From: Wendy Waldman
Subject: Re: Social Media Is the New Rock and Roll
Date: July 21, 2026 at 10:46:15?PM MDT

I love TT. Been following it a long time. First post I did on it was years ago of my cat’s first new year, with a re-write of Dylan’s “If Dogs Run Free” I think it’s called “If cats run free”. “Luz’s First New Year” it was stupid and way fun to do.

And  I like Instagram.

And Facebook.

All of it.

I’m from the generation where there were gatekeepers who often didn’t get what you were doing anyway or you didn’t have the right whatever it was that made them push the button without which you floundered or were relegated to the corner of the room they thought was where you belonged.

Only a small percentage of label artists got the big push  back then but unlike today, there was no recourse, no alternative road.

Now it’s all alternative road. And of course at the labels, nothing’s changed really, only a small percentage of label artists get the push. But at least the majority of the overlooked label acts can engage the audience on their own.= now if they choose.

I do a lot more work these days and there’s no record company anymore (except the one that still owns my old masters) but I love the fact that I can talk with the audience myself. Not easy but amazing when it works.

Everything I know about the internet I was taught by my co- manager and mentor 20 years younger than me, Mark Nubar. He started teaching me at the end of the last century 🙂

I learn every single day.

There are other as you call them “oldsters” who also get this. My partners in the Refugees are big users of the internet. We are sometimes challenged but we figure it out. And we LOVE being able to hear music from anywhere and any time. And people don’t care anymore if it’s an old track or a new track or even who you are. If they like the tune, that’s good enough.

Did I say it’s a lot of work? Yeah. No problem. Price of admission.

Parenthetically I also love the vast library of knowledge that is now available to me. It’s the next best thing to the library at Alexandria, alas, not available to us.

Is it a double edge sword? Duh. In our hands, it’s a fantastic tool that has totally changed the game for us. Having more fun than ever.

XW
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From: Dave Schools
Subject: Re: Rick Beato Responds
Date: July 17, 2026 at 1:54:25?PM PDT

100%

In fact Rick was the guy who broke me into realizing how positive and pervasive platforms like YouTube can be. What was once “non-traditional” has now become the way.

It was the breakdown of Boston’s More Than A Feeling (episode 71 of  “What Makes Music Great”) that did it for me. I’ve been hooked ever since.

I was bowled over by a streaming music feature that went deep about all of the facets of the production of such an overwhelmingly popular and groundbreaking song. I thought to myself, “THIS is interesting and informative!” I know I wasn’t alone.

Rick delivers the goods in a way that satisfies the listeners and the creators.

And Rick says what so many of us are thinking and struggle with in the video link you provided…and he cites the eyeball numbers to back up what he says. People have a thirst for this content…especially on a platform where it can reside forever.

Thank you for sharing.

Cheers,
das
____________________________________________

From: Reg
Subject: Re: Ideas
Date: July 17, 2026 at 9:46:35?AM PDT

Can’t tell you how much I love this line:

“I learned all this from reading. Which sparks ideas. Try it.”

In my opinion, this is what’s wrong with our country. Everyone needs to pick up a book, magazine, newspaper, indie-zine… My 9-year-old devours books like they are candy. My 5-year-old is learning to read and already loves books. Trying to get my 26 and 23-year-old sons to read before they went to college was like trying to get them to take medicine. But something happened in college and they both read books all the time now.

What was the old ad line, “Reading Is Fundamental”? The truth in 3 words. When’s the last time you heard someone talking about RIF? I learned that thanks to PBS 50 years ago and it’s still stuck in my head.

If you don’t read, you don’t learn. And if you don’t learn, you stagnate.

Thanks for stating this. Anyone who argues with you about it is ignorant.

Peace,
Reg

Scott Register
Think Indie Distribution/Coalition Of Independent Music Stores
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From: Seth Berg
Subject: Re: The Atlantic Lizzo Story
Date: July 6, 2026 at 7:34:07?PM PDT

Bob,

Lizzo writes by committee, and when you have a decline in success, people leave.  Dylan, Taylor, The Beatles, Springsteen…when times were rough they wrote and pulled themselves out of a rut.  Jesus, didn’t Bruce have a decade of nothing until he did?  But it was all his and authentic. Lizzo can’t pull herself out when she has no ability to do it by herself. The market is thining itself as it should, and maybe the singer songwriter will, once again, rise. 

SB 
____________________________________________

From: Patrick Smith
Subject: RIP Bonnie Tyler
Date: July 9, 2026 at 6:18:03?AM PDT

Hi Bob,
This is incredibly sad news.

I was very fortunate to meet and work with Bonnie Tyler during my time as a Senior Music Producer at the BBC in the UK. We were filming promotional content for the Six Nations Rugby Championship, featuring an artist from each competing nation – Bonnie representing Wales, Andrea Bocelli representing Italy, and others.

