Talking Music: In Appreciation of Jeff Beck RIP

I grew up with “wide ears” which meant I had an appreciation for all genres of music as a young kid. I was born in an era that allowed me to be immersed in an explosion of different influences: Motown, The Beatles, The British Invasion, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Soul, RnB, Psychedelia, Folk, Gospel, World, Top 40, Latin and my parent’s favorite Spanish speaking AM radio stations that was always on the family radio. I fooled around playing guitar, trying to sing my poetry into a small reel to reel recorder and imagining myself as a rock pop star as an adolescent. I had an FM/AM radio and I had it tuned in to KSAN to get my blast of the “hip” alternative sounds that were coming out at that time as well as tuning into Top 40 and Soul stations. Radio was king in the San Francisco Bay Area!

One of my all time guitar heroes was the English guitar icon Jeff Beck who passed away last week due to bacterial meningitis at the age of 78. Jeff Beck was one of the true guitar rock gods who rose to prominence in the mid 1960’s. He produced sounds out of his guitar that few could even try to play. I was familiar with Jeff Beck since his days with The Yardbirds who had big top 40 hits like “For Your Love”. When I first heard his first solo album (yes, Vinyl!) “Truth” with his group featuring the legendary vocalist Rod Stewart, bassist Ronnie Wood (future Faces and Rolling Stones guitarist) drummer Micky Waller and pianist Nicky Hopkins, I was floored by his phenomenal technique, unique guitar attack, amazing ideas and astonishing sound. Like my other guitar idols Hendrix, Clapton, Page and later Santana, Jeff Beck was one of a kind.

He was flamboyant, eccentric (he would delay touring to work on his sport cars and hot rods!) and had that rebellious “I do whatever the fuck I want to do” attitude which very much characterized great Rock n’ Roll to me. Everytime that I put on “Truth” especially “Beck’s Bolero” on my stereo when I was a teenager, I was taken away to that heavenly wall of sound that Beck created on his guitar.

Fortunately I finally caught up to seeing Jeff Beck playing live at The Warfield in the early 2000s! One of my long-time musical dreams was fulfilled that night. Beck with his long shoulder-length hair, wearing a vest over his shirtless chest in tight jeans, strutting around the stage blasting sonic fire from his Stratocaster. He had such mastery on that instrument and he made it look easy!

I know that this blog primarily focuses on the Latin music that I love and play on the radio, at the DJ gigs where I have the opportunity to play for the dancers, to MC for my heroes and champion the bands that I admire. But I always make space from time to time to just talk about music in general.

Now Jeff Beck has joined the ancestors and I felt compelled to write this short humble tribute. Thanks for the music and the memories, Jeff!