A who’s who of guitar rock royalty gathered at London’s Royal Albert Hall on Monday night for the first of two concerts honoring the late Jeff Beck, who died in January at age 78.
As Best Classic Bands reports, the show began with Beck’s guitar spotlighted onstage, literally on a pedestal. It continued with performances of songs from throughout Beck’s career, delivered by famous pals like Eric Clapton, Ronnie Wood, Rod Stewart, ZZ Top‘s Billy Gibbons and Johnny Depp. The actor toured with Beck during his final tour in 2022 and was reportedly at his bedside when he passed away.
The show began with performances of songs by Beck’s former group The Yardbirds, with former Yardbird Clapton singing lead on “Shapes of Things” and “Heart Full of Soul.”
Later, Clapton, Derek Trucks and Wood performed Beck’s 1966 classic “Beck’s Bolero,” and Gibbons performed “Rough Boy,” the ZZ Top hit that the band and Beck would often collaborate on while touring together.
Other featured songs included 1977’s “Freeway Jam” and “You Know You Know,” a 1971 song by jazz-fusion group Mahavishnu Orchestra that Beck often performed with. Mahavishnu Orchestra’s John McLaughlin, 81, was on hand to play it.
Rod sang his 1984 hit “Infatuation,” which originally featured Beck on guitar, with Clapton and Wood, as well as the hit 1985 Rod and Beck version of “People Get Ready,” for which Rod, Clapton and Wood were joined by Gary Clark Jr.
According to Guitar World, the night ended with an all-star, eight-minute version of the Freddie King blues classic “Goin’ Down,” which Beck recorded in 1972. It was sung by Clapton and performed by nearly 20 guitar players.
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