring in the USA, Japan and the UK.
1980s
In 1981 Beck made a series of historic live appearances with his Yardbirds predecessor Eric Clapton at the Amnesty International-sponsored benefit concerts dubbed The Secret Policeman's Other Ball shows. He appeared with Clapton on "Crossroads", "Further on up the Road", and his own arrangement of Stevie Wonder's "Cause We've Ended As Lovers". Beck also featured prominently in an all-star band finale performance of "I Shall Be Released" with Clapton, Sting, Phil Collins, Donovan and Bob Geldof. Beck's contributions were seen and heard in the resulting album and film, both of which achieved worldwide success in 1982. Another benefit show, the ARMS Concert for Multiple Sclerosis featured a jam with Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page. They performed "Tulsa Time" and "Layla". In 1985 Beck released Flash, featuring a variety of vocalists, but most notably former bandmate Rod Stewart on a rendition of Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready". At Stewart's induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, Beck gave the induction speech, saying of Stewart, "We have a love hate relationship – he loves me and I hate him."[26][27] During this period, Beck made several guest appearances with other performers, including the movie Twins, where he played guitar with singer Nicolette Larson.
After a four-year break, Jeff made a return to instrumental music with the album Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop (1989), the first album to feature Beck as a fingerstyle guitarist, leaving the plectrum playing style. It was only his 3rd album to be released in the 1980s. Much of Beck's sparse and sporadic recording schedule was due in part to a long battle with noise-induced tinnitus.
1990s
In the 1990s, Beck had a higher musical output. He is featured on lead guitar on Roger Waters' 1992 concept album Amused to Death, and on Kate Bush's 1993 album The Red Shoes.
He recorded the instrumental soundtrack album Frankie's House (1992), as well as Crazy Legs (1993), a tribute album to 1950s rockabilly group Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps and their influential guitarist Cliff Gallup.
Beck rehearsed with Guns N' Roses for their concert in Paris in 1992, but did not play in the actual concert due to ear damage caused by a Matt Sorum cymbal crash, causing Beck to become temporarily deaf.[28] The Yardbirds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. In Beck's acceptance speech he humorously noted that:
“ Someone told me I should be proud tonight ... But I'm not, because they kicked me out. ... They did ... Fuck them![29] ”
He accompanied Paul Rodgers of Bad Company on the album Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters in 1993. Jeff's next release would not be until 1999, his first foray into guitar based electronica, Who Else!. The album also marked Beck's first collaboration with a female musician, Jennifer Batten,[30] in touring, writing, and recording as well as the first time he had worked with another guitarist on his own material since playing in the Yardbirds. Beck continued to work with Batten through the post-release tour of You Had It Coming in 2001.[31]
2000s
Jeff Beck won his third Grammy Award, this one for 'Best Rock Instrumental Performance' for the track "Dirty Mind" from You Had It Coming (2001).
The song "Plan B" from the 2003 release Jeff, earned Beck his fourth Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, and was proof that the new electro-guitar style he used for the two earlier albums would continue to dominate. Jeff Beck was the opening act for B.B. King in the summer of 2003 and appeared at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2004.
In 2007, he accompanied Kelly Clarkson for her cover of Patty Griffin's "Up to the Mountain", during the Idol Gives Back episode of American Idol. The performance was recorded live and afterwards was immediately released for sale. In the same year, he appeared once again at Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival, performing with Vinnie Colaiuta, Jason Rebello, and the then 21-year-old bassist Tal Wilkenfeld.
Beck announced a world tour in early 2009 and remained faithful to the same lineup of musicians as in his tour two years before, playing and recording at Ronnie Scott's in London to a sold out audience. Beck played on the song "Black Cloud" on the 2009 Morrissey album Years of Refusal and later that year, Harvey Goldsmith became Beck's Manager.[32]
Beck was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 4 April 2009, as a solo artist.[33] The award was presented by Jimmy Page.[34] On 4 July 2009, David Gilmour joined Beck onstage at the Albert Hall. Beck and Gilmour traded solos on "Jerusalem" and closed the show with "Hi Ho Silver Lining".
2010s
Beck's recent album, Emotion & Commotion, was released in April 2010. It features a mixture of original songs and covers such as "Over the Rainbow" and "Nessun Dorma". Joss Stone and Imelda May provided some of the guest vocals.[35] Two tracks from Emotion & Commotion won Grammy Awards in 2011: "Nessun Dorma" won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, and "Hammerhead" won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.[36] Beck collaborated on "Imagine" for the 2010 Herbie Hancock album, The Imagine Project along with Seal, P!nk, India.Arie, Konono N°1, Oumou Sangare and others and received a third Grammy in 2011 for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for the track.[37][38]
Beck's 2010 World Tour band featured Grammy-winning musician Narada Michael Walden on drums, Rhonda Smith on bass and Jason Rebello on keyboards. He has also released a live album titled Live and Exclusive from the Grammy Museum on 25 October 2010.[citation needed]< 9 June 2010 Beck with Imelda May's band recorded a DVD of a concert at the Iridium in NYC featuring several Les Paul songs with Ms May doing the Mary Ford vocals.>
In 2011, Beck received two honorary degrees from British universities. On 18 July 2011, he was honoured with a fellowship from University of the Arts London in recognition of his "outstanding contribution to the field of Music".[39] He was also presented with an honorary doctorate from University of Sussex by Sanjeev Bhaskar, the university's chancellor for "an outstanding musical career and celebrated the relationship between the university and the Brighton Institute of Modern Music (BIMM)" on 21 July 2011.[40][41]
In 2013, it was announced that he will be performing on Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson's new solo album (alongside Beach Boys Al Jardine and David Marks) on Capitol Records.[42] On 20 June, Wilson's website announced that the material might be split into three albums; one of new pop songs, another of mostly instrumental tracks with Beck, and another of interwoven tracks dubbed "the suite".[43] Beck also accompanied Wilson (along with Jardine and Marks) on an eighteen date fall 2013 tour starting in late September and ending in late October. According to Beck pre-tour, "Brian will kick things off, but I'll also be given enough time to establish what I'm about. In the end, we'll mix and match. It's a complete honor to be on stage with him."[44]
In 2014, to mark the beginning of Jeff's World Tour in Japan, a three-track CD titled Yosogai was released on April 5; the album had yet to be finalized at the time of the tour.[45] In November 2014 he accompanied Joss Stone at The Royal British Legion's Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.
