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Jeff Beck: Crazy Fingers
The definitive, unauthorized biography of Jeff Beck! This well-researched, enlightening book positions Jeff Beck's astonishing achievements – like the pioneering of feedback – within the musical climate of the times. Chronicling his incarnations before and with the Yardbirds, the Jeff Beck Group and beyond, the book describes in detail: Beck's favored Fender guitars; passion for hot rods; relationships with Rod Stewart, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Guy and other artists; love of rockabilly; recording collaborations ranging from Donovan to Tina Turner; landmark solo and instrumental work; and much more. Includes a wealth of personal, musical and historical detail, great photos, and a comprehensive discography.
272 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1999
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November 17, 2021
In the 50’s and 60’s in the UK, you could only hear black music on a European mainland radio station. UK timeline: Skiffle>Rockabilly>Rock ‘n’ Roll. Jeff would scout all strange places for music, “just to try to get an extra lick or an extra tonal something.” Jeff had to deal with feedback on stage and realized he could control it and loved the idea of a “noise coming from nowhere.” “And with echo all sorts of mysteries started to happen and it would sound really bizarre.” For this, Jeff used a Klempt Echolette and a Baby Binson to screw with sounds through delay. He let the delayed sound “build and build”. Jimmy Page first dug Jeff because he knew all the James Burton licks on Ricky Nelson records. They became jam mates. Richie Blackmore said Jeff was all about “the Telecaster and echoes”. When the Yardbirds hired Jeff, they told him he had to lose the echo. Jeff stayed with them for almost two years. Their first hit used a harpsichord. Their second hit Heart and Soul had sitar and table as well as introducing the foot-switchable guitar pedal (a Sola Sound Tone Bender) predating both Satisfaction (Stones) and Taxman (Beatles). During his 21 months with the Yardbirds, Beck’s Esquire was his favorite guitar. Page’s Stairway to Heaven solo was played on the 1959 Tele given to him by Beck. Jeff was never into drugs, for him playing was like a drug. When Hendrix died, Beck was saddened because there was no one left to “believe in”. He felt he was too withdrawn and shy to act so courageously and flamboyantly on stage as Hendrix did. Beck’s Bolero (which influenced Hendrix) came from Beck playing around on top of a Amaj7 to Em7 progression. For Beck, Hendrix was the only musician he allowed to sit in with his band for multiple nights because he was simply that good.
When Beck does his great first LP with Rod Stewart, they tackle Shape of things by the Yardbirds but Beck says, “Let’s slow it down and make it dirty and evil.” The record is filled with dramatically changed cover songs. Beck-Ola was done in two weeks with Beck’s ’54 Strat; the content of it was dreamt up on the spot. On Beck-Ola, he also used a Colorsound Tonebender and Booster, an Echoplex, and his vibrato bar. Beck felt his biggest-ever career mistake was signing with Mickie Most. Rod Stewart was supposed to be the vocalist in Beck’s band with Bogert and Appice but they had turned him off. When Beck stopped playing with Bogart and Appice they became the group Cactus. Beck wanted to record Motown style and was going to join up with Curtis Mayfield but sadly didn’t want to be on stage for Curtis’s racial politics. On using the Talkbox, “it gets people’s attention for a few seconds” but “you can’t tell the same jokes every time.” BBA died by failing to have a competent vocalist, and because Beck was irritated that Bogart would play over Beck’s leads. During BBA, Jeff says he was drinking a bottle of Smirnoff a day.
Beck went to work with Sly Stone, but said he wasted two weeks, and didn’t want to be part of “that black power thing.” There was a period after BBA when Beck worked on a project of just himself, a drum machine, and overdubbing but then he decided he’d rather play with other people. “I want stuff that enables me to roast on the guitar, but roast well, and not have to come out with all the old shit that people expect from me.” “I soak in the vibe of the song and then lay on what fits best. There are so many sounds in the guitar, without using any effects.” Jeff picked up pinch harmonics from Roy Buchanan. When Jeff first heard Miles Davis’s “Jack Johnson” he put down his car tools and said to his girlfriend (of John McLaughlin’s guitar playing), “I’ve just heard something that gives me hope.” Stevie Wonder wrote Superstition for Jeff.
