The classic Jeff Beck song that Jimmy Page claims is his: “Even though he says he wrote it, I wrote it”
There aren’t many guitarists as special as Jeff Beck. The late, great six-string icon was perhaps one of the most complete performers the rock world has ever known. The mercurial musician was never one to fit within the tramlines of any prescribed notion. Beck always found himself on the peripheries of the mainstream, quietly making some of the most notable tunes in rock and roll.
It was within this outer realm of acceptability that he carved out a career unlike any other, transcending genre, style and archaic ideals of music to prove himself as an icon. Beck created some of the most legendary licks known to man, and one sticks out as his opus.
‘Beck’s Bolero’ is one of the most iconic pieces of music that emerged from London’s illustrious rock ‘n’ roll scene in the 1960s. It showcased the talents of Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Keith Moon, and Nicky Hopkins and was the first time that guitar hero Beck showed what he could do outside of the confines of his day job, The Yardbirds.
In 1993, Beck recalled: “It was decided that it would be a good idea for me to record some of my own stuff… partly to stop me moaning about the Yardbirds”. In addition to Beck wanting to let off some steam, he was also encouraged by the band’s management to try something new. They promoted individual band members to find success in solo projects and bring more attention to the band. It was a seemingly clever marketing plan. However, it did give those individuals a taste of life on their own, one they invariably followed.
Famously, the instrumental was recorded over one day on May 16th, 1966. At this point, Moon was unhappy in The Who, and this impromptu band did initially plan to record and release a full album, but contractual obligations, amongst other things, prevented them from ever reconvening. “That was recorded with John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, Nicky Hopkins and Keith Moon,” he once said. “And that was the band we hoped to form out of that session. Keith had agreed to play drums for one day, and when he turned up, we were hoping that he might be interested in a permanent position. He was not happy with his current band; something to do with the vocalist, I think.” The band was The Who, and the vocalist, of course, was Roger Daltrey.
“I don’t know if it would have worked or not, but it sounded so great in the studio,” Beck added. “I couldn’t believe it when we went back and listened to it in the control room. We were going: ‘This is amazing. What can we do with it?’ And the next thing we know, Keith is back with The Who, and the whole thing never got off the ground. But all we needed was a singer.”
On paper, and via ‘Beck’s Bolero’, it had the makings of a stellar supergroup, one that would have no doubt eclipsed their contemporaries, Cream. However, plans were also shelved due to the fact that they couldn’t find a lead singer. Allegedly, the legendary frontman of The Small Faces, Steve Marriott, had been primed, but he was unwilling to depart the psychedelic heroes.
Two years after the track’s release, Page and Jones reunited as Led Zeppelin, and Beck released the track as part of his debut studio album, Truth, in November 1968. The most famous part of ‘Beck’s Bolero’ is that Page and Beck disagreed over who wrote the song.
In a 1977 interview with Guitar Player magazine, Page said: “On the ‘Beck’s Bolero’ thing I was working with that, the track was done, and then the producer just disappeared. He was never seen again; he simply didn’t come back. Napier-Bell, he just sort of left me and Jeff to it. Jeff was playing and I was in the box (recording booth). And even though he says he wrote it, I wrote it. I’m playing the electric 12-string on it.”
He explained: “Beck’s doing the slide bits, and I’m basically playing around the chords. The idea was built around (classical composer) Maurice Ravel’s ‘Bolero.’ It’s got a lot of drama to it; it came off right. It was a good lineup too, with Keith Moon, and everything.”
Interestingly, it wasn’t just the songwriting that led to a dispute, and production credits have also been debated. Beck’s producer Mickie Most, who he was contracted to at the time, claims he produced the track, whereas Simon Napier-Bell also claims he produced it, although many accounts maintain that he left halfway through the session — a strange thing to argue if by all accounts he wasn’t there.
Obviously, Page also argues it was he who recorded the track, and given that he helmed the majority of Led Zeppelin’s production duties in the future, this isn’t an outrageous claim.
In the end, it wouldn’t matter who wrote or produced the song. It is one of the most widely respected tracks in rock history, and the most important part is who played on it, and we know. It may have been Page who had the first idea and finished off production, but this didn’t matter. It was a stellar team effort that is as mesmerising today as it was back then.
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