I received a call from Bonnie’s husband and manager, Bob, asking if we could film at their home in The Mumbles, Swansea, as Sunday was the only day she was available.

My response? “Absolutely!” I was based in Cardiff at the time, just over an hour away, as were most of the crew.

When we arrived, it felt less like turning up to film a global music icon and more like visiting your favourite aunt or grandmother. Bonnie and Bob couldn’t have been more welcoming. There was an endless supply of tea, sandwiches, cakes and laughter, and they made every member of the crew feel completely at home.

Bonnie was one of the most down-to-earth, genuine and generous people I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. Of course, her extraordinary voice and talent spoke for themselves, but it was her warmth and kindness that left the biggest impression on me.

Rest in peace, Bonnie. Thank you for the music, the memories, and for one unforgettable Sunday afternoon in Swansea. I’ll treasure it forever.

Nos da! ??

Kindest regards,

PATRICK SMITH
____________________________________________

From: Scott Richman
Subject: Re: Re-The Jeff Beck Book
Date: July 20, 2026 at 9:07:04?PM MDT

Bob,
Your piece on Jeff Beck brought back a memory.

I toured with Lou Reed throughout the 2000s. At the 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame concerts at Madison Square Garden in 2009 (where I was working), Jeff Beck took the stage. Lou heard him from the dressing room, walked out, and watched the entire set. It’s the only time I ever saw him leave before or after one of his own performances to watch another artist.

That told me everything about the respect Lou had for Jeff’s musicianship.

Scott
____________________________________________

From: Ralph Covert
Subject: Re: Re-The Jeff Beck Book
Date: July 20, 2026 at 10:37:20?PM MDT

My favorite Jeff Beck story was one David Gilmour told… Beck was apparently staying over at his house, and in the morning Gilmour and his wife initially couldn’t find him. After searching the house they found him sitting in their enclosed back porch with an unplugged electric guitar, surrounded by their cats. As the cats meowed at him, he’d imitate the sound back at them on his guitar, and they’d respond in turn. A humble genius who even mesmerized the family pets with his instrument. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Cheers,
Ralph
____________________________________________

From: Bill Gerber
Subject: Re: Re-The Jeff Beck Book
Date: July 20, 2026 at 9:49:10?PM MDT

I only had a brief time with Jeff after Stanley Clarke invited me as his Nemporer Records exec to go on the road with he and Jeff in Europe for a tour in 1979 which was, as a musician, one of the most extraordinary experiences I’ve ever had. To watch those guys with Simon Phillips and Tony Hymas every night as we traveled throughout Europe, was one of the master classes in musicianship that will never be repeated. As we all know, Stanley, one of the most important bassists and composers in history is a great dude and a great hang and Jeff who I shared being a vegetarian with could not have been kinder, humbler or more down to earth. Not entitled in any way. Also was very shy. I tried to help him get over that. At the time he was managed by Marshall Chapman  who was no fun at all but Jeff liked that he had an office lined with leather bound books. He bought the whole English gentleman thing. I was lucky to reunite with Jeff at the Grammy Museum performance he did a few years ago courtesy of Harvey Goldsmith and we had a great night at Soho House in West Hollywood laughing about our time on the road. They’ll never be another one like him.
____________________________________________

From: frankie sullivan
Subject: Re: Blow by Blow: The Jeff Beck Story
Date: July 21, 2026 at 8:42:08?AM MDT

Hey Bob,

That’s the thing about Jeff Beck. No one really knew him unless he allowed it. And unlike some of his friends he would poke fun at, Jeff Beck never sold out. He could have been much bigger—as in huge. But he was the consummate player, always looking for what no one else was doing. And boy, did he find it. The guitar, when he touched it, could sound like a train coming down the line or sing like a violin played by the very best.

I saw him play several times, beginning when I was 17 years old. He blew my mind. I never missed a Jeff Beck show after that point. I saw him at the Park West in Chicago, where my friend Jerry Michelson (what a great guy) put me at a table right up front, just off the stage. He was absolutely amazing. The gal I took with me said out loud, “How does he do that?” I got a tap on the shoulder from the guy behind me who said, “Tell her he’s Jeff Beck.” That sums it all up.

I traveled to see Beck play.  He often joked, in a friendly way, about people posting 30-second videos of themselves playing a Stratocaster. Can you imagine if Beck ever did it? But he would never do that stuff. Jeff Beck didn’t do the whole “social anything.” And I’ve heard the bullsh*t stories about him playing nonstop, when the fact is he did not practice much. Talk about hands born from the work of God. He was a builder of his beloved cars who also happened to be the greatest guitar player of all time.

I saw him when he toured with Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Alex Hodges got me within bone-chilling distance. It was the only time I watched him take off his Telecaster and bow down to another player. And it wasn’t Eric—it was Stevie Ray Vaughan. Yes, I was at the show where we lost Stevie afterward. What an amazing show. That was a real package show: three of the best guitar players to ever pick up the instrument.  Jeff Beck, even amongst those killer players, stood it like a sore thumb.  