“That must be the worst killer of all – to know you could’ve done something that you never did. I know what I want, and I’ve got to do it.” “To bring people’s emotions out …is my goal. Music is the best way to express emotions.” “It’s all in the way you play.” A cheap guitar in Beck’s hands still sounds like Beck. While working with Jan Hammer, Jeff records with a ring modulator for the first time. When Jeff lived with Celia, he had 25 cats and four dogs. “I practice two hours a day, on and off. When the TV gets boring, which is quite often, I turn the sound down and play without any amplifier (like Van Halen commonly did). I get exhausted when I play with an amplifier, because sooner or later I start burning up a storm and then wish I were on stage.” “There and Back” is the last LP where Jeff uses a pick. Jeff’s Jackson guitar gave him a Strat feel and sound but Les Paul-ish when cranked. Jeff says, you should make a record which if you were in the back seat of some car when it came on, you’d want to say “Turn that shit up! – not turn that shit down.” “I listen to classical music all the time.” “You’d put the guitar where, say, an opera singer would be, so there’d be vast spaces where the guitar would solo.”
Jeff, on the need to do more than one thing with your life: “The rods (Jeff’s hotrod building) are an escape from rock ‘n’ roll, I have to have an even balance: one has to offset the other.” On his “Mystere des Voix Bulgares” influenced song, “Where were You”, Jeff says “the whole song is played on false (fretted string) harmonics, except for the main melody.” The hardest technique involved lowering the whammy striking the right note then letting in return to full pitch. Getting it right took and insane amount of time in the studio but Jeff knew what he was looking for sonically. “There are parts where I’m doing four things at once – hitting harmonics, doing volume swells, manipulating the whammy bar, and muting strings! I know there are players out there thinking, ‘Big Deal so you can do it in the studio. Let’s hear it live smartass!’ So, I’m going to play it in concert – that’s where the fun will be.” To end up doing the song live, Jeff said he spent untold hours into mastering it. “I didn’t want to cheat. Every night I thought, ‘Why did I do this thing’?” Proper sustain in the final passage of the piece could only be achieved when Jeff installed a metal Wilkinson nut. Jeff liked pairing a Pro-Co Rat with a Fender Princeton.
Think about this: Jeff Beck, Jimmy page and Eric Clapton all grew up within 12 miles of each other. They would leave school and go home to listen to rock ‘n’ roll on the radio. To do the Soundtrack for Frankie’s House, Jeff said “For about a month I listened to nothing else (but Vietnamese music) so I got those bends in my mind The feel is right (listen to the Jungle cue). On Frankie’s “Vihn’s Funeral” cue: Jeff creates the melody from only ten harmonic pitches. Technique: Tap with the slide above the highest notes. On having fun using the whammy bar to create melodies: “It’s inspiring for me to play with. You’ve only got to put a few tasty chords under there and you’re away. People use it all over the place in rock, but not with those sort of nice sweeping melodies.” Great inspirational Jeff quote to end this book: “The guitar is sitting there – just pick it up and see what’s in it for you.”
When Beck does his great first LP with Rod Stewart, they tackle Shape of things by the Yardbirds but Beck says, “Let’s slow it down and make it dirty and evil.” The record is filled with dramatically changed cover songs. Beck-Ola was done in two weeks with Beck’s ’54 Strat; the content of it was dreamt up on the spot. On Beck-Ola, he also used a Colorsound Tonebender and Booster, an Echoplex, and his vibrato bar. Beck felt his biggest-ever career mistake was signing with Mickie Most. Rod Stewart was supposed to be the vocalist in Beck’s band with Bogert and Appice but they had turned him off. When Beck stopped playing with Bogart and Appice they became the group Cactus. Beck wanted to record Motown style and was going to join up with Curtis Mayfield but sadly didn’t want to be on stage for Curtis’s racial politics. On using the Talkbox, “it gets people’s attention for a few seconds” but “you can’t tell the same jokes every time.” BBA died by failing to have a competent vocalist, and because Beck was irritated that Bogart would play over Beck’s leads. During BBA, Jeff says he was drinking a bottle of Smirnoff a day.
