The Jeff Beck Group | |
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 The band in 1968: (left to right)Rod Stewart,Ronnie Wood,Micky Waller andJeff Beck.Photo by: Don Hunstein 1968 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | London, England |
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| Years active |
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| Labels | |
| Spinoffs | |
| Spinoff of | The Yardbirds |
| Past members | |
The Jeff Beck Group was a Britishrock band formed in London in January 1967 by formerYardbirds guitaristJeff Beck. Their innovative approach to heavy-soundingblues,rhythm and blues and rock was a major influence onpopular music.
The first Jeff Beck Group formed in London in early 1967 and included guitarist Jeff Beck, vocalistRod Stewart, and rhythm guitaristRonnie Wood, with bass players and drummers changing regularly.[1][2] Early bass players wereJet Harris and Dave Ambrose, withClem Cattini andViv Prince trying out on drums. The lineup went through months of personnel changes, notably no fewer than four drummers, before settling onAynsley Dunbar and switching Wood to bass. This lineup spent most of 1967 playing the UK club circuit and appeared several times onBBC Radio. Beck signed a personal management contract with record producer and managerMickie Most, who had no interest in the group, only in Beck as a solo artist.
During 1967, the band released three singles in Europe and two in the United States, the first, "Hi Ho Silver Lining", being the most successful, reaching No. 14 on the UK singles chart; it included the instrumental "Beck's Bolero" as the B-side, which had been recorded several months earlier. The lineup for that session included guitaristJimmy Page on rhythm guitar,John Paul Jones on bass,Keith Moon on drums, andNicky Hopkins on piano.[3] Frustrated that the band were not playing a strict enough blues set for his taste, drummer Dunbar left and was replaced by Roy Cook for one show, before Stewart recommendedMicky Waller, a bandmate of his fromSteampacket. Waller went on to play with the band all through 1968 and early 1969, and was their longest-lasting drummer.[4]
Peter Grant, aroad manager at the time, had been to the U.S. withthe New Vaudeville Band, and was aware of the new concert andalbum-oriented rock FM radio format developing there. It was now possible to break out a band without using the "hit single" formula. Grant realised that Beck's band was ideal for this market and tried several times to buy Beck's contract from Most, who refused to let Beck go.
By early 1968 the band was considering disbanding, but Grant convinced them not to, and booked a short U.S. tour that began in early June.
Beck said "We were literally down to one change of clothing each". Stewart has revealed that he and Ronnie were reduced to stealing hard boiled eggs from the Automat on 57th street. Grant's first stop for them was at the Gorham Hotel in New York City, just south of Central Park. The Jeff Beck Group then did four phenomenal shows atFillmore East, where they played second on the bill to theGrateful Dead.The New York Times ran aRobert Shelton article, "Jeff Beck Group Cheered in Debut", with the secondary headline "British Pop Singers Delight Fillmore East Audience," proclaiming that Beck and his group had upstaged the Grateful Dead. The reviews fromThe Boston Tea Party were as good or better: "By the time he got to his last number ... (the fans) were in a state of pandemonium the likes of which hadn't been witnessed sincethe Beatles hit town." By the time they wrapped up the tour at San Francisco'sFillmore West, Peter Grant had secured them a new album contract withEpic Records.