Style and influence
One of the most influential guitarists in the history of rock music,[3][46][47] Jeff Beck has cited his major influences as Les Paul,[5] the Shadows, Cliff Gallup, Ravi Shankar, Roy Buchanan,[48] Chet Atkins, Django Reinhardt, Steve Cropper and Lonnie Mack.[49] Of John McLaughlin, he said: "[he] has given us so many different facets of the guitar and introduced thousands of us to world music, by blending Indian music with jazz and classical. I'd say he was the best guitarist alive."[50]
While Beck was not the first rock guitarist to experiment with electronic distortion, he nonetheless helped to redefine the sound and role of the electric guitar in rock music. Beck's work with the Yardbirds and the Jeff Beck Group's 1968 album Truth were seminal influences on heavy metal music, which emerged in full force in the early 1970s.[51]
Beck was ranked No. 5 in Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists".[52]
Technique and equipment
"... we shared a dressing room with the Yardbirds. At that point, it was kind of a peak period, Jimmy Page was playing bass; he had just joined the band. Chris Dreja was still playing rhythm guitar, Jeff Beck was playing lead through a Super Beatle and using banjo strings for the unwound G, 'cos they didn't make sets with an unwound G at that point. So he used banjo strings to complete his set. When he was in the dressing room, our guitar player went into his guitar case trying to find out his secrets and found a banjo string. I think he actually took one."
Scott Morgan of the Rationals.[47]
Beck stopped regular use of a pick (plectrum) in the 1980s. He produces a wide variety of sounds by using his fingers and the vibrato bar on his signature Fender Stratocaster, and he frequently uses a wah-wah pedal both live and in the studio. Eric Clapton once said, "With Jeff, it's all in his hands".[53]
Along with Fender Stratocasters, Beck occasionally plays Fender Telecaster and Gibson Les Paul models as well. His amplifiers are primarily Fender and Marshall. In his earlier days with the Yardbirds, Beck also used a 1954 Fender Esquire guitar (now owned by Seymour W. Duncan, and housed in the Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame[54]) through Vox AC30s. He has also played through a variety of fuzz pedals and echo units along with this set-up and has used the Pro Co RAT distortion pedal. The Seymour Duncan JB model's name is an acronym for both Jazz & Blues and Jeff Beck, as it was designed in conjunction with the guitarist.
During the ARMS Charity Concerts in 1983 Beck used his battered Fender Esquire along with a 1954 Fender Stratocaster and a Jackson Soloist. On Crazy Legs (1993) he played a Gretsch Duo Jet, his signature Fender Stratocaster and various other guitars. In 2007, Fender created a Custom Shop Tribute series version of his beat-up Fender Esquire as well as his Artist Signature series Stratocaster.
Personal life
Beck has been married to Sandra Cush since 2005.[55] He has been a vegetarian since 1969.[56] He is a Patron of the Folly Wildlife Rescue Trust.[57] He has an interest in classic Ford hot rods, performing much of the work on the exteriors and engines of the cars by himself.[58] Beck lives near Wadhurst, East Sussex.
Jeff Beck - Tokyo Full Concert (1999)
Jeff Beck - guitar
Jennifer Batten - guitar
Randy Hope-Taylor - bass
Steve Alexander - drums
Tracklist:
0:00 What Mama Said
3:43 Psycho Sam
8:25 Brush with the Blues
14:58 Star Cycle
19:08 Savoy
22:41 Blast from the East
27:29 A Day in the Life
32:27 Declan
36:30 THX 138
42:48 The Pump
48:29 Cause We've Ended as Lovers
53:02 Space for the Papa
59:15 Angel
1:05:23 Even Odds
1:08:17 You Never Know
1:15:10 Blue Wind
1:20:31 Big Block
Jennifer Batten - guitar
Randy Hope-Taylor - bass
Steve Alexander - drums
Tracklist:
0:00 What Mama Said
3:43 Psycho Sam
8:25 Brush with the Blues
14:58 Star Cycle
19:08 Savoy
22:41 Blast from the East
27:29 A Day in the Life
32:27 Declan
36:30 THX 138
42:48 The Pump
48:29 Cause We've Ended as Lovers
53:02 Space for the Papa
59:15 Angel
1:05:23 Even Odds
1:08:17 You Never Know
1:15:10 Blue Wind
1:20:31 Big Block
JEFF BECK LIVE Cause We've Ended As Lovers
"Goin' Down" - Jeff Beck ft Beth Hart (2013)
Mick Fleetwood *24.06.1947
Michael „Mick“ John Kells Fleetwood (* 24. Juni 1947 in Redruth, England) ist ein Rockmusiker, bekannt als Mitbegründer und Schlagzeuger der Band Fleetwood Mac, deren Name auch seinen Familiennamen enthält. Neben seiner durchgängigen Mitgliedschaft in Fleetwood Mac hat er seit 1981 auch mehrere Solo-Alben veröffentlicht, die jedoch weitestgehend unbeachtet blieben. Lediglich das Album The Visitor erregte etwas Aufsehen, da es in Accra / Ghana aufgenommen worden war.Im Herbst 2008 ging er mit der „Mick Fleetwood Blues Band“ auf eine Tournee zum 40. Jubiläum der Band Fleetwood Mac. Hierbei wurden hauptsächlich Stücke aus der Peter-Green-Phase der Band gespielt. Als Sänger und Gitarrist fungierte Rick Vito, der in den späten 1980er Jahren bereits für ein paar Jahre bei Fleetwood Mac dabei war. Die Band veröffentlichte auch eine CD mit Studio- und Liveaufnahmen, sowie im Jahr 2010 eine DVD mit Konzertaufnahmen.