Beck went to work with Sly Stone, but said he wasted two weeks, and didn’t want to be part of “that black power thing.” There was a period after BBA when Beck worked on a project of just himself, a drum machine, and overdubbing but then he decided he’d rather play with other people. “I want stuff that enables me to roast on the guitar, but roast well, and not have to come out with all the old shit that people expect from me.” “I soak in the vibe of the song and then lay on what fits best. There are so many sounds in the guitar, without using any effects.” Jeff picked up pinch harmonics from Roy Buchanan. When Jeff first heard Miles Davis’s “Jack Johnson” he put down his car tools and said to his girlfriend (of John McLaughlin’s guitar playing), “I’ve just heard something that gives me hope.” Stevie Wonder wrote Superstition for Jeff.
“That must be the worst killer of all – to know you could’ve done something that you never did. I know what I want, and I’ve got to do it.” “To bring people’s emotions out …is my goal. Music is the best way to express emotions.” “It’s all in the way you play.” A cheap guitar in Beck’s hands still sounds like Beck. While working with Jan Hammer, Jeff records with a ring modulator for the first time. When Jeff lived with Celia, he had 25 cats and four dogs. “I practice two hours a day, on and off. When the TV gets boring, which is quite often, I turn the sound down and play without any amplifier (like Van Halen commonly did). I get exhausted when I play with an amplifier, because sooner or later I start burning up a storm and then wish I were on stage.” “There and Back” is the last LP where Jeff uses a pick. Jeff’s Jackson guitar gave him a Strat feel and sound but Les Paul-ish when cranked. Jeff says, you should make a record which if you were in the back seat of some car when it came on, you’d want to say “Turn that shit up! – not turn that shit down.” “I listen to classical music all the time.” “You’d put the guitar where, say, an opera singer would be, so there’d be vast spaces where the guitar would solo.”
Jeff, on the need to do more than one thing with your life: “The rods (Jeff’s hotrod building) are an escape from rock ‘n’ roll, I have to have an even balance: one has to offset the other.” On his “Mystere des Voix Bulgares” influenced song, “Where were You”, Jeff says “the whole song is played on false (fretted string) harmonics, except for the main melody.” The hardest technique involved lowering the whammy striking the right note then letting in return to full pitch. Getting it right took and insane amount of time in the studio but Jeff knew what he was looking for sonically. “There are parts where I’m doing four things at once – hitting harmonics, doing volume swells, manipulating the whammy bar, and muting strings! I know there are players out there thinking, ‘Big Deal so you can do it in the studio. Let’s hear it live smartass!’ So, I’m going to play it in concert – that’s where the fun will be.” To end up doing the song live, Jeff said he spent untold hours into mastering it. “I didn’t want to cheat. Every night I thought, ‘Why did I do this thing’?” Proper sustain in the final passage of the piece could only be achieved when Jeff installed a metal Wilkinson nut. Jeff liked pairing a Pro-Co Rat with a Fender Princeton.
Think about this: Jeff Beck, Jimmy page and Eric Clapton all grew up within 12 miles of each other. They would leave school and go home to listen to rock ‘n’ roll on the radio. To do the Soundtrack for Frankie’s House, Jeff said “For about a month I listened to nothing else (but Vietnamese music) so I got those bends in my mind The feel is right (listen to the Jungle cue). On Frankie’s “Vihn’s Funeral” cue: Jeff creates the melody from only ten harmonic pitches. Technique: Tap with the slide above the highest notes. On having fun using the whammy bar to create melodies: “It’s inspiring for me to play with. You’ve only got to put a few tasty chords under there and you’re away. People use it all over the place in rock, but not with those sort of nice sweeping melodies.” Great inspirational Jeff quote to end this book: “The guitar is sitting there – just pick it up and see what’s in it for you.”
