Guitarist Jeff Beck dies, aged 78

Legendary guitarist Jeff Beck has died on Tuesday after contracting bacterical meningitis, his representatives said in a statement on Wednesday, local time.

Beck rose to fame as a member of The Yardbirds in the 1960’s alongside a young Jimmy Page, later of Led Zeppelin, before carving out a successful solo career that incorporated hard rock, jazz, funky blues and even opera.

The Yardbirds with Jeff Beck

Considered one of the most influential guitarists of his generation, he won eight Grammy awards, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice – once with The Yardbirds in 1992 and as a solo artist in 2009. His music career spanned an incredible 50 years.

Forming the Jeff Beck Group in 1967, the guitarist created an alliance of rock royalty including Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood and drum icon Cosy Powell as members

He would go on to perform with the likes of Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan

In 2015, Rolling stone placed him at no. 5 on a list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists” to ever live. Last year, the trailblazing rocker toured the UK with Johnny Depp, releasing the single Isolation with the actor.

Jeff Beck with Johnny Depp

Tributes have been pouring in for the loss of the man known as the guitar player’s guitar player.

Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones has taken to Twitter to pay tribute to Beck saying he felt like one of his “band of brothers” had left the world.

“I want to thank him for all our early days together in Jeff Beck Group, conquering America,” he said.

Rod Stewart said he and Wood had “not looked back” since touring with Beck in the late 1960s.

“He was one of the few guitarists that when playing live would actually listen to me sing and respond,” Stewart said.

Mick Jagger shared a video of the two performing on stage together in tribute to a “wonderful man and one of the greatest guitar players in the world”.

Ozzy Osbourne said he could not express how sad he was to hear of Beck’s passing.

“It was such an honor to have known Jeff & an incredible honor to have had him play on my most recent album,” he said on Twitter.

Kiss frontman Paul Stanley also took to Twitter to pay tribute to Beck as “one of the all time guitar masters”.

“He blazed a trail impossible to follow,” Stanley said. “Play on now and forever.”

“Jeff Beck is the best guitar player on the planet,″ Aerosmith lead guitarist Joe Perry told The New York Times in 2010. ″He is head, hands and feet above all the rest of us, with the kind of talent that appears only once every generation or two.”

Jeff is survived by his wife Sandra Cash

Article compiled from various sources including ABC, news.com with Tom Hussey and The Sun.
Main Image of Jeff Beck at the Louisiana Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans on April 29, 2011