A lot of solos I hear sound so incredible, but they sound like somebody practicing. They sound a bit soulless - fiery, but at the same time, lacking in spirit and soul.
- Jeff Beck
British guitarist Jeff Beck was widely acknowledged by his own musician peers as one of the greatest guitarists of all time. Beck rose to fame in the 1960s when he replaced Eric Clapton in the Yardbirds. He left a year later to start his own group The Jeff Beck Group, featuring Rod Stewart and Ron Wood. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 as part of the Yardbirds and inducted again in 2009 as a solo artist.
Beck was a guitar virtuoso and he is known as an artist who pioneered jazz-rock. Over the course of his career, his experimentation with distortion and fuzz effects paved the way for heavier subgenres like psych-rock and heavy metal.
An eight-time Grammy winner, Beck earned his first in 1985 for best rock instrumental performance for “Escape.” He went on to win five more times in that category.
Some of Beck’s most well-regarded songs include “Heart Full of Soul,” a 1965 single from the Yardbirds, “I Ain’t Superstitious” off his debut solo 1968 album with The Jeff Beck Group, “Truth,” and “Freeway Jam” from his second album, “Blow by Blow” in 1975.