The first time I shook his hand, I noticed the grease under his fingernails. If you caught him early enough on the road, you would notice how hard it was for him to play that way. Not just bending the strings, Bob, but working the volume knob, tone knob, five-way switch, and, oh boy, the way he used that bar to reach up and down for those magic notes.

Yes, there are those who think they can copy Jeff Beck, I don’t even give that crap a listen. This is a guy who walked into a music store, plugged into a newer-model Fender Deluxe, and there it was—boom. Everyone afterward who said, “Let me try that amp,” sounded like sh*t. Oh, the magic of those fingers.

I could go on forever. Perhaps you can reach out to the one guy who probably knew him best, Johnny Depp. He lived with Jeff and his wife for over a year. Can you even imagine? I cannot.

I hawked over his amp settings. All the knobs were in very odd positions that would not work for any other player.  

Give a listen to “Where Were You” from the Guitar Shop record, Bob. Close your eyes, and when it’s over, play it again. Then stop for a moment and say what I do: “How the f*ck does he do all of that—and all with such magical melodic sense and technical skill? Most of those guys overplay.”

Then say what I say: “Because he is Jeff Beck.”

Nice note, Bob. How’s your dick doing after that scope job?

frankie s

P.S. Ask Luke. He played in Jeff’s band for a few years.

P.P.S. And what about his right hand, Bob? F*ck the guitar pick. With a bad back, he got tired of reaching down to pick them up off the floor.

P.P.P.S. A friend from a Chicago vintage guitar shop went backstage to sell him a 1958 LP.  Beck replied, “I don’t pay for guitars.”

Hold on, wait a second, don’t shoot the messenger!

So I’m sitting in the waiting room at the UCLA Medical Center and I’m reading this new book from the Trouser Press:

“Wake Me, Shake Me: New York City, the 60s & the Pop-Rock Youthquake”:

https://www.trouserpressbooks.com/wake-me-shake-me

I wasn’t planning to read it. I was just skimming it, checking it out, and what hooked me was the names, the details, I decided right then and there I was going to read it, take it from the top.

You see last night out hiking I started the new podcast from “A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs.”

I know, I know, you’ve e-mailed me about this before, and I checked it out and wasn’t completely satisfied, but it came up in my feed and this edition was:

“Song 185: ‘Peaches En Regalia’ by Frank Zappa”

Song 185: “Peaches En Regalia” by Frank Zappa

I’ll check that out. Although never a commercial hit, “Peaches En Regalia,” the opening cut on “Hot Rats,” is a one listen smash, from the Zappa universe wherein he tests limits, fusing jazz and rock and…

The following cut on the album, “Willie the Pimp,” actually gained more attention back then, even occasional airplay, and it had a great riff and groove and a classic Captain Beefheart vocal, but it’s been almost completely forgotten to the sands of time.

Now what I expected was a deep dive into “Peaches En Regalia.” But that’s not what the narrator, Andrew Hickey, delivered. He started at “Freak Out.” And that was a surprise, going back to the beginning. And then very detailedly he chronicled that album and every one thereafter in order of release and my mind was blown, because I was learning things, despite knowing so much already.

Now maybe at this late date if you do comprehensive research all this information is available online, but it certainly was not back in Zappa’s heyday, the sixties and seventies.

Hickey goes on that famously, the album credits on Frank’s albums did not comport with who actually played on the record.

But even better, he went through every player involved and gave their backstory. People who I knew by name only.

I didn’t know that Don Preston made his bones in the Army band. And that he was born in 1932, and was ten years older than most of the Mothers.

And that he knew Jim Fielder, who was a bassist, who Frank brought on to play rhythm guitar (after Elliott Ingber was so high they had to turn off his amp at a show), who then quit to go back to the bass.

And the details on Bunk and Buzz Gardner!

And even an in-depth detour into Essra Mohawk, who used to e-mail me before she died, she was way into Buddhism.

So when I picked up “Wake Me, Shake Me” and saw this same deep dive into personalities, some completely unknown, if not like a rolling stone, that’s when I decided to commit.

And the author, Mitchell Cohen, starts out in the fifties. And makes very clear that the major labels wanted nothing to do with rock and roll, certainly not Columbia, they thought it was a fad, inane music for brain dead teens.

And then years later they finally woke up.

And this got me to thinking, how social media is the new rock and roll.

What we know, based on my inbox, is that you hate it. Even though you probably haven’t fully-checked it out. It’s a badge of honor for oldsters, I DON’T EVEN HAVE A TIKTOK ACCOUNT!

They say self-satisfiedly.

They’ve turned into their parents, even though they refuse to believe this, since they have a smartphone and wear sneakers and shorts to work.

Social media, let’s just say TikTok and its not as big or as good competitor, Instagram Reels, is the heartbeat of the younger generation.