Als Schauspieler wirkte Mick Fleetwood unter anderem im Film Running Man mit und hatte auch einen Gastauftritt in der Science-Fiction-Serie Raumschiff Enterprise: Das nächste Jahrhundert.
1967 lernen sich Mick Fleetwood, John McVie und Peter Green bei The Bluesbreakers kennen. Sie gründen die Blues-Band Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac. Obwohl die Combo noch in den Kinderschuhen steckt, wechselt das Line-Up ständig. Zahlreiche Musiker haben seit der Gründung bei Fleetwood Mac gespielt, die einzigen konstanten Mitglieder sind die namensgebenden Mike Fleetwood und John McVie.
Mit Slide-Gitarrist Jeremy Spencer veröffentlichen sie 1967 "Fleetwood Mac". Das Debüt bleibt 13 Monate in den UK-Charts und beschert der Band ihren ersten Nummer-eins-Hit "Albatross". Mit den Rock-Alben "Then Play On" und "English Rose" beenden Fleetwood Mac Ende der 60er Jahre ihre Karriere als Blues-Band.
Michael John Kells "Mick" Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician and actor, best known for his role as the drummer and co-founder of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of John McVie to form the name of the band, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.Born in Cornwall, Fleetwood lived in Egypt and Norway for many of his childhood years as his father travelled with the Royal Air Force. Choosing to follow his musical interests, Fleetwood travelled to London at the age of fifteen, eventually combining with Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer and Bob Brunning who formed at Green's behest to become the first incarnation of Fleetwood Mac, of which Fleetwood would remain the only member to stay with the band through its ever-changing line-up.
After several album releases and line-up changes, the group moved to the United States in 1974 in an attempt to boost the band's success, where Fleetwood invited Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks to join. Buckingham and Nicks contributed to much of Fleetwood Mac's later commercial success, including the celebrated album Rumours, while Fleetwood's own determination to keep the band together was essential to the group's longevity.[1][2] He has also enjoyed a solo career, published written works, and flirted briefly with acting and vinification.
Contents
Early life
Fleetwood was born in Redruth, Cornwall, second child to John Joseph Kells Fleetwood and Bridget Maureen (née Brereton) Fleetwood.[3][4] His elder sister Susan Fleetwood, who died of cancer in 1995, became an actress.[4] In early childhood Fleetwood and his family followed his father, a Royal Air Force fighter pilot,[5] to Egypt. After about six years, they moved to Norway where his father was posted on a NATO deployment.[3] He attended school there and became fluent in Norwegian.[6]
Biographer Cath Carroll describes the young Fleetwood as "a dreamer, an empathetic youth" who, though intelligent, did not excel academically.[4] According to his own autobiography,[6] Fleetwood had an extremely difficult and trying time academically at the English boarding schools he attended,[5] including the Kings School, Sherborne, Dorset. He performed poorly on exams, which he attributes to his persistent inability to commit facts to memory.[6] He nevertheless enjoyed acting during school, often in drag, and was a competent fencer.[4] At 6'6", he was an imposing figure, and sported a beard and long hair for much of his life. "Mick was very aristocratic," recalls Ken Caillat, a sound engineer on Rumours. "The way he formed sentences was impeccable. When he spoke, everyone stopped and listened. He was quiet and wise, and he had a great sense of humour. He loved to laugh, but he was also a straight shooter."[7]
Diverting from academic pursuits, Fleetwood took up the drums at a young age, grateful to his parents for their recognition that it was in music that he may find a future and their purchasing for him of a small "Gigster" drum kit when he was thirteen.[5] His family encouraged his artistic side, his father composed poetry and was an amateur drummer himself.[5] Fleetwood's early drumming was inspired by Cliff Richards' drummer in The Shadows, Tony Meehan, as well as that of the Everly Brothers.[4] With his parents' support, he dropped out of school aged 15; and, in 1963, moved to London to pursue a career as a drummer.[6] At first he stayed with his sister in Notting Hill.[8] After a brief stint working at Liberty in London, he found his first opportunity in music.[4]
Career
Early efforts in London
Keyboard player Peter Bardens lived only a few doors away from Fleetwood's first home in London,[8] and upon hearing of the proximity of an available drummer, Bardens gave Fleetwood his first gig in Bardens' band 'The Cheynes' in July 1963, thus seeding the young drummer's musical career.[8] It would take him from The Cheynes - with whom he supported early gigs by the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds - to stints in The Bo Street Runners, who had enjoyed brief television fame on Ready Steady Go!.[8] However by April 1965, when Fleetwood joined the band, it was fading into obscurity.[8] By February 1966 Bardens, who had left the group, called on Fleetwood to join his new band, the 'Peter Bs', which soon expanded to become 'Shotgun Express' (with Rod Stewart). Peter Green, who was a guitarist in the Peter Bs,[8] left to join John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, followed by Fleetwood in April 1967. His new band already featured John McVie.[4]
Green became a supportive band-mate who helped Fleetwood in his early experimentation with the drum kit.[9] In his personal life meanwhile, Fleetwood soon became infatuated with model Jenny Boyd, the sister of whom, Pattie Boyd, would be wife to both George Harrison and Eric Clapton.[4][10][11] He was, however, dismissed from the Bluesbreakers for repeated insobriety during gigs.[12] Both Fleetwood and McVie were heavy drinkers, and their combined efforts were too much for Mayall and the band to cope with.[8] Green, feeling trapped within the Bluesbreakers, also left in June 1967. Recalling "his favourite rhythm section, 'Fleetwood Mac'" - Mick Fleetwood and John McVie - Green elected to invite both to join him in his new band, Fleetwood Mac. Though McVie hesitated briefly due to financial reasons, both joined Green by the summer of 1967 with a record contract on the horizon.[13]
Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac
The initial incarnation of Fleetwood Mac performed its first gig in August 1967 at the seventh annual Windsor Jazz and Blues Festival, playing a Chicago-style blues.[14] McVie, initially hesitant to commit, was later prompted to leave the Bluesbreakers and join Fleetwood Mac full-time when the former adopted a horns section with which he disagreed.[15] He replaced the initial bassist, Bob Brunning. McVie, Fleetwood, Green and guitarist Jeremy Spencer thus formed the first fixed line-up of Fleetwood Mac.[16]
