The legendary guitarist Jeff Beck called a “weirdo”
The distinctive guitar tones of Jeff Beck were truly something to behold. Throughout his six-decade career, the legendary guitarist proved himself to be a master of adapting to diverse musical styles while always remaining effortlessly cool. There are few classic rock guitarists who do not owe something to Jeff Beck, but one iconic figure borrowed a little too much.
If anything eclipses Beck’s remarkable talent, it is the seemingly endless number of groups he seems to be tied with. In the early days of his career, he found fame as the guitarist for The Yardbirds, a legendary blues-rock group which spawned the careers of both Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page. Beck was brought in to replace Clapton, who had left to briefly join John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers before forming Cream in 1966.
It was with The Yardbirds that Beck forged something of a professional partnership with future Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. Page originally stepped in to cover for Beck as the lead guitarist during a short illness. However, this soon progressed to a joint leadership, resulting in some incredible early psychedelic tracks. Ultimately, their time together in The Yardbirds was short-lived, but the two guitarists remained close.
In fact, the pair’s history reaches further back than their time with The Yardbirds. Page and Beck had first met years prior, as he revealed to Classic Rock, “My sister knew Jimmy from Epsom Art School. She came to my room one day and said, ‘There’s a weirdo at school. He’s got a weird guitar like yours,’ and then slammed the door.”
Bonding over their mutually ‘weird’ guitar stylings, Beck soon found some perks to the friendship, sharing, “His mum had bought him a really good quality tape recorder, so we’d record there. I don’t know where those tapes are now, but there’s some rare stuff on them.” While the holy grail tapes of classic rock might not have been uncovered just yet, they likely pale in comparison to the work the guitarists later laid down with The Yardbirds.
The partnership was not all sunshine and flowers, however. Upon hearing Page’s post-Yardbirds project, the iconic hard rock outfit Led Zeppelin, he was somewhat miffed. “When I first heard what he’d done with Led Zeppelin,” he explained. “I thought, ‘That’s a little bit more than inspired by the Truth album.’” Referring to his own 1968 studio album, which does sound distinctly Zeppelin-like upon revisiting.
Thankfully, Beck soon managed to get over his initial disappointment with the ‘inspiration’ Page took from Truth, becoming a dedicated fan of Led Zeppelin while working on his own innovative solo career.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Led Zeppelin Newsletter
All the latest stories about Led Zeppelin from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.