by Following the death of the 78-year-old rock guitarist, Sir Paul McCartney said Jeff Beck “played some of the best guitar music ever from England”.
The former Beatles member, 80-year-old Sir Paul, described him as “a lovely man with a wicked sense of humor”, as did Sir Brian May of the Queen and Who’s Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey and other rock legends. have.
Beck, who died after contracting bacterial meningitis, is known for his work with the Yardbirds and the Jeff Beck Group, and has performed with heavyweights such as Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page.
Sir Paul said in a post on Instagram on Thursday: “Jeff Beck was a lovely man with a wicked sense of humor who played some of the best guitar music ever from England.
“He was an excellent technician and could get his guitar out in time for the show and put it back together.
“His unique playstyle was something no one could match, and I will always remember the great times we had together.
“He would come to our house for dinner or organize an evening at their house with his wife, Sandra.
Jeff had impeccable taste in most things and was an expert at rebuilding his car collection. His no-nonsense attitude towards the music business was always so refreshing and I will cherish the moments we spent together forever.
“Jeff Beck has left the building, and it’s a much more desolate place without him.”
Sir Brian told his followers in a video he posted on Instagram on Thursday: “This is a very extraordinary loss and he was a very extraordinary person.
“Jeff was an utterly and utterly unique musician, it was impossible to describe, and I absolutely adored him.”
Sir Brian said Beck has been his “hero” and “biggest inspiration” since school, as he has “already” done “extraordinary things” at The Tridents and then The Yardbirds.
He said Beck’s Where Have You Been along with Jimi Hendrix’s Little Wing is “amazing” and “probably the most beautiful piece of guitar music ever recorded”.
Sir Brian added: “(It’s) so sensitive, so beautiful, so incredibly creative and unlike anything you’ve ever heard anywhere else.”
He also said: “I’ve seen him play so many times, how does he do that when I always have my chin on the floor?
“I think it must be like being around Mozart often and seeing that incredible genius at work and wondering where that could come from. How can it be so great?”
Sir Brian said he often felt “shy” around Beck and wrote The Guv’nor about him for his solo album.
“Jeff Beck is so influential and unique on every guitarist I’ve met in my life. The loss is incalculable.
“It is very sad that they are no longer in the world. I still can’t calculate it exactly.”
“The Miles Davis of rock guitar, he will never be forgotten, and we, his friends, feel lucky to have known him,” said Who’s guitarist Townshend.
“Most importantly, it was easy to be around Jeff, he was as natural as a musician who knew the melody very well, he could play something as soon as he heard it, it would fall under his fingers.”
Townsend and Beck most recently collaborated when Beck played an orchestral version of Who’s hit Love Reign O’er Me at a BBC concert in London in 2012.
“Jeff was my favorite lead guitarist, always original and a huge loss to the music scene,” Daltrey said.
Announcing Beck’s death on Twitter and Instagram on Wednesday, the family statement read: “It is with deep and deep sadness that we share the news of Jeff Beck’s passing on behalf of his family.
“He passed away peacefully yesterday after suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis.
“His family seeks privacy as they process this tremendous loss.”
