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Billy Joel Pays Tribute to Jeff Beck at Latest MSG Residency Gig

Author Erica Banas // Rock Music Reporter

Billy Joel honored Jeff Beck at his latest residency gig at New York’s Madison Square Garden on January 13.

Per Setlist.fm, Joel’s 29-song setlist featured two moments honoring the late guitar icon: A performance of “People Get Ready” and “Going Down.” Beck famously covered Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready” with Rod Stewart on his 1985 album Flash. “Going Down” was a Beck cover of The Alabama State Troupers song. It was released on the final Jeff Beck Group album, 1972’s Jeff Beck Group.

 

 

Beck died suddenly on January 10 at age 78 after contracting bacterial meningitis. Countless music icons have honored the late guitar god with tributes since his death. Below is just a small selection of tributes.

Jeff Beck: More Music Legends Pay Tribute to the Late Guitar God

  • Keith Richards

    “I am very sad to hear about Jeff’s passing. He was a brilliant guitar player. On the occasions we got to play together, we had a ball. ‘Let’s do this more often’, we said! Jeff was a great guy and will be missed by all. My heartfelt condolences to his family.”

  • Robert Plant

    “This is tragic news. Hard to take in. Jeff always appeared timeless, ever-evolving. He embraced project after project with limitless energy and enthusiasm. He surfaced in an extraordinary time. He took his place side by side with the virtuosos of the period, his mates. The scene was on fire, he introduced a cool template moving from Yardbird to Bolero to Truth, Beck Ola with Rod the perfect foil. The singer and guitarist syndrome. Plenty of sparks, great results. He cooked up magic through all the passing eras, always up for the next, unknown, unlikely collision, back in time to homage Cliff Gallup, forward to Johnny Depp. His gift was enormous. He was funny, challenging and eager. My feelings are with Sandra today.”

  • Paul McCartney

    “I was so saddened to hear that Jeff Beck had died. Jeff Beck was a lovely man with a wicked sense of humour who played some of the best guitar music ever to come out of Great Britain. He was a superb technician and could strip down his guitar and put it back together again in time for the show.

    His unique style of playing was something that no one could match, and I will always remember the great times we had together. He would come over to dinner at our place or he and his wife, Sandra, would host an evening at their house.

    Jeff had immaculate taste in most things and was an expert at rebuilding his collection of cars. His no nonsense attitude to the music business was always so refreshing and I will cherish forever the moments we spent together.

    Jeff Beck has left the building and it is a lonelier place without him.

    God bless Jeff and his family.”

  • Buddy Guy

    “The loss of our friend Jeff Beck is crushing. All our love and prayers go out to his family, his friends, and his fans around the world. Until we meet again, Jeff.”

  • Eric Clapton

    “Always and ever.”

  • Joe Perry

    “Jeff Beck was the Salvador Dali of guitar, to see him play was to hear the ultimate 6 string alchemist create magic in a world of its own. With his passing, the world is a poorer place. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to Sandra. We share your sorrow.”

  • Joe Satriani

    “Jeff Beck was a genius, a stunning original. He was an astounding guitar player with more ways to make you go, “WTF was that?” than anybody else. He was profoundly talented, and never stopped innovating on the instrument.

    He had an enormous impact on my guitar playing, my musicianship and my soul. When I was a beginner, I would spend hours trying to jam along with his solo albums. I found his approach to the instrument so inspiring. I was fascinated with his unusual arrangements and his aggressive guitar tones. He always stood out as a unique player: He was always, purely “Jeff Beck”.

    His solo albums were all groundbreaking, “ahead of their time”, and paved the way for me and so many other guitarists around the world. And they were fun to listen to, over and over again.

    I had the pleasure of saying hello to Jeff a few times, once when Chickenfoot went to see him play at the Fox Theater in Oakland, and a second time when we were all playing at the BosPop Festival in The Netherlands. We all had a fun jam backstage that day.

    Unfortunately, I didn’t ever get to really know him. I hope he knew how much I admired, revered and respected him. When I finish writing this I will go and listen to Jeff’s “Where Were You” a few times and thank him for giving us so much beautiful music.

    My deepest condolences to his family and close friends. R.I.P. Jeff”

    Jeff Beck was a genius, a stunning original. He was an astounding guitar player with more ways to make you go, “WTF was...

    Posted by Joe Satriani on Wednesday, January 11, 2023

  • Billy Gibbons/ZZ Top

    “I met Jeff Beck when I was 17 and I was glad to know a guy like that, a guy who was able to show me how this guitar playing thing should be approached and that’s still very much the case. Jeff was a wondrous soul and we already miss him tremendously.”

    “We mourn the loss of Jeff Beck, a brilliant musician and friend. Our tours with Jeff were delights from both personal and sonic perspectives. We’re thankful that we were privileged to share so many stages with him over the years and will truly miss his artistry and personality.”

  • Paul Rodgers

    “Jeff was in touch with something other worldly when he played and was in a league of his own. On the’Truth’ album Jeff and Rod Stewart set the bar for the next 50 years of rock & Roll. Beyond sad to loose him from this world but he left us the gift of his music forever. RIP my friend. Deep condolences to his Sandra, family, friends and fans. – Paul”

  • Chrissie Hynde

    “The guitar heroes guitar hero has gone off to join all the best players. A true and loyal friend. I’ll love you always Jeff.”