December 10, 2016
I think this was awesome. Jeff has been one of my main influences since 1968. It is well written, mostly concise but still providing many details on this legend. Jeff Beck is the Master of the Caster.
April 30, 2009
dry but informative account of the career (not life) of the guy who may be the best. as opposed to Hammer of the Gods (about jimmy page and led zeppelin), which i read a few weeks ago, which was 95% sex and drugs, this book is about 98% rock n roll... where he played, what he played, who he played with, what they played on, who produced, what effect their production had, which guitars came from where and who wound the pickups, what the temperature was like in the recording booth... stuff like that... you get a glimpse into beck but not a whole lot more than a glimpse... this is still an unauthorized biography... anyway... genius loner madman full of self-doubt, wants to be on his own but needs other great musicians to spur him on, doesn't want to be contained or sold or told what to do, doesn't want to have to wear funny clothes (so wears his own funny clothes)... whatever, he seems like a nice guy. the best part was finding out all the weird songs by other artists that he appeared on, like donovan's barabajal, or tina turner's private dancer (beck loves tina turner)... or an entire roger waters album called god hates us all... no wait, that's a slayer album... amused to death! that's it. song called "what god wants."
nothing to set yourself on fire with, but i learned a lot.
nothing to set yourself on fire with, but i learned a lot.
May 31, 2022
Some biographies talk about the person, and the life, and then other biographies talk of the work, with a little bit of the life. Crazy Fingers falls very much into the second camp.
If you want to learn about Jeff Beck’s guitars, who played in his band at which time, and the turns in his fortunes, this is the book for you. If on the other hand, you want to learn about his unpredictability, the reasons for his behaviour, and the seemingly odd choices he made along the way, then there is very little of that in here.
It is not as if Jeff Beck has not led a life, he has. From replacing Eric Clapton in the Yardbirds, his life-long friendship with Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, his early involvements with Jimi Hendrix, his part at the scene of a lot of important music-making, his refusal to play at Woodstock, his incendiary, but short-lived musical projects with Rod Stewart, his dabbling with Jazz-Rock Fusion, all of these elements of his story are there, but there is no illumination of his inner mind.
We have some sense of the importance of his playing to other players, ranging from Eric Clapton to Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, Queen’s Brian May, Joe Perry from Aerosmith and many others, we also learn about his love for the musicians that preceded him, such as Les Paul and Cliff Gallup.
Throughout the book, there are timely reminders of the post-world war that Jeff Beck and his sister grew up in, and the effect that bands such as Bill Halley and the Comets, Buddy Holly and many others had on Jeff Beck and his generation, forcing colour into an otherwise Monochrome world, but there is also the influence of the blues from the greats such as BB King and Buddy Guy, many of whom he formed friendships with and performed with, both live and in the studio.
The book is very well written, and thoroughly researched, with many of the musicians who worked with Jeff Beck describing their working relationships with him, there are numerous interviews, and first-person sources throughout the book, giving something of an insight into one of the most revered guitarists whoever committed fingers to strings, and notes to recording machinery.
If you want to learn about Jeff Beck’s guitars, who played in his band at which time, and the turns in his fortunes, this is the book for you. If on the other hand, you want to learn about his unpredictability, the reasons for his behaviour, and the seemingly odd choices he made along the way, then there is very little of that in here.
It is not as if Jeff Beck has not led a life, he has. From replacing Eric Clapton in the Yardbirds, his life-long friendship with Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, his early involvements with Jimi Hendrix, his part at the scene of a lot of important music-making, his refusal to play at Woodstock, his incendiary, but short-lived musical projects with Rod Stewart, his dabbling with Jazz-Rock Fusion, all of these elements of his story are there, but there is no illumination of his inner mind.