The band's first album, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, was released in 1968, and the band toured the United States for the first time, though Green was reluctant to do so for fear of gun crime.[17] Upon their return, they recorded a second album, Mr. Wonderful under simply "Fleetwood Mac" with Green's name dropped.[18] A guest musician on the album, Christine Perfect, became close with the group and she and McVie were married in 1968. A third guitarist, Danny Kirwan, was also added to the line-up. Despite the success of their third album, Then Play On, and a string of hit singles including "Albatross" and "Man of the World", Green himself drifted away from the band, struggling both creatively and with increasing use of LSD.[19] He later joined a Christian religious group.[20]
Fleetwood himself later remarked on the growing stature of Green's difficulties: "I think there is certainly some credence given to the idea that Peter's condition could in some way be blamed on a bad acid trip he had in Germany ... I don't think it did him much good."[21] He also recalled in 1995 that "Peter basically ceased to see the light with Fleetwood Mac and had aspirations of playing for nothing in strange places--none of which really happened. He made several interesting albums after he left, then basically took a left turn in terms of his psyche. He pulled out of the mainstream and chose to stay at home. He doesn't play much anymore, which is certainly a shame, because he's my mentor, and he's the reason that Fleetwood Mac became what we became."[20]
1970–75
Fleetwood remained a consistent presence in the ever-changing line-up of the group following the departure of Green in May 1970, when Spencer and Kirwan assumed more central roles in the group's song-writing. In June 1970, Fleetwood and Boyd were married.[22][23] In September 1970 the release of Kiln House saw a line-up of Spencer, Kirwan, John McVie and Fleetwood, with Christine McVie providing keyboards and backing vocals.[24] Fleetwood, "a social creature who prized community and communication", was particularly taken with the group's new living arrangements: they moved into a large Victorian era mansion near Headley, Hampshire.[25]
By early 1971, with Christine Perfect becoming an official member of the band, Fleetwood and the group boarded a plane to San Francisco. Spencer, fearful following the recent 1971 San Fernando earthquake, reluctantly boarded the plane. Having arrived in America, he grew more disillusioned with the group, and unsuccessfully pleaded with Fleetwood to cancel this leg of the tour.[6] He left the hotel abruptly one evening, and was found later to have joined Family International, then known as Children of God, a religious group started in 1968 in Huntington Beach, California.[26] Once more, Fleetwood attempted to mediate, however Spencer would not return. After Green was asked to return temporarily to help finish the tour, the band met with Bob Welch who would become their next member.[27] Their next album, Future Games, was released later that year. Bare Trees came a year later, in 1972.[28] During the subsequent tours to promote the latter, Fleetwood once more adopted the role of mediator: Kirwan's self-destructive personality and problems with alcohol culminated in a refusal to go on stage before one concert; Fleetwood himself made the decision to fire the band member.[29] Furthermore, there were early signs of strife in the marriage of John and Christine McVie. Fleetwood again stepped in to mediate between the two members, talking Christine out of a decision to leave the group.[30] The band added guitarist Bob Weston and vocalist Dave Walker, formerly of Savoy Brown and Idle Race. The resulting turmoil, however, negatively affected their next album, Penguin, released in 1973 to poor reviews.[31] Walker was subsequently asked to leave the group, and the next album Mystery to Me was received more warmly.[32]
During the group's next tour to the United States, Fleetwood discovered that his wife, Boyd, was having an affair with band member Weston. Boyd and Fleetwood had one daughter together at the time. Fleetwood, after wrestling with the idea of leaving the band, was later critical of his own role in "neglecting" his family,"[33] though Caillat described Fleetwood in 2012 as "a womaniser."[34] In October 1973 Fleetwood instructed Weston to leave Fleetwood Mac.[35][36] Fleetwood and Boyd divorced in late 1975.[37] Fleetwood travelled to Zambia to convalesce, with Christine McVie – who was also suffering marital problems – travelling with him for part of the journey. Meanwhile, manager Clifford Davis began to lead a separate group of musicians under the name 'Fleetwood Mac', and his increasing legal assault on the original group pushed Fleetwood and his fellow band members to consider managing themselves. Fleetwood took on more managerial responsibility and leadership over the group.[38] Davis meanwhile led a 'rebel' tour with a group under the name Fleetwood Mac, which was a failure. While the legal battle raged, Fleetwood applied his skills to a recording project being done in George Harrison's studio; Harrison also contributed to the project. On the Road to Freedom, a collaboration from Alvin Lee and Mylon LeFevre was released in 1973. Also on the project were Ron Wood, Steve Winwood and Jim Capaldi.
Fleetwood Mac, Rumours
By November 1974, despite having survived legal challenges from Davis, Welch departed. His marriage was failing and he felt that he had hit the end of his creative road with the group.[39] Fleetwood meanwhile was planning a follow-up album to Heroes Are Hard to Find - Welch's last with the group - which had charted at 34 in the United States. Fleetwood was shopping with his children when a chance encounter with an old friend led him to visit Sound City and producer Keith Olsen. While at the studio, Olsen played samples from an album entitled Buckingham Nicks. Fleetwood immediately "was in awe". Unbeknownst to him, both Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks were working in the studio at the time, though the three did not meet until later.[40] On New Year's Eve, 1974, Fleetwood contacted Olsen to advise him that their planned project was on hiatus after Welch's departure, however he then suggested that Nicks and Buckingham join Fleetwood Mac.[41] The group ate together at a local restaurant before practising together for the first time in the new studio.[42][43][44] The next year the new line-up released Fleetwood Mac.