And the cut-off age might be really low. Do you remember Kim Kardashian and the rest of the posing two-dimensional stars of the day complaining when Instagram went to video? This was antithetical to their game. They produced highly-stylized still photos to show that they were better than the rest, to get the public to glom on to their lives, so they could sell them stuff. You can’t do this in video, which oftentimes is spontaneous anyway. Still images were like the silent film era, whereas video is like talkies. And very few people translated from one to the other. Still.

So one of the main complaints about TikTok is it’s a time-waster. Won’t those kids get off the damn phone, talk to people in real life?

But this is their real life, and that’s what’s so intriguing. This is not big time motion pictures, nor is it manipulated reality television. What you get is a peek into someone’s life. Imagine going into the bedroom of the girl next door, and having her reveal seemingly every detail about her life. Who she has a crush on, bad and good dates, body issues… It’s incredibly riveting. No one is going to tell you this stuff in regular life, you might have to hang with them for years to get these inner thoughts, if ever!

Think of all the products that fail. You might have even tried to succeed and failed. It’s nearly impossible to gain the public’s attention, never mind keep it! That’s evidence of how desirable TikTok really is.

TikTok is the complete opposite of most film entertainment. Honesty and authenticity triumph, whereas film is inherently fake.

As for the people… To be a movie star in the U.S. you have to be beautiful, but not to be a success online. Furthermore, if beauty is your thing, you’ll find scores of individuals to look at. Some with interesting stories, some not.

And it’s an ongoing relationship. Post or die. People want to think they know you. This is the opposite of a band that puts out an album every few years. There’s not the same relationship.

As for traditional stars… They’ve been pulled down from the sky, they’ve been toppled. Because film is 2-D and TikTok is 3-D. Online we see who people really are. And just because you’re in a hit movie, that does not mean we look up to you. What do you have to say, what are your likes and desires? What are you angry about? This is anathema to conventional media-trained actors, and a lot of popular musicians too. They’ve been trained not to do this, to hold back.

But that does not work online.

TikTok is not a facsimile of real life, IT IS REAL LIFE!

Which movies and TV shows are not.

And what we’re all really interested in is people.

And if you play online, you’re exposed to haters. Conventional stars can’t handle this. Used to be the “little people” had no voice. But today they do. Commit a faux pas and it’s all over social media instantly.

If you were on TikTok, you were inundated with video of Trump being booed at the game on Sunday. There wasn’t anywhere near this level of detail featured by conventional news outlets. Maybe there was a short clip. But on TikTok you got multiple videos, multiple angles, you could go deep. And that’s what people want to do, go deep, assuming they’re interested. They’ll go completely down the rabbit hole, in a way that used to be impossible, just like I’m riveted by this Frank Zappa podcast. Is it for everybody? Absolutely not (even though it is absolutely free). But if you’re more than a usual Zappa fan, it’s manna from heaven.

And there’s information too. I’m hooked by this ski shop in Austria, Sport H&N, they post videos of fitting ski boots, grinding out the shells, foaming the liners, you can’t get this info anywhere else.

There’s no filter. No censor. No Verve/MGM Records saying that the band couldn’t be called just “The Mothers,” and that’s why “of Invention” was added. Never mind the endless censorship. Frank ended up recording stuff backwards on “We’re Only in It for the Money” that was forward and intelligible on the initially submitted version.

Now TikTok, online, the smartphone, is not only the heartbeat of America, but the entire world. In India in some locales there were smartphones even before radio! They skipped a few generations of media.

Now all this is unfathomable to oldsters, because they didn’t do it this way. You’ve got to do it their way. What you need to do is go out to a club, a bar, and try to meet someone to date.

When you cannot only use a dating app, but you can go deep down in your area of interest and connect with people online? It’s so much easier!

Now oldsters are not the only ones who abhor social media, it’s the mainstream news outlets too. Experienced reporters don’t want to compete with someone online sans CV who is breaking stories. No, you must jump through the hoops first, prove yourself.

But that’s not how it works online. Online you start and you hone your chops and refine your act and if it’s good, people will come to you, if it’s not…

That’s what we see in music, people complaining no one will listen to them. But they’re inured to the old ways. They’d like to close the door on competition, get signed by a label and have that company support and break them. But the truth is there’s an endless number of songs online. And the majors can’t even break an act. And when they try to play on TikTok, not living on the service, they just think it’s shortened MTV clips. But no.

First and foremost is the bond with your audience. Then the career grows. There are no middle people, which makes it confounding, but does not make it untrue.

I feel like I’m beating a dead horse. But all the oldsters still don’t get it, they don’t know the joke is on them.

If you want to sail into the sunset, ignore social media, that’s fine with me. But if you want to sit in judgment, tear it down and insist it must not be used… You’re just like parents telling their children not to listen to rock and roll.

Best to self-check.

