Watch Billy Joel pay tribute to Jeff Beck at New York show

Billy Joel paid tribute to Jeff Beck during his show at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Friday (January 14), performing two covers – check them out below.

Jeff Beck passed away earlier this week (January 10) after suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis. He was 78.

Following his death, Billy Joel took to Twitter and said: “I just heard the sad news that the great virtuoso guitarist, Jeff Beck, has died. He was one of my heroes. I was fortunate to meet him recently and I’m very grateful now that I was able to tell him how much I admired his musical skill. This is the end of an era.”

Then, at his monthly show at Madison Square Garden, Joel performed two covers to honour Beck.

“He was a musician that I always loved. He was the best. I couldn’t let the night go by without doing something by Jeff,” said Joel before launching into a rendition of ‘People Get Ready’, which was originally recorded by Beck and Rod Steward for 1985’s ‘Flash’.

At the end of the show, after performing ‘Big Shot’ and ‘You May Be Right’, Joel played The Alabama State Troupers’ ‘Going Down’, which the Jeff Beck Group covered on their self-titled third album.

Ozzy Osbourne, Jimmy Page, Mick Jagger and more from across the rock’n’roll world have paid tribute to Beck, following his passing.

Jack White took to Instagram to call Beck a “guitar innovator extraordinaire” and shared footage of their 2002 collaboration at London’s Royal Festival Hall, where Beck joined The White Stripes on stage.

Meanwhile, Queen’s Brian May spoke about Beck’s ‘Where Were You’, calling it “possibly the most beautiful bit of guitar music ever recorded, probably alongside Jimi Hendrix‘s ‘Little Wing’.”

“So sensitive, so beautiful, so incredibly creative and unlike anything you’ve ever heard anywhere else. Yes, of course he had his influences too, but he brought an amazing voice to rock music which will never, ever be emulated, or equaled. Jeff was completely and utterly unique, and the kind of musician who’s impossible to define. And I was absolutely in awe of him,” he added.

In other news, Billy Joel is set to headline BST Hyde Park on July 7, in what will be his only European show of 2023. Tickets are available here.

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