The song that got Jeff Beck “hooked” on rock and roll
The influence of Jeff Beck doesn’t start and stop at how his music sounded, his contribution to rock runs a lot deeper than that.
When you think of the true pillars of a rock, what comes to mind? More often than not, it will be the lead singer and the lead guitarist. Is this fair? Not always, as the rhythm section of any band is a crucial component when it comes to truly developing a distinctive sound; however, you can also understand this bias, given how entertaining it usually is to watch the lead singer and guitarist do what they do best.
Before Beck, the guitarist wasn’t quite as flamboyant as they are these days. They were a part of the band, and so stood with the band, not trying to make too much of a fuss of themselves. Always the frontman, Beck did away with this notion and opted to stand further forward when performing, injecting his gigs with a flamboyancy that people previously hadn’t seen a guitarist do. Naturally, from that moment on, guitarists like Pete Townshend and Jimi Hendrix took this idea and ran with it, but the individuality of the guitarist started with people like Jeff Beck.
Given that the foundation of rock ‘n’ roll lies at the heart of musicians like Beck, we are left to genuinely wonder how different things may have been had he never picked up a six-string. Without that flamboyancy, how would solos and riffs have developed? It doesn’t bear thinking about! So, who do we have to thank for inspiring Beck to pick up a guitar in the first place? Well, many people, but there was one song in particular, he said got him “hooked” on rock ‘n’ roll.
Beck said, “When ‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’ came out, I was hooked.”
He wasn’t the only person, either, as the song was a trigger point for plenty of lovers of rock ‘n’ roll. The energy embedded within the track from the second it starts playing is infectious, and for a long time, people thought the story behind how it was written added to its charm.
The singer, Gene Vincent, and his record company, allegedly put together the story that he wrote the song while he was staying in a hospital in Portsmouth for six months while recovering from a motorcycle accident. There was something quite sweet and inspirational about the idea that creativity stemmed from such a difficult period, but according to Vincent’s drummer, Dickie Harrell, it wasn’t true.
“Actually, the song was written by a guy from Portsmouth named Donald Graves,” said Harrell. The song fetched a cheap price, as it was apparently sold for a mere $25. Harrell explained, “It happened a lot in those days. Guys would take the sure money.”
Regardless of what the story behind the song was, there was no escaping the impact it had on those who would become rock stars. Beck was just one of many people who found themselves swept up in the excitement of Gene Vincent, and with that, he also started listening a great deal to the album Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps.
“My older sister made the mistake of leaving this album around and I played it all day. No other band so encapsulated refined rockabilly,” he said, “When my mother told me to take it off, I knew it was my kind of music.”
