The “virtuoso” guitarist who was one of Billy Joel’s ultimate “heroes”
Billy Joel and a guitar are not two things you would typically associate with each other. He is the one dubbed the ‘Piano Man’, after all.
But naturally, this doesn’t mean he lacks an appreciation for the world of music that still exists beyond the tones of the black and white keys, because it would simply be stupid to ignore. Not only this, but it would also be way too loud to just block out – and there was a man whose blitzing of the six-string made the heads of every musician turn, even including one as illustrious in his own right as Joel.
The truth of the matter is that you never fully know the connections and various degrees of separation between forces in the music industry until they are laid bare to you. From the outside, an artist like Joel seemed to spin on a totally polar opposite axis to someone like Jeff Beck. But beneath the surface, despite their superficial differences, there was a lot more mutual respect between the pair than you might first imagine. One was the piano prodigy, the other was the guitar god, yet they shared a knowledge of what it meant to be titans of their own disciplines.
Although the two never explicitly crossed paths over the course of their careers, it was when Beck tragically passed away in 2023 that Joel decided to voice his respects to the world, letting them know exactly what Beck meant to him, even in spite of the contrasting styles and personae which seemingly split them apart.
He wrote in tribute on social media at the time of Beck’s death: “I just heard the sad news that the great virtuoso guitarist, Jeff Beck, has died. He was one of my heroes. I was fortunate to meet him recently, and I’m very grateful now that I was able to tell him how much I admired his musical skill. This is the end of an era.”
While there’s no point in comparing Joel’s songbook to the work of The Yardbirds, for example, because they’re two patently different things, it’s worth considering how the two artists evolved over the years and how this may have brought them together more than you first imagine. Beck obviously branched into more experimental and instrumental styles as time wore on, much in the same way Joel took a foray into classical music in the twilight of his recording career. Their efforts were, of course, in no way similar, but there was a path of new horizons laid by Beck that Joel evidently found inspiration to follow.
But it has always been in Joel’s nature to pass that message on to the people. Following his social media tribute, the musician was also performing his residency at Madison Square Garden at the time, and took to the stage that night to honour Beck. Telling the audience how the guitarist’s guitarist was “the best” and that he was “a musician I always loved,” Joel went on to cover ‘People Get Ready’ by Curtis Mayfield and ‘Going Down’ by the Alabama State Troupers, both of which Beck had also covered at various points in his career.
In that moment, two completely separate sonic worlds instantly crashed into one, all through the power of one ‘Piano Man’ who knows what it’s like to be hailed a hero, and therefore sees it as only fitting that he should honour his own. Yet, of course, Beck was never far from view. As one of the greatest to ever do it, his status as a god is cemented across every genre, every style, and every walk of life. No matter how different you were, Beck’s true talent was bringing all those people together under the respect of his electric oeuvre.