I read with great interest your commentary on the recent Jeff Beck biography.  Although I have not read it, I share your desire to get a definitive story to unlock the enigma of Jeff Beck.  I say this after working as his publicist at Epic Records back in the ‘70s, and later serving as his product manager in the ‘80s.  It is sad to hear that this most recent book did not live up to your expectations.

A few months ago, Lennie Petze, who headed Epic A&R for a good portion of Jeff’s career, contacted me to let me know that Jeff’s wife had authorized Harry Shapiro to write Jeff’s story.  I spoke to Harry and shared a few small experiences I had with Jeff.  Harry is an award-winning English author who has written books on Clapton, Hendrix, Jack Bruce, and even Bob Dylan.  I am hopeful that Harry provides the best insights into a phenomenally talented, complicated, and interesting man. I’m told that this book will arrive sometime in 2027.

On a terribly sad side note, we lost Lennie just a month ago.  He was a gentle soul who brought us Boston and Cyndi Lauper, among other successes, and guided Stevie Ray Vaughan, Sade, and Charlie Daniels on their U.S. releases, again, among others.  He was a music man through and through, and we will miss him greatly.

Given my last name, there were a few occasions when Jeff was asked if we were related. I always laughed about it, as I believe he found it to be an annoying question!

All the best!

Dan Beck
_______________________________________

Did you ever think that maybe there is no way to know who Jeff really was. When I was young playing with Rod Stewart I heard plenty of stories but around me Jeff was sometimes funny sometimes aloof and yes with me he made a commitment then ghosted me but that was Jeff. 

The ONE  thing I do know about Jeff (and his Wife Sandra) is that they both loved Native American culture. That may surprise you but he would often talk about this. The only time that we ever really talked about music was when he told me a story while I was making my film Rumble. 

He said with a sort of British ornery smile that he and Jimmy Page used to jump around playing air guitar on his bed at his Mom’s house when they were teens….What a visual!!

Sure maybe he was a little weird or maybe just shy but what true genius isn’t a little nuts. 

Stevie Salas
_______________________________________

……..at a gig at nyc’s china club in the mid eighties, we finished our set and as I exited the stage I saw a figure making a beeline towards me across the dance floor…….to my surprise it was Jeff Beck, who took my hand and with a huge smile said, “you play your fukkin’ ass off, mate!”…….a treasured highlight for me!……..

Tommy Allen
_______________________________________

Who was Jeff Beck? To me, he was a mensch.

He was my first guitar hero. I discovered him when I was in elementary school, and he was in The Yardbirds.  I heard “Over Under Sideways Down”, and thought it was a violin playing that riff. Then he went solo, and the nacent FM  radio format played “Hi Ho Silver Lining” and “Beck’s Bolero”. I was in heaven, but couldn’t find the record at my local store. I finally got to see him when he was touring the “Blow By Blow” album, and the ARMS concert at MSG, performing with Clapton and Page.

So why was he a mensch? In the 1980s, I was working around the corner from WNEW-FM, and he was being interviewed. We ran over to the station, hoping to get his autograph. Not only did he sign my memo pad, but he spent a few minutes with us while we peppered him with questions, and he didn’t try to escape from us. I’ve never forgotten his kindness.

Stuart Taubel
_______________________________________

Jeff was one of the most gracious and wonderful “big rock stars” I’ve ever met.  Talking about anything other than music at dinner with him was
awesome.  He wanted to talk about cars and ask my wife about airbourne training in the military.  The week I spent working with him was
one of my favorite stints in the rock life.   Sammy is the same, just fun to be around!

Vadim Canby
_______________________________________

Jeff Beck is essentially the Miles Davis of electric guitar. A totally unique voice, and he was constantly creatively reinventing himself. He spearheaded so many incredible bands of unique players and he would highlight and uplift their talents and use their vigor as a spring board for his new paths of invention. Jeff, like Miles, also knew how to play a melody with his unique guitar sound that would haunt you and make you hear and feel every lyric without needing to actually sing them. The obsession with melody and groove kept him tethered to his audience and he was red pilling his rock fans into a deep dive in how to play jazz. Jeffs sound was all in his hands, no one can duplicate it. It all amounts to undeniable,  fearless, and pure universal soul that transcends genre. We miss Miles and Jeff now more than ever, for their pioneering spirits and total inability to bullsh*t. Long may they reign. 

Scott Sharrard
_______________________________________

Good Morning Bob,

I’m not the biggest Jeff Beck fan in the world, but I was extremely fortunate to see him at a theatre gig from row two about 15 years ago. His playing absolutely blew my mind and I became convinced that night that he truly is the best rock ‘n’ roll guitarist of all time. During half the show his hands barely seemed to be touching his guitar yet he was making amazing sounds come out of it. I have no idea how he did it.

