Jeff Beck and his signature shag haircut would have turned 80 today.
A two-time inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (solo and as a member of The Yardbirds), the Englishman was considered among music's greatest guitarists, always mentioned in the same breath as Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton.
If his commercial success didn't match theirs, it may have been because he always did what he wanted, never sticking to any single style and not showing any obsession with commercial approval. He worked solo, as well as in tandem with jazz keyboardist Jan [pr: yon] Hammer, in The Jeff Beck Group and in the power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice.
Beck won eight Grammy Awards and recorded with everyone from Stevie Wonder and Buddy Guy to Tina Turner and Mick Jagger. He was the subject of a 2018 documentary, Still on the Run.
Beck died from a bacterial meningitis infection on January 10th, 2023, at the age of 78.