Death of Jeff Beck: what illness did the rock star die of?

Jeff Beck, British guitarist known as one of the legends of rock, died on January 10, 2023 at the age of 78. The artist’s state of health deteriorated in a few weeks due to a serious illness.

A rock legend has passed away. Jeff Beck, outstanding British guitarist, died on the evening of January 10 according to a press release published by his family on the night of Wednesday to Thursday. The musician’s relatives say they share the news with “deep sadness” and ask to respect their mourning. In a short message posted on Twitter, they also specify the cause of death of Jeff Beck, member of the Yardbirds a rock band of the 1960s, the man died “peacefully”, “after suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis”.

The artist who was still on tour in 2022 displayed an iron health but his condition deteriorated suddenly “over the last two weeks”, according to a source close to Jeff Beck’s friends at the magazine People. Impossible to know how the guitarist was infected but the disease that is bacterial meningitis is often serious although curable. The company specializing in the diagnosis and origins of diseases Biomérieux reports that in one out of five cases, even after recovery, patients retain sequelae or even disabilities after bacterial meningitis.

Less famous than other Rock’n Roll stars, Jeff Beck still had his place in the pantheon of artists. His talent, some prefer to say his “genius”, was recognized by all the great musicians. As proof, legendary Rolling Stones member Mick Jagger paid tribute to Jeff Beck, “a wonderful man and one of the greatest guitarists in the world”, by posting a video on Twitter. The two men had already shared the stage and in particular a trio with Barack Obama in 2017.

Rain of tributes to guitarist Jeff Beck

Jeff Beck seemed to have golden fingers and had proven his talent in different registers, from rock to jazz and blues. A talent hailed by two inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, one with his group The Yardbirds in 1992 and the other for his solo career in 2009. In the night and again this Thursday morning, several musicians pay tribute to their deceased colleague . “Nobody played guitar like Jeff,” wrote Gene Simmons, a member of hard rock band Kiss, while Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi reminisces “an incredible icon, a genius guitarist. There will never be another Jeff Beck”. Musician Paul Young also had a word for Jeff Beck and said he was “devastated by the legendary guitarist’s sudden and tragic death”.

A tour and an album with Johnny Depp in 2022

At 78 years old, Jeff Beck was still in good shape and animated by the music, enough to carry out a North American tour and make a stopover in Paris for a date at the Olympia in July 2022. The guitarist was not alone during his tour since he was accompanied by his long-time friend, actor and musician Johnny Depp. The duo performed songs from their album on stage. 18. Johnny Depp was alongside Jeff Beck during the artist’s last moments, according to a source close to the actor at the magazine People, which indicates that Johnny Depp “is totally devastated. He was at Jeff’s bedside with a few other rock stars.” The two men “had a very strong friendship, they were extremely close, and he grew even closer over the past summer when they were on tour together. The illness came very quickly and everything deteriorated quickly over the over the past two weeks.”

Jeff Beck, sound genius with his guitar

In more than 50 years of career, Jeff Beck has had the time to mark the history of Rock’n Roll and more broadly that of music with his electric guitars which (almost) never left him. The musician also had a preference for instruments from the Fender and Gibson brands, according to the indiscretions of Euronews. With his guitars, Jeff Beck shone on rock and hard rock riffs but also distinguished himself by his mastery of jazz or blues melodies. The British artist has never stopped innovating and looking for new sounds to integrate into his songs throughout his career and he was one of the first to try out distortion effects with his guitar and his amp.

Who was Jeff Beck?

If he was less known than other rock legends, Jeff Beck was placed on the same level as Jimmy Page or Eric Clapton, two men he met in the English group The Yarbdirds. The musician was also close to the talent of Jimi Hendrix in the ranking of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time established by the magazine. RollingStone with an honorable 5th place. The media specialist in music also granted another prestigious title to Jeff Beck by presenting him as “one of the most influential solo guitarists in rock”.

Geoffrey Arnold Beck had a flourishing career. Born in June 1944 in Wallington, Greater London, he joined The Yardbirds at just 21 years old in 1965. Although he only stayed 18 months with the musical formation, Jeff Beck took part in the recording of the group’s greatest hits. In 1967, the guitarist began a new chapter with the creation of The Jeff Beck Group with the famous Rob Stewart on vocals and Ron Wood on bass. But it was during his solo career, which began in the 1970s, that Jeff Beck signed his greatest hits, including the famous ballad Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers or its resumption of I Put a Spell on You.