Guitar virtuoso Jeff Beck died this week at 78 after a sudden bout of bacterial meningitis. Born Geoffrey Beck in Surrey, England, he played in a string of bands including Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages before the Yardbirds brought him on in 1965 to replace Eric Clapton. After being fired, he formed The Jeff Beck Group, with Rod Stewart as vocalist. In the 1970s, he performed as part of the power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice.
In the 1980s, Beck moved away from using a guitar pick, honing his own signature fingering techniques. Over the course of his career he garnered eight Grammy Awards. He was twice inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a member of The Yardbirds and as a solo act, and two of his solo albums were certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