As to why he was never as big as Clapton or Page, I would suggested it all comes down to songs. Most people will recognize a handful of Clapton songs and a few handfuls of Zeppelin songs. But I don’t know I’ve ever turned on a radio station and heard a Jeff Beck song playing. Doesn’t mean he still wasn’t the best though. And I look forward to reading this book. 

Tim W in Calgary
_______________________________________

Why did Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton become so big and Jeff (Beck) didn’t? 

In a word: songs.

Both Page and Clapton wrote songs, many of which are rock classics, while Beck was primarily an interpreter of other people’s songs. What’s more, the significant majority of his interpretations are instrumentals, which undermined their appeal with radio programmers, thereby limiting the unwashed masses’ exposure to them.

I’ll put Beck’s reading of Stevie Wonder’s “Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers” up there with any performance by any rock guitarist, but you were more likely to stumble upon the Holy Grail at your local K-Mart than hear the song on the radio. Still are.

Cheers,
Bob Knott
_______________________________________

Sorry that Jeff still remains a mystery.

I was fortunate to see him live one time and you’re right, he was absolutely stunning.

It was at Winterland in San Francisco in the early 70’s. During the show I slowly worked my way 
toward the stage and it seemed that his guitar was giving off warmth as I got closer.
He was that magical.

Thanks for the review 
Michael Wright
_______________________________________

Solo instrumentalists in rock simply don’t have the same bandwidth as artists fronting hit vocal bands.

Yes, Jeff had Rod Stewart in the Jeff Beck Group, but he ultimately became known primarily as the world’s most brilliant instrumental rock guitarist.

I was working at Odyssey Records on Las Vegas Boulevard when Blow by Blow came out, and it seemed like the entire universe couldn’t get enough of it. Perhaps that was just my experience, but it certainly felt every bit as massive as the biggest albums of the era.

Eric Clapton may not have been the greatest rock vocalist of all time, but he had enormous hit albums and constant FM and AM radio airplay with songs he sang. And, of course, Jimmy Page had Robert Plant.

But I don’t think there’s any question about who was the greatest guitarist of them all: Jeff Beck.

And for the people who are just discovering that now, I simply say…

Welcome to our world.

— Morley Bartnoff
_______________________________________

You are so right on Jeff’s status among legendary guitarists. He is No. 1. One of my favorites is his version of People Get Ready, with Rod Stewart. He makes it more emotional and explosive than ever the traditional blues/RB/gospel versions.

The well known tortured artist effect comes into play with him. Mysterious, visionary, difficult to work with, misunderstood and often self immolating. I saw him once with Rod. One of the best shows I’ve ever seen. I think that’s why Rod departed it was hard to ignore the audience’s focus on Jeff.

John Brodey
_______________________________________

Jeff played the Warfield several times. One performance Jennifer Batten accompanied him. One of the best, I’ve been there 30 years. 

Tom Hazlett
Warfield Theater 
_______________________________________

I agree with everything you are saying and the disappointment of reading artist biographies. I have read quite a few on major artists I have worked with or managed over the years and said to myself afterwards, “This is not the artist I worked with”,  There is no insight or depth and generally a puff piece for lack of a better word by the artist themselves.

I co-wrote a book on Jeff Buckley (written with Jim Irvin the former editor of Mojo magazine in the UK.) through Post Hill Press who I managed from the beginning to the end of his life.  

This was difficult because I never spoke about my artists when they were alive so why would I when they died tragically. I joined a group of managers in a club you don’t want to belong too. The tragic death of both my client and friend made it additionally tough to go through again as well.

I was convinced to do it when I was told “You have to put a stamp on his legacy as your last act as his manager” because everything written previously had so many things wrong with them because the authors had no connection with the subject matter. So after 20 years after his death I did so.

The book is critically acclaimed by both the fans and the media, and I hope this serves as a biography you get an honest opinion about the artist and the manager and their journey together including that dreadful day and what I went through afterwards.

Best regards,

Dave

Dave Lory
Co-Founder & President
Worldwide Entertainment Group LLC
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Heh Bob,

Couldn’t be more right. Most rock autos end up somewhere in the middle ground of confession/high jinx/scant detail. 

Like you I want detail, I want how stuff was recorded and who was there. I’ll take a garnish of high jinx, but high jinx is the same in every music auto. As are tragedies and addiction. 

I was very, very fortunate to see Jeff Beck when he was pushing those ‘dawn of rock and roll’ shows with Imelda May and a very cool group of musicians. 

Quite honestly it was the one of the greatest shows I have ever heard. I wasn’t a big fan before, I’d dug the guitar workshop LP and bits of his much lauded 70s output. But seeing him live, playing all those 50s/60s songs he dug so much. Man he was in his element and you could see how much he was still in awe of those tunes…I’ll tell you, he replicated the sound and the style of those songs too via his guitar playing and that aforementioned band.

Top it off/an aside, Page and Wood standing in the crowd next to me and my mate, diggin the whole thing too.

