Jeff Beck Names His Favorite Guitar Players

During a recent appearance on BBC Radio 2’s Sounds of the 70s with Johnnie Walker, Jeff Beck looked back at his long-term professional career and listed some of his early guitar influences.

After playing in several local bands and working as a session musician, Jeff Beck started to make a name for himself when he joined the Yardbirds in 1965 to replace Eric Clapton. Although he had a short-term tenure in the band, they recorded most of their hit songs during this period with the guitarist. Following his departure, Beck went his own way as a solo artist.

Maybe he didn’t achieve commercial success with any band, but the guitarist became one of the most respected guitarists of all time. With his innovative and revolutionary playing style, Jeff Beck has left a distinctive mark on hard rock, heavy metal, and jazz. He has never been tied to a single style and always looked for new sounds on the instrument. Like every other player, the guitarist also had influences that shaped his playing.

During a new conversation on BBC Radio 2, Jeff Beck was asked about the players he admires. The first name that came to Beck’s mind was Scotty Moore, who formed Elvis Presley’s backing band, The Blue Moon Boys, in 1954. He especially remembered Moore’s exceptional guitar solo in ‘Hound Dog.’ Then, Beck also recalled Danny Cedrone from Bill Haley & His Comets and his guitar solo in ‘Rock Around the Clock.’ Other guitar players that Jeff Beck named among his favorites were Gene Vincent and Buddy Holly. He thinks all of them had their own distinctive styles, which influenced his playing.

Jeff Beck’s favorite guitar players, in his own words:

“There was Scotty Moore from Elvis’ band, ‘Hound Dog.’ ‘Rock Around the Clock,’ there is an amazing solo in that, Bill Haley & His Comets. Gene Vincent, you know. They were all amazingly individual and had their own sound and style. Buddy Holly. It was rocket-propelled from 1954 to today. I never thought that guitar would sustain for so long, and everybody knows what a Stratocaster is, which is quite amazing.”

You can listen to the rest of the conversation below.