THE JEFF BECK GROUP
Jeff Beck (born 24 June 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, heavy metal, jazz fusion and an additional blend of guitar-rock and electronica. He was ranked 5th 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”. (More from Wikipedia)
A side man can be a wonderful thing for a musician. For rock bands without keyboard players (and that was true of many in the 1960’s), Nicky Hopkins was the go-to guy if you wanted a pianist: He played with everybody from Jefferson Airplane to Jeff Beck Group to Steve Miller Band, and with simply every big British Invasion group: the Beatles, the Kinks, the Who, and especially the Rolling Stones. His name appears on dozens of albums from the late 1960’s into the 1980’s. Hopkins released a couple of solo albums that I have never gotten around to buying, but I sure remember one of the first songs that I heard on college radio at North Carolina State University. It was “Edward the Mad Shirt Grinder”; Hopkins was officially a member of Quicksilver Messenger Service at that time, and the song was the final track on their album, Shady Grove (1969). Hopkins wrote it, and it was all his piano work along with a backing band.
(August 2011)
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After Cactus (initially) broke up in 1972, Jeff Beck joined with Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice in a short-lived power trio called Beck, Bogert & Appice. Beck had recorded two albums with the Jeff Beck Group in the interim.
(April 2014)
