 Born on June 24, 1944 in Wallington, England, guitar legend Jeff Beck has been a staple of rock music for the past 30 years, performing with a number of bands in various genres as well as maintaining his own successful solo career. Along with Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, Beck is considered one of the top guitarists of his generation, renown for his technical ability and versatility. Though he has been less active in recent years, and never received the same sort of media attention as Clapton and Hendrix, legions of worldwide fans admire his unique guitar skills. In 1975 Beck made a comeback with the acclaimed Blow By Blow, an instrumental jazz fusion album produced by Beatles producer George Martin. For his 1976 follow-up, Wired, Beck worked with ex-Mahavishnu Orchestra keyboardist Jan Hammer, repeating the success of Blow By Blow. Wired was supported by a tour with the Jan Hammer Group, commemorated on a 1977 live album. Beck and Hammer repeated their collaboration on 1980's There And Back. After a five-year hiatus, Beck returned in 1985 with the polished pop-rock album Flash, recorded with session musicians. Flash became his most commercially successful album in years, spawning the hit single "People Get Ready" (sung by Rod Stewart) and the Grammy-winning instrumental "Escape." After taking some time off and appearing on Mick Jagger's 1987 album Primitive Cool, Beck returned with his next project, Guitar Shop, in 1989. The all-instrumental album displayed Beck's mature guitar prowess, winning a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental and receiving widespread critical acclaim. After touring behind the album with fellow guitar great Stevie Ray Vaughan, Beck returned to private life, emerging briefly in 1992 to perform on the Roger Waters solo album, Amused to Death, and record a soundtrack for the movie Frankie's House. In 1993 Beck recorded another long-awaited solo work, a tribute to Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps called Crazy Legs. In March 1999, Beck released his first album of original material in more than a decade. Who Else!, a collection of 11 new guitar compositions in styles ranging from techno to blues to traditional Irish, was arranged and produced by Beck and Tony Hymas. Beck's latest album, You Had It Coming, came out in 2001.
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