The album proved to be a breakthrough for the band and became a huge hit, reaching No.1 in the US and selling over 5 million copies. Fleetwood and Olsen collaborated on a number of drumming innovations. "It was all about 'plastic puke.' First off, for the kick drum I had Mick use a real skin, not a plastic head. All the bass drum sounds had snap and rack and warmth, but the snare drum on the whole album was a plastic puke."[45] The album had reached No. 1 come November 1976, and at this time Fleetwood Mac became self-managing, with Fleetwood himself arguing that an external manager would be less apt at holding together such a group of dynamic personalities.[46] He put forward an idea of promising to reimburse any losses suffered by promoters should they occur, in an attempt to raise the group's profile and earn more contracts and gigs. "Self-management was the right decision," remembered freelance Rolling Stone writer John Grissim. "Mick [Fleetwood] had great leadership skills ... had a great deal of experience - nine years. They were business-like, they always delivered the product and had the right lawyers and accountants for the job. They didn't need what Van Morrison called 'pressure mongers,'... they just needed to get on and make a really good album."[47] Ken Caillat, another writer on the making of Rumours, concurred that Fleetwood "had superb intuition and a flair for taking risks."[48]
Large, wooden building with a brown door (showing woodland animals play musical instruments) located in the bottom, centre left, and the large numbers "2200" painted in white above the door, centre-right. Asymmetrical trees with hanging foliage frame the building on all sides, while on the asphalt in the foreground, there are parking spaces and a disabled person sign.
As with many musicians during the period in Los Angeles, the band began using copious amounts of cocaine.[49] Fleetwood would go on to recollect in his autobiography that "Until then, Fleetwood Mac hadn't had much experience with this Andean rocket fuel. Now we discovered that a toot now and then relieved the boredom of long hours in the studio with little nourishment."[50] The personal relationships between the band members were becoming frayed. After six months of non-stop touring, the McVies divorced in August 1975, ending nearly eight years of marriage.[51][52] The couple stopped talking to each other socially and discussed only musical matters.[53] Buckingham and Nicks also fought often, a fact that was revealed to fans by Rolling Stone in April 1976.[51] The duo's arguments stopped only when they worked on songs together.[54] At the same time, Christine McVie and Nicks became closer.[55] Fleetwood, meanwhile, began searching for a new recording location, and landed on the Record Plant of Sausalito, California.[56] Grissim, working for Rolling Stone, frequently met with the group and took a particular liking to Fleetwood, whom he described as "a real pro."[57]
Fleetwood Mac convened at the Record Plant February 1976 with hired engineers Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut.[58] Most band members complained about the studio and wanted to record at their homes, but Fleetwood did not allow any moves.[59] Despite his talent at keeping the group together, the recording of Rumours was fraught with emotional turmoil due to the collapsing relationships within the line-up. Christine McVie and Nicks decided to live in two condominiums near the city's harbour, while the male contingent stayed at the studio's lodge in the adjacent hills.[60] Chris Stone, one of the Record Plant's owners, When the band jammed, recalled that "The band would come in at 7 at night, have a big feast, party till 1 or 2 in the morning, and then when they were so whacked-out they couldn't do anything, they'd start recording".[61] Fleetwood often played his drum kit outside the studio's partition screen to better gauge Caillat's and Dashut's reactions to the music's groove.[62] After the final mastering stage and hearing the songs back-to-back, the band members sensed they had recorded something "pretty powerful".[63]
Rumours was a huge commercial success and became Fleetwood Mac's second US number one record, It stayed at the top of the Billboard 200 for 31 non-consecutive weeks, while also reaching number one in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The album was certified platinum in America and the UK within months of release after one million units and 300,000 units were shipped respectively.[64] The band and co-producers Caillat and Dashut, would go on to win the 1978 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. By March, the album had sold over 10 million copies worldwide, including over eight million in the US alone.[65]
Tusk, experimentation
In November 1977 Fleetwood and Nicks began having an affair.[66][67][68] It would continue sporadically for the next two years during the fallout from the end of Fleetwood's relationship with Boyd, until the pair mutually decided to end the affair. "Never in a million years could you have told me that would happen," Nicks later stated. "Everybody was angry, because Mick was married to a wonderful girl and had two wonderful children. I was horrified. I loved these people. I loved his family. So it couldn't possibly work out. And it didn't. I just couldn't."[69] Boyd and Fleetwood had in fact begun living together once more in 1976, and would remarry temporarily to assist their children with emigration to the United States.[70] However they quickly divorced for the second time some months later. In November 1978 Fleetwood moved into a Bel Air home with Sara Recor, mutual friend of Fleetwood and Nicks who was at the time married to another music producer.[71] Meanwhile, Fleetwood began working on a charity project to get Fleetwood Mac to tour the Soviet Union, however the Soviet War in Afghanistan later made the tour untenable.[72]
Tusk, Fleetwood Mac's 12th studio album, was released in 1979. The work represented a more experimental direction taken by Buckingham. Fleetwood, recently diagnosed as having diabetes after suffering recurring bouts of hypoglycemia during several live shows,[73] was again instrumental in maintaining the band's cohesion. He placated Buckingham over feelings of creative claustrophobia and discomfort playing alongside Nicks. On the issue of Buckingham taking creative control away from the other members of the group for the creation of Tusk, Fleetwood recounts that his three-day discussion with Buckingham culminated in him telling the latter that "if it's good, then go ahead."[74] Though the nature of the album strained relationships again within the band - particularly John McVie, a long-established blues musician who disliked the experimental nature of the album - Fleetwood himself rates the album as his favourite by Fleetwood Mac, and cites the freedom of creative expression allotted to each band member as integral to the survival of the group.[75] The album sold four million copies worldwide, a return noticeably poorer than Rumours. Though Buckingham was blamed by the record labels, Fleetwood linked the album's relative failure to the RKO radio chain playing the album in its entirety prior to release, thus allowing mass home taping.[76]
Later that year, Fleetwood Mac embarked on a lengthy tour that brought them across America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the UK. The tour lasted from October 1979 to September 1980, consisting of 113 concerts.