We have some sense of the importance of his playing to other players, ranging from Eric Clapton to Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, Queen’s Brian May, Joe Perry from Aerosmith and many others, we also learn about his love for the musicians that preceded him, such as Les Paul and Cliff Gallup.
Throughout the book, there are timely reminders of the post-world war that Jeff Beck and his sister grew up in, and the effect that bands such as Bill Halley and the Comets, Buddy Holly and many others had on Jeff Beck and his generation, forcing colour into an otherwise Monochrome world, but there is also the influence of the blues from the greats such as BB King and Buddy Guy, many of whom he formed friendships with and performed with, both live and in the studio.
The book is very well written, and thoroughly researched, with many of the musicians who worked with Jeff Beck describing their working relationships with him, there are numerous interviews, and first-person sources throughout the book, giving something of an insight into one of the most revered guitarists whoever committed fingers to strings, and notes to recording machinery.
February 12, 2018
I have been a fan of Jeff Beck since I was a teenager in the mid-70s. Regrettably Jeff has not consented to work with any author on a concise biography. However, using interviews he has given through the years, Annette Carson has written a very thorough, affectionate portrait of a sometimes complicated genius. Using Jeff's own words and her background information on the times in which Beck lived and worked she has given fans the definitive account of the man many believe to be the greatest guitarist of our time. This is a touching, sensitive and comprehensive bio of Jeff's years as a child, a teenager who desperately sought a way to get a guitar in post-war Britain, a young man looking for ways to use the guitar to not only make a living but to entertain people in creative ways and the various groups he played in (The Tridents; The Yardbirds; The Jeff Beck Group; Beck, Bogert and Appice; his work with Jan Hammer). It also talks about the session work he did, his relationship with Rod Stewart (sometimes difficult) and others. If you love Jeff, you will love him even more after reading this biography. He is, quite simply, the greatest guitarist not only of our time, but of all time.
February 4, 2010
To a point I agree with reviewers who describe this book as "dry." I have been a huge JB fan for decades, but I have no clue about whammy bars, pick-ups or all the other guitar-specific effect enhancers. Having said that, I still found it a wonderful book in the way in describes process and frustration as well as insecurities. Lots of info about JB's love of hotrods to the point of having his own garage/workshop and his taking off time just to focus on his cars (re-building, customizing, etc.) There is a picture of whole person with some interesting comparisons to the care invested in creating a car with that of creating a musical composition. He is an artist as well as a craftsman.
September 10, 2019
Competent bio of one of my favorite guitarists that touches on his many phases until 2001.
January 21, 2019
Great read
This book is a must read for all Jeff Beck fans. It’s very in-depth and has some surprising info on his collaborations. I thought I knew a lot about Jeff Beck prior to reading this book. After reading it I was amazed at how little I knew, but pleased to be so informed.
This book is a must read for all Jeff Beck fans. It’s very in-depth and has some surprising info on his collaborations. I thought I knew a lot about Jeff Beck prior to reading this book. After reading it I was amazed at how little I knew, but pleased to be so informed.
July 23, 2016
Jeff Beck is and always has been a "guitarist's guitarist", along with being a mysterious figure throughout his career with details of his private life few & far between.
Jeff Beck: Crazy Fingers provides some limited details of his life at home and his well known love of building & driving hot rod cars, but where it really shines is in providing a complete and accurate account of the historical events in his career along with technical information of his playing and equipment useage without any fluff. Exactly what I'd hoped for, being myself a guitarist who is quick to answer the question of "who's your favorite guitarist?" with "Jimi Hendrix, but living today it's Jeff Beck", although in truth it's very hard to pick between the two, and they both possess a unique ability to be at one with the guitar as if it's a natural extension of themselves.
Great read with accurate information, it also suggests that much of what has been attributed to Jeff's ego in terms of difficulties with band mates and several career lapses could in fact be due to insecurities and health issues, therefore making it interesting to consider the possibility that he's often been misunderstood, and at times he seems to be unaware of the level of appreciation and the amount of respect for his playing he has from both his fans and peers throughout his career up to the present.
