Where does Jeff Beck rank among guitarists all-time? 👇

Of course he was a legendary guitarist who so many of the greats looked up to....but my favorite thing I learned with all the tributes after his passing, was that every single person also said how sweet, kind, and lovely person he was as well.  Who could ask for more?

I saw Beck and SRV in '89.  I went wondering why SRV was opening for Beck. I left that show understanding why. Beck blew my mind.

He never chased the Brass Ring of Being a Rock(pop) star. Did what he wanted, not the trends.

Jeff Beck appeared in our At Class half way through our third year specialising in Art, at Sutton East Secondary School. We were 13 years old and Jeff was 14 years old. We only had less than two years to go. Most pupils at Secondary School left at 14 years of age. At that time hardly anyone but the most clever pupils were given the chance to do "O" levels. That was the way it was then. Jeff appeared and he was a year older than us. One day at Lunch time, he came in with a pile of bits of wood and wires and strode in to the back of the room and sat down in the teacher's store room on the floor, next to the boys he knew the best. They passed down to the rest of the class that Jeff was trying to make a guitar! He was desperate to get one, so he was doing his best to try and make one. He had been inspired by a film he saw in Sutton called "The Girl Can't Make It", starring Jayne Mansfield. I saw what he had brought in to class, and thought, he'll never manage to make a guitar with those thick, fat, cloth covered wires and what looked like bits of chopped up rulers and picture frames. I do not know how he did it, because in those days there was no such thing as a miniature radio, but a few blues notes were heard coming from the store room! I became excited about it, because I played the piano, and my mother was like his:- a trained concert pianist! She taught him piano and my mother taught me, and I knew and loved the Blues. Well,  eventually we left school. That last time we met up with him in Cheam to make pen and ink drawing of the forest and twigs. After that, the whole class must have looked out for him. The last time I saw him was at a bus stop near the ABC Cinema in Sutton as he and his friend shouted at each other. Gradually we heard more about what he was up to and followed his progress, as we wished him well, and hoped he would be successful. Now he has sadly passed, but through the years I would hear some of what he was up to and eventually, after "Hi Ho- Silver Lining", he would make more of the music of his own style, with an electric guitar that he could afford to buy! I loved his playing with Beck, Bogart, and Appice, and I kept following what he did, through the years. He always tried to make music that was different, and his mother's records of classical and modern classical music, and his Uncle's jazz music, which was played in his Uncle car had a big influence on him. Of course, so did his uncle's car!! Jeff kept on having crashes and hurting his skull badly. His vegetarianism and hard work kept him slim, and he would have gone on for a few more years if he had not got the devastating illness that took him from us. I have been catching up on YOUTUBE, & know that Jeff Beck achieved everything he wanted to achieve, and I am thankful for that. I am sure the whole of that class in 1958-9, followed Jeff's progress throughout his life and cheered at his wonderful unique success! There up on a cloud is Jeff Beck playing his guitar in the sunset!! Cynthia Allen-McLaglen

I was 64 when I learned of Jeff Beck's passing and I'm not ashamed to say I cried like a baby. He was one of a kind, for sure. "Best" is a subjective term, but he was definitely in the running.

I love watching Jeff Beck with Tal Wilkenfeld. They're having more fun than anybody there!

Jeff Beck is one of a kind!

absolutely the best ever

His music , and Hendrix's, were the most innovative to me... every bit as  wonderful as their guitar playing...  their compositions and their playing were magnificent.

Day On The Green 1976
Stevie Ray Vaughn tour 1989
Concord Pavillion alone and Santana tour 1995
Paramount Theater in Oakland
The"Who Else" tour 1999
Warfield Theater in S.F., 2003
"You Had It Coming" tour
The Fillmore, tribute for Les Paul
Masonic Auditorium 2011
Marin Civic Center 2013 three nights in a row (!)
Uptown Theater in Napa
Saratoga Winery with Z.Z.Top 2014

Bless you 🙏 Jeff Beck
a lifetime ✨️ of gratitude

Beck did things no one else did or could do.  In my book, Jeff is the #1 rock guitar player.  Monster innovator, so versatile in terms of styles, so unique in technique and his ability to create sounds was unmatched.  He could literally replicate song vocals on the guitar.  No one could make a guitar sing like Beck.  Truly amazing.  Saw him live three times, so glad I did.

Not only the best, he was a class act ,so sad about his passing as I am sure he still had so much to give.Nessum Dorma one of his greatest achievements, sure that he could have had a number one album based around classical music played by his impeccable style

Jeff #1

As mutual friend Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top said Jeff Beck is the only guitarist that frustrated Jimi Hendrix.

Jeff was the finest lyricist of all on guitar.

He was 'one' of 'one'. What Segovia accomplished with Classical guitar, Jeff accomplished with electric...

Brian May, David Gilmour, EVH, Billy Gibbons. Jeff truly is your favourite guitarists' favourite guitarist.

Always been one of my favorites.

Jeff was a friend, and I thought he was the best! He played every genre of music and no one else did and does.