Sometimes, everything is in the music. And altho we want to know more, perhaps the music is all there is and that’s plenty for me

Gary James Clarke
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Jeff was the reason I started playing guitar and I was lucky enough to tell him that. Back in 1976 I saw him live for the first time at Maple Leaf Gardens on the Wired tour with Jan Hammer. After the show my friends and I chased his limo to his hotel and I got his autograph on my ticket stub. 

Several decades later, as the head of comms at Warner Canada worked some press with Jeff when he was in town on tour with Clapton. When the interviews I had scheduled ended, I told him that he was the reason I played guitar. 

“When I was a kid,” I told him, “they used to play Blow Up on TV all the time and I always waiting for that great scene of the Yardbirds playing in the club.”

“But all I do is smash my guitar in that film,” he said. 

“I know,” I replied. “But I was 10 so imagine how cool that was for an impressionable kid.” And then I added, “Of course, even though you’re the reason I play, I could never learn to play like you.”

He laughed and said “And why would you want to?”

After the show (at which he was spectacular, of course), I went to the after party to say my goodbyes. Despite a room full of admirers, he came right over to me to chat. When I asked him if he had a callus on his thumb, he just looked at it and wondered why I would ask.

“Because you use it rather than a pick.” He showed me that his thumb had no marks in it. I wished him well and let him find his way out of that crowded room

Sometimes our heroes are exactly as we want them to be. 

Steve Waxman

P.S. a few years later I was working with Jimmy Page and told him the story and he gave me the hilarious full story of shooting that scene for Blow Up. 

Lucky me.
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I was lucky enough to hang out with Jeff after his show at the Paramount on Long Island with Johnny Depp just a few months before he passed. They were playing two nights so had no rush to leave after the show and we hung around together -me, my wife, and Jeff with a few band members until 3 AM. Just  chatting. 

To me, was the greatest rock guitarist besides Jimi Hendrix, but until that night, like you,  I never knew a lot about him.

We spoke about his relationship with Rod, his early years, his obsession working on cars, living a clean life and being a vegetarian. 

He was one of the most humble, sweetest guys -never mind rock stars-  I’ve ever met. 
As we were chatting, he looked at my wife, turned  to me with a smile,  went down on one knee and proposed to my wife. He simply looked at her said “Will you marry me?”  
It was a surreal moment and of course we all laughed, but I think he was lonely and had regrets.

We left at 3 AM but would have stayed longer if we didn’t  have to catch an early flight the next morning.  He was that easy to speak with, and that open with us, total strangers until that night. We just hit it off and he felt comfortable. 

I will read the book, but those few hours with him summed up for me his 60-year career. I don’t think he had a mean bone in his body. The irony that he was so cautious about his health and passed from a virus  only a few months later is a tragic ending he didn’t deserve. But he does deserve to be remembered as one of the greatest guitarists ever. And I am very glad I got to know him. 

Thanks,
Ernie Canadeo
Chairman & Founder
The EGC Group
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So much has been written about this extraordinary artist and musician, truly the likes of which the world will never see again and about whom, often-used words such as “legendary” and “iconic” don’t stand the slightest chance of being anywhere near describing the dazzling, transcendent brilliance of our very own Jeff Beck. 

My professional encounter with Jeff began when briefly our paths crossed at my recording studio in East Sheen, London, after gladly accepting an invitation from the infamous ‘Artful Dodger’ Malcolm McClaren to produce all of Jeff’s guitar contributions on MM’s ‘Waltz Darling’ album in the late 1980s??Buzzing with excitement about the opportunity, but also nervous at Jeff’s somewhat tricky reputation for not suffering fools, I’d managed to track down one of his old guitar techs, the late Alan Rogan, who put me straight on how the guitar maestro liked to get his “sound” sorted before any recording session, which turned out to be key. 

“If he doesn’t like it, or the vibe’s not there, that’ll be it. He’ll be off sharpish and you won’t see him for dust!” Alan told me, not too encouragingly.

Therefore, I was over the moon when after turning up early to the session unaccompanied in one of his treasured vintage cars, Jeff seemed very communicative and more than happy with the set-up I’d put together (especially, at that time, with a guitar amp I’d sourced that he’d never used before; the very latest miniature Gallienn Krueger amp I’d paid a fortune to hire) which he absolutely loved from the get-go. So immediately, it was ‘off to the races’ and smiles all round.

However, you soon realise that the very concept of “producing” an artist like Jeff Beck was, in all honesty, a bit of a joke when every solo or phrase he delivered was so mind blowing in its effortless virtuosity, originality and brilliance that it was very easy to run out of superlatives very early on. It just sounded dumb after a while.

As for “giving direction” well forget about it!

All you could do was sit behind the mixing desk literally stunned with what you’d just heard/felt/experienced; ecstatic goofy grin all over your face, while, no question, the greatest rock n’roll guitar player on earth and for all time ever so quietly and humbly enquired; ??“Er, was that ok mate? Do you want another one?” 