  • Tom Morello

    “Rest in peace @jeffbeckofficial. Jeff was a tremendous talent and hugely influential to me and millions of guitar players. The expression and emotion he wrenched from the guitar with his signature tone from way back in the Yardbirds to his recent work with Ozzy and everything in between was so beautiful and awe inspiring. I jammed along with Blow By Blow and Wired for endless hours, losing myself in his brilliance. His work on the Roger Waters album Amused To Death is also just transcendent. Just now I’m listening to him and Rod Stewart’s spiritual version of “People Get Ready” and giving thanks to have lived in the time of this absolute maestro.”

  • Ace Frehley

    “OMG!!!…Jeff Beck passed away yesterday! One of the greatest and most influential blues rock guitarists in history! My prayers go out to his family & friends…I was lucky enough to see him perform and meet him (my idol) about 9-years ago at the Iridium Club in NYC! Another Rock Icon moving up to rock n roll Heaven! May he R.I.P.! I feel such a loss right now, I can’t verbalize my emotions!”

    OMG!!!…Jeff Beck passed away yesterday! One of the greatest and most influential blues rock guitarists in history! My...

    Posted by Ace Frehley on Wednesday, January 11, 2023

  • Marty Friedman

    “With Jeff Beck`s passing, a huge and tangible void has been left in the world of music. Thankfully through his profound influence on an astronomical number of musicians, his sweet notes will continue to ring loudly, for generations to come.

    I became aware of Jeff Beck a bit late in the game, through my dear friend Jason Becker who was constantly extolling Jeff`s many virtues to me. Jeff Beck is a peerless role model, especially in the sense that his playing identifies him immediately–and it is always played with so much finesse, and the depth of a master.
    I knew how much Jason admired Jeff, so I made the rather foolish decision to play a Jeff Beck song for Jason at one of the first Jason Becker tribute concerts in Chicago. Doing that sounds nice on paper, but Jeff`s touch is inimitable, you would have to literally live his life and go through his experiences to play like that. And then you would need a masters degree in unique techniques that he invented and polished over the years.
    Still, I love Jason, so after playing a bunch of my own songs, I threw caution to the wind and ended my set with Jeff Beck`s “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers”.
    The song itself is a relatively simple and familiar melody that many guys have played pretty well, as it is kind of a “guitar standard”. The thing is, the simpler a melody is, when it is in the hands of a master like Jeff Beck, the more exponentially difficult it becomes for others to interpret on the same instrument, because the feelings, inflections and emotions in the original version are Jeff`s and Jeff`s alone.
    The bill was full of super guitar players, including Eddie Van Halen who was to follow my set, and many others.
    Imagine the tremendous stupidity (or balls…but probably leaning toward stupidity) I must have had to play a Jeff Beck song in front of Eddie Van Halen…and just before his set no less.
    So I play the song, and survived it, maybe it was passable at best. Most likely it just plain sucked. I am pretty sure it was the latter.
    My point here is to point out just what an extremely unique and special identity Jeff Beck is, and how playing his music further inspired me to try to carve out my own musical road.
    I’m not the only one Jeff inspired in this way. There might be something in the fact that when many of us tried to play some of Jeff`s material, we just gave up, and sat there in wonder thinking, “Who am I kidding…I`ll never be able to play like that.”I’m sure we have Jeff to thank for a lot of us taking inventory of what we could do on our own.”

    With Jeff Beck`s passing, a huge and tangible void has been left in the world of music. Thankfully through his profound...

    Posted by Marty Friedman on Wednesday, January 11, 2023

  • Alice Cooper

    “When I was 16 years old, The Spiders, who became the original Alice Cooper band, opened for the Yardbirds. That night I experienced the greatest guitar player I had ever heard. Half a century later Jeff Beck is still the greatest guitarist, PERIOD….The greatest of all time. He was a friend, and there will NEVER be another Jeff Beck. Ever.”

  • Susanna Hoffs

    “Peace and love, Jeff Beck.”

  • Brian Setzer

    “From early Stray Cats shows to the very last one, Jeff was there. We shared a common interest in hot rods and rockabilly. He helped me through days of uncertainty and our mutual bouts of tinnitus. He was one of the greatest guitarists to ever walk the stage. Gonna really miss him.”

  • Motorhead

    “Jeff Beck was, in every sense of the word, a legend, and Motörhead loved him. Our deepest condolences to Jeff’s family and friends…and we’re sure that Lemmy’s already asked if he wants to jam! Rest In Power.”

  • Hollywood Vampires

    “We are saddened to hear of the passing of our dear friend and guitar legend Jeff Beck. Jeff’s incredible musicianship and passion for guitar has been an inspiration to us all. He was a true innovator and his legacy will live on through his music. Rest in peace, Jeff.”

  • Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

    “In Memoriam: Two-time Inductee Jeff Beck’s dynamic, feedback-drenched guitar shaped the sound of rock and roll in the 1960s and beyond. From the Yardbirds to the Jeff Beck Group to fame as a solo artist, his dazzling fretboard technique, mastery of atmospheric effects,and volcanic, expressive musical phrasing were unmatched. Beck’s unique mix of improvisation, innovation, and continued musical exploration throughout his career made him one of the most beloved and influential musicians of all time.”

Erica Banas is a news blogger who's been covering the rock/classic rock world since 2014. The coolest event she's ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? C'mon now!) She's also well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights

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Author Erica Banas // Rock Music Reporter
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