Jeff Beck’s Death Mourned by Gene Simmons, Jimmy Page, Paul Stanley & More: ‘The Guitarists’ Guitarist!’
Jeff Beck died Tuesday (Jan. 10) at age 78, and his peers and fellow musicians have flocked to social media to remember him.
“No one played guitar like Jeff,” Gene Simmons tweeted before urging his followers to “Please get ahold of the first two Jeff Beck Group albums and behold greatness.”
Former teen idol Paul Young — known in the U.K. for ’80s hits like “Every Time You Go Away” and “Everything Must Change” — added his own tribute to Beck’s memory, tweeting, “Devastated to hear of the sudden and tragic death of legendary guitarist Jeff Beck. He was loved by everyone in the know; the guitarists guitarist! My condolences to his family & friends. RIP.”
Simmons’ KISS bandmate Paul Stanley also memorialized his friend, writing, “WOW. What awful news. Jeff Beck, one of the all time guitar masters has died. From the Yard Birds to The Jeff Beck Group on, he blazed a trail impossible to follow. Play on now and forever. @jeffbeckmusic.”
Other reactions poured into Twitter from the likes of Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath and Dave Davies of The Kinks to Genesis’ Steve Hackett and Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, the latter of whom described Beck as “the six-stringed Warrior” who had the ability to “channel music from the ethereal.”
Over the course of his life, the British musician won eight Grammys out of 17 total nominations and was inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He also released 11 solo albums as well as studio sets with the Jeff Beck Group, the Yardbirds and the short-lived Beck, Bogert & Appice. His last and most recent LP was 18, a collaborative full-length with Johnny Depp in July.
Read social media tributes to Beck’s memory below.
Glenn Rowley
Billboard