Then, whatever he came up with a 2nd, 3rd or 4th take knocked the previous out the park even more; each performance containing not a note, mood or phrase that bore even the slightest resemblance to anything played earlier. Truly remarkable. A privilege to have been there and something I shall never, ever forget.

I hope those angels up in heaven know what’s in store for them! Forget RIP, Jeff will be rocking them in the aisles & blowing their minds for eternity. He certainly will mine! 

God bless and thank you Jeff Beck”

Thanks again Bob

All the best,

Phil Pickett
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I too saw the Arms concert…at the Cow Palace…all I can say it was Jeff Beck and the School of Rock… I knew of him… had some albums but after seeing him live? Kinda know how Townshend, McCartney, Clapton and everyone else felt after experiencing Jimi…

Tom Clark 

Amy Lee is a force of nature. She’s everything the competitors on “American Idol” and the rest of the TV competition shows want to be. But in addition to being able to sing, she can write and play too.

This trifecta used to be the bedrock of the music business. And it still is, flavors of the moment are just that, they come and go, but more than twenty years after the band’s breakthrough, Evanescence is still selling out the Forum.

Like in the old days.

This was not nostalgia, they played almost all of the new album. You remember before everybody became a greatest hits machine, when you had to go see this tour to hear the new repertoire, because only a few songs would survive the next time around, when the tracks from a new album would be injected.

This means the show is not set in amber. It’s alive.

Not that most people in L.A. knew it was happening.

If you were around back in the seventies, you know that either KMET or KLOS promoted the show. And they’d talk it up for weeks, broadcast from the location, pass out bumper stickers. The whole city could feel that a band was in town. Back when music superseded the hype and desire over Christopher Nolan and his latest project. Then again, rather than play it safe Nolan made a movie of “The Odyssey”? He earned the right not to listen to the suits, whereas everybody who has made it into the Spotify Top 50 is afraid of losing status, so they do what the label tells them, mostly work with outside writers and specific producers and remixers such that the original identity of the artist, assuming there ever was one, has been smoothed-over, essentially eradicated.

Now Evanescence were beneficiaries of the last gasp of the power of MTV. Before the world was completely blown apart. And don’t underestimate that, Coldplay has been milking it for over two decades.

But Coldplay never really leaves the news, they hoover up cash in stadiums around the world, Chris Martin was even in charge of yesterday’s halftime show, which every review says was blah. Pointless. No one criticized the performances themselves, they just questioned what it all meant.

And there you have today’s music in a nutshell. Spectacle, with the nutritional content of Pringles.

But the thing is about hard rock…the fans never forget. It’s the last bastion of loyalty.

And we can argue about the definition of Evanescence’s music, but except for when Amy sits alone at the piano, it’s heavy. It’s not for casual listeners, but true believers.

And they were out in force. Wearing the merch they bought that night. Even the guys.

And that’s another thing I noticed, the audience was split pretty evenly between men and women. This is so rare today. Once something leans heavier or more muso…the women tend to peel off. But not for Evanescence.

And the amazing thing is unlike the lords of heavy metal, Amy Lee is not a caricature of herself.

You know, with the tattoos and the piercings, you have to look DANGEROUS! When in truth you’re just the guy who grew up down the block. And the women in this world aren’t that much different either, both sexes look like they emanated from the gutter as opposed to the halls of your high school. Therefore, so much metal ends up living in its own private backwater. It’s heavy, sans melody. There’s noodling.

Yes, there’s anger, but do you need the external trappings for that?

Heavy music is about alienation. And I’d augur that people are more alienated than ever. But in a winner-take-all culture, where everybody is boasting how fantastic they are, no one admits any flaws, any chinks in the armor.

So who is truly going to understand you, who can you relate to?

That’s the role music used to provide. You listened to the lyrics and said THAT IS ME! The tunes got you through the night, they prevented you from committing suicide. Truly.

But how can you relate to someone who is corporate, all about brand extensions, hanging with a class of people you have no access to, and don’t really want to hang around with anyway. Oftentimes, the only thing they have is money. Whereas rock stars possessed so much more.

So Amy is singing from the heart. And boy is she singing. I was stunned she could keep it up for the entire show. She’s cutting loose. And her vocals are smooth, not rough, and they’re up front and center.

Unlike so many acts in the hard rock world, the numbers were not long and extended, she played twenty one songs in an hour and thirty five minutes. That’s a rarity.

So what we saw on stage was talent. It was raw and undeniable.

But that’s not the only element in evidence.

There were songs and playing and…

It was the same as it ever was. If you remember, back before the days of Mariah Carey and divafication.

Amy’s dressed in black, but her dress is not twelve steps beyond what the audience has access to.

But they can’t sing like her. They can’t evidence the same power.

They come to connect, to let loose.

And it doesn’t matter if you care…

Because so many do.