Later career
Fleetwood also led a number of side projects. 1981's The Visitor produced by Richard Dashut, featured heavy African stylistics and a rerecording of "Rattlesnake Shake" with Peter Green. The song "You weren't in love" was a hit in Brazil because of the Soap-opera Brilliant. In 1983 he formed Mick Fleetwood's Zoo and recorded I'm Not Me. The album featured a minor hit, "I Want You Back", and a cover version of the Beach Boys' "Angel Come Home". A later version of the group featured Bekka Bramlett on vocals and recorded 1991's Shaking the Cage. Fleetwood released Something Big in 2004 with The Mick Fleetwood Band, and his most recent album is Blue Again!,[77] appearing in October 2008 with the Mick Fleetwood Blues Band touring to support it, interspersed with the Unleashed tour of Fleetwood Mac.[78]
He has played drums on many of his bandmates' solo records, including Law and Order, where he played on the album's biggest hit, Trouble. Other albums include French Kiss, Three Hearts, The Wild Heart, Christine McVie, Try Me, Under the Skin, Gift of Screws, and In Your Dreams. In 2007 he was featured on drums for the song "God" along with Jack's Mannequin in the Pop album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur, a collection of covers of John Lennon songs.
In literature, Fleetwood co-authored Fleetwood – My Life and Adventures with Fleetwood Mac with writer Stephen Davis, published by William Morrow & Co. in 1990. In the book he candidly discussed his experiences with other musicians including Eric Clapton, members of The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, as well as the affair with Stevie Nicks and his addiction to cocaine and his personal bankruptcy.[6] Reception was mixed. Robert Waddell of the New York Times described the piece as "a blithe, slapdash memoir."[50][79] The Los Angeles Times 's Steve Hochman noted that "Fleetwood tells the story as if he was sitting in your living room, which is good for the intimacy of the tale, but bad for the rambling, sometimes redundant telling."[80] Hochman did acknowledge that Fleetwood was "one of rock's more colorful characters."[80]
Fleetwood has a secondary career as a TV and film actor, usually in minor parts. His roles in this field have included a resistance leader in The Running Man and as a guest alien in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Manhunt". Fleetwood co-hosted the 1989 BRIT Awards, which contained numerous gaffes and flubbed lines. In the wake of this public mishap, the BRIT Awards were pre-recorded for the next 18 years until 2007; the awards are now again broadcast live to the British public. Fleetwood and his third wife, Lynn, had twin daughters (Ruby and Tessa) who were born in 2002[10][11] he also became a U.S. citizen on 22 November.[6] Fleetwood filed for divorce from Lynn in 2013.[81]
Playing style
God knows, if the drums aren't right, then the song is not survivable.
—Mick Fleetwood[82]
Fleetwood was a self-taught drummer from his early childhood, after moving from a lacklustre academic performance at school to a love of music encouraged by his family, who bought him his first drum kit.[4] His first years were heavily influenced by Tony Meehan and the Everly Brothers, and during his formative years in London during the late 1960s, Green helped Fleetwood through bouts of "rhythmic dyslexia" during live performances when Fleetwood panicked and lost the beat.[9] He often sang filled pauses along to songs to help keep the beat.[83] Green also instilled in Fleetwood an ability to follow and predict the lead guitarist, enabling him to meet the guitar with the drum rhythm as well as allowing him to know a good guitarist when he saw one - which would in part lead him later in his career to select Lindsey Buckingham.[84]
Bob Brunning recalled from his early involvement with Fleetwood Mac that Fleetwood was "very open to playing with different people as long as he didn't have to change his style. He was, and is, a completely straightforward drummer, and it works with a lot of different styles. I don't s'pose [sic] he's played a traditional drum solo in his life!"[85] Biographer Carroll highlights this ability as integral to the success of Fleetwood Mac, arguing that Fleetwood was not a virtuoso, but his disciplined and in-distractable manner of play allowed him to hold together a band of strong leading personalities without impinging upon their expression.[86]
Caillat, in contrast, cites Fleetwood as "still one of the most amazing drummers I've ever met. He had his rack of tom drums arranged back to front. Most drummers place them from high to low (in pitch) from their left to right, but Mick chose to place his mid, high, low. I think perhaps this helped him develop his unique style. He hit his drums very hard, except for his kick drum. For some reason, when he played his high hat, it distracted him. He would keep perfect beat with his kick, but he played it so softly that we could hear his mouth noises through his kick mic."
Krefeld, Kulturfabrik - Konzert
Michael Coleman *24.06.1956
https://gigity.tv/MichaelColeman
Michael Coleman (June 24, 1956 – November 2, 2014) was an American Chicago blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was voted one of the top 50 bluesmen in the world by Guitar World magazine.[1] Coleman released five solo albums, and variously worked with James Cotton, Aron Burton, Junior Wells, John Primer and Malik Yusef.
Biography
Coleman was born in 1956 in Chicago, Illinois, United States.[2] He began his musical career at a young age, playing alongside his father, Cleother "Baldhead Pete" Williams.[2] As a teenager he played with the Top 40 showband, Midnight Sun, and played the blues with Aron Burton and Johnny Dollar in Chicago's North Side.[1] In 1975 he became a full-time professional musician, and toured Europe with Eddy Clearwater four years later.[2] This led him directly to work for James Cotton, and Coleman remained in his band for a period of almost ten years.[3] Coleman backed Cotton on his Alligator Records album, Live From Chicago Mr Superharp Himself, and in total completed three albums with Cotton.[2][4]
During the 1980s, Coleman backed Junior Wells, Buster Benton, and Jimmy Dawkins, and also worked with Syl Johnson, before embarking on a solo career in the early 1990s.[2] His work was not without controversy, as in his 1987 song, "Woman Loves a Woman", he confessed he was in love with a woman, but then stated "She's in love with a woman too".[5] Coleman formed the Backbreakers as his backing ensemble in 1991.[1] The Austrian record label, Wolf Records, issued Coleman's Shake Your Booty in 1995.
