British guitarist Jeff Beck has passed away at the age of 78. His family said in a statement that he passed away “after suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff Beck initially played in a band called “The Tridents” but became known to the general public in 1965 when he replaced Eric Clapton in “The Yardbirds.” Although he remained in The Yardbirds for only 20 months, the band recorded most of their Top 40 hits while he was in the band, including “Over Under Sideways Down<\/em>,” “Heart Full of Soul<\/em>” and “Shapes Of Things<\/em>.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n The guitar virtuoso went on to form “The Jeff Beck Group” and recorded “Truth<\/em>,” one of rock’s great debut albums. Despite a constantly changing lineup the group’s unique approach to blues and rock had a lasting impact on popular music. In 1975, Jeff went solo, recording his first album “Blow By Blow<\/em>” with “The Beatles” producer George Martin. The record went on to chart in the Top 10 in the US. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeff Beck has won eight Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice, once with “The Yardbirds” in 1992 and once as a solo artist in 2009. In 2015 Beck was ranked fifth in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” list. Many would consider him the greatest of all time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n