The band quickly returned to England to record the albumTruth (under the name "Jeff Beck"), which reached No. 15 in the U.S. charts.[5] The tracks were recorded within two weeks, withoverdubs added the following month. Mickie Most was busy with other projects at the time and delegated most of the work toKen Scott, who basically recorded the band playing their live set in the studio. Beck's amplifier was apparently so loud,[citation needed] it was recorded from inside a closet. The extra lineup for these sessions included John Paul Jones onHammond organ, drummer Keith Moon and Nicky Hopkins on piano. The core group, billed as the "Jeff Beck Group", returned to the U.S. for a tour to promote the release ofTruth. Long-time Beck fanJimi Hendrix jammed with the band atSteve Paul’s Scene during this and their following tours.[4]
They embarked on their third tour in December 1968 with Hopkins who, although in poor health, decided he wanted to play live. He accepted Beck's invitation, even though he had been offered more money byLed Zeppelin. Later, he lamented that "We lost one of the greatest bands in Rock history."[citation needed] Even with his best intentions, the last leg of the tour was curtailed by illness. Beck then postponed a fourth, February 1969 U.S. tour. This was also because he felt they should not keep playing the same material with nothing new to add. New material was written, Waller was replaced by power drummerTony Newman and Wood was dismissed, only to be rehired almost immediately. The success ofTruth ignited new interest from Most and they recorded the albumBeck-Ola atDe Lane Lea Studios, engineered byMartin Birch. They released the single "Plynth" and laid down threeDonovan backing tracks as a favour to Most. Two of them were used for his single "Barabajagal (Love Is Hot)".[6]
In May 1969, the Jeff Beck Group embarked on their fourth U.S. tour, this time with Hopkins as a full-fledged member. The tour went smoothly,Beck-Ola was received extremely well, reaching No. 15 on theBillboard 200 album chart,[citation needed] but it was reported that there was now terrible in-fighting within the band.[7] To illustrate, Rod Stewart's plans to leave the band may have been under consideration by this time; in July 1969, he brought current bandmate Wood and former bandmate Waller into the studio to record his debut full-length solo album,An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down, forMercury Records.
The Jeff Beck Group finished the tour and returned to England, only to return to the States in July 1969 for their fifth and final time. It was a short tour, mostly along the East Coast, including Maryland, their final Fillmore East appearance, and theNewport Jazz Festival.[4] Beck broke up the band on the eve of theWoodstock Music Festival, at which they had been scheduled to perform, believing they were "not ready for that", later reminiscing that they would be "dated, frozen with that image, with the music not being quite right".[8] Ronnie Wood has stated he considered it a shame, but Rod Stewart said he was glad they did not attend.[9]
In April 1970, Beck reformed the Jeff Beck Group with vocalistAlex Ligertwood, keyboardistMax Middleton, drummerCozy Powell and bassistClive Chaman. In June 1971, Beck signed a record deal withCBS and was looking for a new singer. After hearingBobby Tench perform with his bandGass, "Upstairs" atRonnie Scott's club inSoho, London,[10] Beck employed him as vocalist and rhythm guitarist.
Tench was given only a few weeks to learn the new lyrics and add his vocals to the studio albumRough and Ready, before mixing resumed on the tracks previously recorded in London, by Beck and the other band members. The album was finished in July 1971 and they toured Finland, Holland, Switzerland and Germany.Rough and Ready was released in the UK on 25 October 1971,[11] with the U.S. release following during February 1972. A sixteen-day promotional tour in the U.S. followed[12] and the album eventually reached No. 46 in the album charts.[citation needed]
In January 1972, the band travelled to the U.S. to join Beck at TMI studios in Memphis, Tennessee. This is where they recorded the albumJeff Beck Group,[13] usingSteve Cropper as producer.[14]Jeff Beck Group was released in the UK on 9 June 1972. The promotional tour that followed included an appearance on theBBC Radio 1 "In Concert" series, which was recorded on 29 June 1972. During the session they played "Definitely Maybe", which featured Tench playing guitar,[15] a rare occasion while Tench played with Beck.[16]
On 24 July 1972, the Jeff Beck Group was officially disbanded and Beck's management put out this statement: "The fusion of musical styles of the various members has been successful, within the terms of individual musicians, but they didn't feel it had led to the creation of a new musical style with the strength they had originally sought."[16]
Beck appeared live using the Jeff Beck group name when later appearing with Bobby Tench, Max Middleton,Tim Bogert andCarmine Appice before morphing to the trioBeck, Bogert & Appice.[16][17]
| Studio albums | |
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| Live albums | |
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| Soundtracks | |
| Singles | |
| Other songs | |
| Tours | |
| Related articles | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