His debut US release was Do Your Thing!, issued by Delmark Records in 2000. It featured a mixture of material encompassing blues, soul and funk, with cover versions of songs previously recorded by Jimmy Reed, Otis Redding and Isaac Hayes. It was noted that the quality of his guitar playing, compensated for a lightweight vocal accompaniment.[3]
In 2006, Coleman led a string of Delmark rostered musicians on the Blues Brunch at the Mart album.[6]
However a combination of his weight and diabetes severely affected his health, and his doctor advised a new lifestyle which saw Coleman lose 150 pounds.[7] Coleman started his 2010 Chicago Blues Tour, by performing at Rosa's Lounge in Chicago.[8]
Coleman died in November 2014, aged 58.
Biography
Coleman was born in 1956 in Chicago, Illinois, United States.[2] He began his musical career at a young age, playing alongside his father, Cleother "Baldhead Pete" Williams.[2] As a teenager he played with the Top 40 showband, Midnight Sun, and played the blues with Aron Burton and Johnny Dollar in Chicago's North Side.[1] In 1975 he became a full-time professional musician, and toured Europe with Eddy Clearwater four years later.[2] This led him directly to work for James Cotton, and Coleman remained in his band for a period of almost ten years.[3] Coleman backed Cotton on his Alligator Records album, Live From Chicago Mr Superharp Himself, and in total completed three albums with Cotton.[2][4]
During the 1980s, Coleman backed Junior Wells, Buster Benton, and Jimmy Dawkins, and also worked with Syl Johnson, before embarking on a solo career in the early 1990s.[2] His work was not without controversy, as in his 1987 song, "Woman Loves a Woman", he confessed he was in love with a woman, but then stated "She's in love with a woman too".[5] Coleman formed the Backbreakers as his backing ensemble in 1991.[1] The Austrian record label, Wolf Records, issued Coleman's Shake Your Booty in 1995.
His debut US release was Do Your Thing!, issued by Delmark Records in 2000. It featured a mixture of material encompassing blues, soul and funk, with cover versions of songs previously recorded by Jimmy Reed, Otis Redding and Isaac Hayes. It was noted that the quality of his guitar playing, compensated for a lightweight vocal accompaniment.[3]
In 2006, Coleman led a string of Delmark rostered musicians on the Blues Brunch at the Mart album.[6]
However a combination of his weight and diabetes severely affected his health, and his doctor advised a new lifestyle which saw Coleman lose 150 pounds.[7] Coleman started his 2010 Chicago Blues Tour, by performing at Rosa's Lounge in Chicago.[8]
Coleman died in November 2014, aged 58.
Michael Coleman & Chicago Blues Tuesdays 2-10-2009 the Frequency
Michael Coleman - guitar, Joe Nosek - Harp, Bruce Alford - Bass, Joey B. Banks - Drums, and Don Rembert - Guitar
Recorded on February 10, 2009 using a Flip Video camcorder.
Recorded on February 10, 2009 using a Flip Video camcorder.
Sandy Ross *24.06.1950
Sandy Ross has been entertaining audiences with her own special blend of contemporary folk and acoustic blues for more than four decades. Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, she spent the ‘70s in Los Angeles, working as a staff songwriter for Warner/Chappell Music and producing demos on a single-song basis for nine other major song publishers including: Filmways Music, MCA Music, and Screen Gems/EMI. During that decade she had songs recorded by Kim Carnes and Anne Murray at a time when they were at the height of their careers, and indie released an LP of her own performances (A Lady of a Different Time - 1971). She was a regular singer-songwriter throughout the greater Los Angeles area and also booked other performers of many different genres at various Hollywood live-performance venues, including the Los Angeles Performing Arts and Folklife Festival and the internationally-renown Bla-Bla Café.
Sandy released three indie recordings in the 90s and toured the greater US four times doing more than 48 live syndicated radio shows and 120 coffeehouse/bookstore performances. In 1995, her third album (and first CD), Portraits of Innocence made the FOLKDJ-L Top 50 and received airplay on folk shows on 387 radio stations including rotation play on 17 Americana reporting stations (This included WUMB in Boston, the only 365/24/7 folk station in the country). The Portrait of Innocence cut, “All My Heroes Sang the Blues,” not only made the Americana rotation, but was featured on the CBC in Canada and made Top 40 rotation play in Hong Kong, China during that same time period. In 1998 her CD, Coloring Outside the Lines also made the FOLKDJ-L Top 50 (at number 9) when it debuted and in 1999 both CDs were incorporated into the Smithsonian Folkways catalog, in addition to the Fast Folk recordings she made for the two Los Angeles compilation albums. (Sandy has the distinction of being the only Los Angeles singer-songwriter to have been included on both LA Fast Folk compilations.)
In 2005 Sandy wrote and compiled the book A Place Called the Bla-Bla Café, which is an insiders look at Hollywood talent showcasing against the historically political backdrop of the 1970s. The book has received great reviews and accolades from indie book publishing organizations and readers’ websites, including a 2007 Independent Publishers Book Award (IPPY).
Sandy Ross - Kansas Skies [HD]
Tad Robinson *24.06.1956
Tad Robinson (born June 24, 1956) is an American soul blues singer.
Robinson was born and raised in New York City, attending school at Indiana University's school of music and graduating in 1980. He played regionally with a group called the Hesitation Blues Band, then moved to Chicago, where he became the vocalist for Dave Specter & the Bluebirds, singing on their 1994 album Blueplicity for Delmark Records. In 1994 he released his first album under his own name on the same label; four more have followed, three on the Severn imprint.
"Payback" - Tad Robinson Band with Alex Schultz
Chris Pitts *24.06.1983
Mississippi Bigfoot (USA)
Southern Blues 'n' Rock, Countryblues
Sie sind das erste Mal in Europa und spielen ihr erstes Festival bei uns. Die Band aus Memphis bietet rockig-knackigen Südstaaten Blues und Countryblues der direkt in die Beine geht.
Line-up: Christina Vierra (voc), Ashley Bishop (git), Doug McMinn (dr, harp, voc), Cade Moore (bass, voc), Chris Pitts (git, voc)
Southern Blues 'n' Rock, Countryblues
Sie sind das erste Mal in Europa und spielen ihr erstes Festival bei uns. Die Band aus Memphis bietet rockig-knackigen Südstaaten Blues und Countryblues der direkt in die Beine geht.