Highly recommended to anyone interested in Jeff Beck's career.
Jeff Beck: Crazy Fingers provides some limited details of his life at home and his well known love of building & driving hot rod cars, but where it really shines is in providing a complete and accurate account of the historical events in his career along with technical information of his playing and equipment useage without any fluff. Exactly what I'd hoped for, being myself a guitarist who is quick to answer the question of "who's your favorite guitarist?" with "Jimi Hendrix, but living today it's Jeff Beck", although in truth it's very hard to pick between the two, and they both possess a unique ability to be at one with the guitar as if it's a natural extension of themselves.
Great read with accurate information, it also suggests that much of what has been attributed to Jeff's ego in terms of difficulties with band mates and several career lapses could in fact be due to insecurities and health issues, therefore making it interesting to consider the possibility that he's often been misunderstood, and at times he seems to be unaware of the level of appreciation and the amount of respect for his playing he has from both his fans and peers throughout his career up to the present.
Highly recommended to anyone interested in Jeff Beck's career.
December 13, 2010
I have always been a big fan of Jeff Beck. As a guitar player myself, there are only a few that can still blow me away, and Jeff is one of them, if not the one! And, this is a well written book about his career. The only time that I ever saw Jeff live was back in September, 1989, at the Oakland Colessium with Stevie Ray Vaughan. They were touring together (Fire & the Fury Tour) and they would trade places on the bill each night. At this show, Jeff Beck opened and I was stunned. This was the trio with Terry Bozzio and Tony Hymas, and they were awesome! Stevie and Jeff played one together and Carlos Santana joined in, too! What a night that was!
February 22, 2016
An excellent book on guitarist Jeff Beck. Not a lot of personal information, but then again, Beck was never much for the public spotlight. It's mainly about his career and guitar style. If you are a fan of Beck it's a great read. The discography was great - however it took me forever to read the book because I kept digging out old albums and searching around on iTunes for various guest appearances. Haven't seen many books on Beck, but I would guess this is the best book on one of the greatest electric guitarists.
April 11, 2008
This is the musician biography to end all musician biographies!
OK, I will admit at the outset that I'm a nut for Jeff Beck. His style, technique, and musical intelligence are TOTALLY unmatched (Clapton is NOT god) and to me he can do very little wrong.
The book is well written, presented in a fine manner, and appears to have been intelligently researched.
The five stars are because Jeff Beck is a God.
OK, I will admit at the outset that I'm a nut for Jeff Beck. His style, technique, and musical intelligence are TOTALLY unmatched (Clapton is NOT god) and to me he can do very little wrong.
The book is well written, presented in a fine manner, and appears to have been intelligently researched.
The five stars are because Jeff Beck is a God.
May 30, 2013
Unlike Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck does not have a huge library of biographies/autobiographies available to his fans. This book provides an excellent overview on the genius of Jeff Beck. Covers all of the necessary information about his career, along with some insight into his personal life. The definitive Beck biography at this point!
June 13, 2012
As always I hope the author will inject more information into a musician's biography than would be commercially suitable I guess but the book was a good history, loaded with musical anecdotes and some fascinating details about recordings.
March 11, 2009
This book is great for anybody who loves music and life!
Jeff Beck is one those guise who would die for Rock!
He is also a Cancer!
Jeff Beck is one those guise who would die for Rock!
He is also a Cancer!
December 19, 2012
Thoroughly competent bio of the British guitar hero. Lots of info on his guitars, cars and model girlfriends.
December 31, 2012
For fans and fanatics only
August 25, 2014
Great book about one of my favorite guitarist. Very technical at times, but still a very good read.
July 10, 2015
Great book. It's about his career & not so much about his personal life ---- the Jeff Beck I know & love!!
December 20, 2015
Interesting Read
July 13, 2019
Exudes cool in every sense of the word - there could only be one jeff Beck. A trailblazer, even if you don't like his work, you have to admit, he's an awesome guitarist.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews