There was a rumour that the former Yardbirds member - who died aged 78 in January after a battle with bacterial meningitis - was invited to join the 'Gimme Shelter' group at one point, but the bassist and guitarist has insisted Jeff wouldn't have managed with their crazy "timetable". (Music-News)
"The money was tempting, I could have made a fortune, but my reputation would have been shot". “Some people might find it hard to believe that you’d walk away from the Stones gig, but Keith and I wouldn’t have gone through an album without punching each other out anyway.”
In 1974, after Mick Taylor walked away from The Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck went to Holland to jam with the band, not realising he was being lined up as Taylor's replacement.
With the Stones set to begin work on their follow-up to It's Only Rock 'n Roll, replacing Taylor was viewed as a matter of urgency, with Peter Frampton, Steve Marriott and Rory Gallagher among the guitarists reportedly considered for the role. Perhaps the most intriguing option explored by the band was the option of recruiting Jeff Beck, but speaking to International Musician & Recording World in autumn '75, the South London-born guitarist seems rather bemused that the idea was ever mooted.
“I got a call from Keith Richards and he acted like he had known me for twenty years,” Beck told writer Steve Rosen. “And he asked me to come over and play and I thought it just meant kill a weekend. So I thought, Well, it would be nice to spend a couple days in Rotterdam. I went over there, and I found out they wanted me to join. I couldn't believe that. I mean, the money was tempting, I could have made a fortune and never have to work again but I would have been half dead and my reputation would have been shot. I think things have worked out better this way... I couldn't be happier really.” (Loudersound)
Speaking to MOJO magazine, Ronnie said: "He wouldn't have kept up with the timetable! Eric Clapton once said to me, 'I could have joined that band.' I said, 'Yeah, but you gotta live with them, Eric!'"
He was always the one in the corner saying, “Listen to this! Have you heard this? Can you play this?” “No, Jeff, but I’ll have a go.” He was always creating something new, putting a new angle on something. Sometimes he’d go too far, but that was Jeff.
Well, at first it was me and Jeff playing guitar together (Ronnie Wood recals). We did a gig at the Marquee or the 100 Club, and I remember [Deep Purple’s] Jon Lord said, “That sounded so amazing with the two guitars!” Jeff was not particularly allowed to be Jeff with two guitarists, so he said, “Would you mind playing bass?” Perfect for me, I was up for the challenge.
Jeff also didn't like the spotlight and wasn't keen on the "simple blues and rock 'n' roll" the Stones are famous for, according to 75-year-old Ronnie. (Mojo)
He added: "Anything to do with the spotlight, he'd be like, 'You can take care of this,' and he would be gone. And Jeff was not satisfied with the simple blues and rock'n'roll approach - much as he loved Buddy Guy. When he hooked up with Jan Hammer, the experimental jazz stuff, that was where I got off, although we'd already gone our different ways."
The trailblazing musician first rose to prominence with rock band The Yardbirds and went on to have a successful solo career, fronting Beck, Bogert & Appice, and The Jeff Beck Group with Sir Rod and Wood.
Sharing a picture of the pair to Instagram, Sir Rod wrote: "Jeff Beck was on another planet.
"He took me and Ronnie Wood to the USA in the late 60s in his band the Jeff Beck Group and we haven't looked back since.
"He was one of the few guitarists that when playing live would actually listen to me sing and respond.
With the death of Jeff Beck we have lost a wonderful man and one of the greatest guitar players in the world. We will all miss him so much. pic.twitter.com/u8DYQrLNB7
— Mick Jagger (@MickJagger) January 11, 2023
Wood, also known as a key member of The Rolling Stones, said: “Now Jeff has gone, I feel like one of my band of brothers has left this world, and I’m going to dearly miss him,” he wrote.
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