Line-up: Christina Vierra (voc), Ashley Bishop (git), Doug McMinn (dr, harp, voc), Cade Moore (bass, voc), Chris Pitts (git, voc)
Chris Pitts: Chris was "regifted" music. His older brother was given an old fender acoustic guitar but it was Chris that ended up playing it. Barely 5, his first lessons were from his Father who himself had learned from Chris' Great-Great Grandmother. His sound began generations before he was born. When Chris turned 12, he played his first gig on Beale Street at This Is It and moved from there to Wild Bills where he was in the house band for a decade. He has played with great artists like Lattimore, Bobby Rush, Blind Mississippi Morris, Ruby Wilson, Preston Shannon, and his mentor, Eric Gales. Guitar is only half of his talent, Chris steps forward and takes the lead vocals with a soulful voice and a showmanship that has been passed down the family line. A well rounded entertainer, his love for music is evident on and off the stage.
The Band: Mississippi Bigfoot was formed in the spring of 2015 after a series of events led them to play together at Ground Zero in Clarksdale, MS. They are a new band with an old soul. That first night led to many more Nationally. From nightclubs to festivals to private parties, their dancecard has been filling up. May 2016 will find them over the ocean on their first International tour. Their debut album, Population Unknown, was recorded in the legendary Ardent Studios in Memphis, TN. Radio airplay around the world has allowed them to gain fans globally and they are looking forward to meeting many of them on the upcoming tour. For booking information contact us.
The Hunter
Mississippi Bigfoot Band - Thrill is Gone
R.I.P.
Lee McBee +24.06.2014
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Lee McBee (* 23. März 1951 in Kansas City, Missouri; † 24. Juni 2014[1]) war ein US-amerikanischer Bluessänger und -Harmonikaspieler.
McBee wuchs in Kansas City auf, wo er in seiner Teenagerzeit Blues- und Soulplatten sammelte. Nach seinem Umzug nach Lawrence, Kansas, spielte er in zahlreichen Blues- und Bluesrockbands des Mittleren Westens. Überregionale Bekanntheit erlangte er durch seine Zusammenarbeit mit Mike Morgan and The Crawl, wo er 1989 Darrell Nulisch als Sänger und Mundharmonikaspieler ersetzte.[2] Mit dieser Band nahm er sechs Alben auf. 1999 verließ er Mike Morgan und gründete seine eigene Band The Confessors. Mit den Confessors trat er regelmäßig im BB’s Lawnside BBQ auf und wenn Künstler in Mittleren Westen auf Tournee waren, begleitete Lee McBee sie oft.[3] Seit April 2000 und das ganze Jahr 2007 arbeitete er wieder mit Mike Morgan zusammen. 2007 machten sie eine gemeinsame Europatournee, wo sie unter anderem beim 13. Lucerne Blues Festival und beim France Blues Festival in Avignon auftraten.[4] Er ist auf dem Album des Jahres 2008 „Stronger Every Day“ auf einigen Titeln zu hören.
2009 wurde Lee McBee in die Kansas Music Hall of Fame aufgenommen.
Lee McBee (March 23, 1951 – June 24, 2014)[1] was an American electric blues musician, singer and harmonica player from Kansas City, Missouri.
Though he was primarily a regional blues act in the midwest, McBee gained national attention in the late 1980s and early 1990s for his work with Mike Morgan and the Crawl[2] and for his band the Passions. These bands toured the United States, Canada and Europe and recorded on major blues labels. McBee grew up in Kansas City and collected blues and soul records throughout the 1960s. In 1969, he moved to Lawrence, Kansas and worked in many blues and blues rock bands, including Bob Wire and the Worm Ranch Wranglers, Screaming Lee and the Rocktones, Used Parts,[3] and the Lynch-McBee Band, up to 1982. When not engaging in music during this period, Lee had a job as a fat dropper at the Stokely plant in Lawrence and later cooked at the Cornucopia Cafe,[4] in Lawrence.
From 1982 McBee moved to Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles and recorded and performed with Bonnie Raitt, Jimmy Rogers, Doug Sahm and Johnny Winter. By the mid 1980s, he settled in Dallas and met guitarist Mike Morgan in 1985. They formed the Crawl and they would be together for the next twelve years. In 1994, McBee began a side project with The Passions. This band relocated to Kansas City as its base and soon evolved into Lee McBee and the Confessors. Throughout the 2000s, McBee and his band toured northeast Kansas and northwest Missouri and released two albums.
Lee was inducted into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame in 2009.[5]
McBee died on June 24, 2014.
Though he was primarily a regional blues act in the midwest, McBee gained national attention in the late 1980s and early 1990s for his work with Mike Morgan and the Crawl[2] and for his band the Passions. These bands toured the United States, Canada and Europe and recorded on major blues labels. McBee grew up in Kansas City and collected blues and soul records throughout the 1960s. In 1969, he moved to Lawrence, Kansas and worked in many blues and blues rock bands, including Bob Wire and the Worm Ranch Wranglers, Screaming Lee and the Rocktones, Used Parts,[3] and the Lynch-McBee Band, up to 1982. When not engaging in music during this period, Lee had a job as a fat dropper at the Stokely plant in Lawrence and later cooked at the Cornucopia Cafe,[4] in Lawrence.
From 1982 McBee moved to Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles and recorded and performed with Bonnie Raitt, Jimmy Rogers, Doug Sahm and Johnny Winter. By the mid 1980s, he settled in Dallas and met guitarist Mike Morgan in 1985. They formed the Crawl and they would be together for the next twelve years. In 1994, McBee began a side project with The Passions. This band relocated to Kansas City as its base and soon evolved into Lee McBee and the Confessors. Throughout the 2000s, McBee and his band toured northeast Kansas and northwest Missouri and released two albums.
Lee was inducted into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame in 2009.[5]
McBee died on June 24, 2014.
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