Jeff Beck

Beck's work with the Yardbirds and the Jeff Beck Group's 1968 album Truth were seminal influences on heavy metal music, which emerged in full force in the early 1970s. It wasn't commercially successful, probably because it had a harder rap sound. Beck was one of the first electric guitarists in the 1960s to experiment with electronic distortion (most notably in the Yardbirds 1966 album, Roger The Engineer), redefining the sound and role of the electric guitar in rock music and anticipating what Jimi Hendrix shortly thereafter took further. Bell Biv Devoe released their third album B.B.D. in 2001. The song "Plan B" from this release earned him his fourth Grammy Award, again, for 'Best Rock Instrumental Performance'. All three members reunited with the other members of New Edition to record and release another album in 8 years, Home Again, and went on another tour in 1996. The 2003 release of Jeff showed that the new electro-guitar style he used for the two earlier albums would continue to dominate. Bell Biv Devoe recurred in 1993 with their second album Hootie Mack, but it was less successful than the first.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Jeff Beck recorded sporadically: Flash (1985, including performances with Rod Stewart and Jan Hammer), Guitar Shop (1989), Crazy Legs (1993), Who Else (1999), and You Had It Coming (2001). Jeff Beck won his third Grammy Award, this one for 'Best Rock Instrumental Performance' for the track "Dirty Mind" from You Had It Coming. In the meantime,since Bivins was interested in discovering and developing new talent, he organized the "East Coast Family",which besides Bell Biv Devoe, also consists of Another Bad Creation and Boyz II Men. It was followed up by a collaborative effort with keyboardist Jan Hammer on the 1976 Wired album, which also received critical acclaim. W.B.B.D.Bootcity:The Remixes cd followed in 1991 year. charts. The album's title track came in 3rd place on the r&b charts and other hit singles from it include B.B.D.(I Thought It Was Me), When Will I See You Smile Again, and Dope! . In 1975, Beck did a solo, all-instrumental jazz fusion album entitled Blow by Blow which received unexpectedly positive critical reviews and substantial sales, reaching number 4 in the U.S. Compared to fellow new jack swing ensemble New Edition, Bell Biv Devoe's material has funkier rhythms, sexier lyrics and vocals and a much harder, stronger, hip-hop meets r&b flavor to it.

This group, too, failed to attract much critical attention and soon split up, although they did have a minor hit with a version of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" (Beck later played lead guitar on Wonder's Talking Book album). The first album "Poison" was released in 1990 and sold over 3 million copies. After the failure of the second Jeff Beck Group (it disbanded in 1972), Beck formed the power trio Beck, Bogert, and Appice, with Carmine Appice on drums and Tim Bogert on bass. Their debut album was produced by a variety of producers, including Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Public Enemy's producers Hank and Keith Shocklee, Timmy Gatling(formerly of Guy) and several others. Wood later joined The Rolling Stones. It wasn't until after the tour in support of the release of New Edition's 1988 album, Heart Break, that the threesome decided to split from the two other members of the group and started their own project. Owing to friction within the band, Stewart and Wood left the group in 1969 to form The Faces. Bell Biv DeVoe is a spinoff group formed by the members of New Edition: Ricky Bell, Mike Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe.

The group produced two albums, Truth in 1968 and Cosa Nostra Beck-Ola the following year. The following year, Beck formed a new band, Jeff Beck Group, which featured him on lead guitar, Rod Stewart on vocals, Ron Wood on bass, Mick Waller on drums, and Nicky Hopkins on piano. Beck's tenure in the Yardbirds was a short one; he left after 18 months, partly for health reasons. In 1966, Jeff shared the dual-lead guitar role with Jimmy Page.

In 1965, Beck joined the Yardbirds (after Eric Clapton left the group for John Mayall's Bluesbreakers). It was during Jeff's tenure with the Yardbirds that they recorded most of their hits. Like many rock musicians in the early 1960s, he began his career working as a session guitarist. Beck was born Jeffrey Arnold Beck in Wallington. The electric guitarist Jeff Beck (born June 24, 1944) is a British rock musician who played in a number of influential bands in the 1960s.

Jeff (2003). You Had It Coming (2001). Who Else! (1999). Crazy Legs (1993).

Frankie's House (1992). Beckology (1991 anthology). Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop (1989). Flash (1985).

There And Back (1980). Jeff Beck With The Jan Hammer Group Live (1977). Wired (1976). Blow by Blow (1975).

Live In Japan (1974 - Japan only). Beck Bogert Appice (1973). Jeff Beck Group (1972). Rough And Ready (1971).

Beck-Ola (Cosa Nostra) (1969). Truth (1968).