Tribute to Jeff Beck, featuring Sheldon Zoldan

Writer/editor Sheldon Zoldan is the creator of Song of the Day, a music-related story sent daily to a list of subscribers. In the past couple of years, he's also written and recorded tributes to music industry greats who are no longer with us.

In this episode, we're focusing on rock guitarist Jeff Beck, the first of Sheldon's 44 tributes to artists, songwriters and producers who passed away in 2023. To hear "Beck’s Bolero,” the song referenced in the tribute, go to the YouTube video.

(And to get on Sheldon’s Song of the Day subscriber list, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.)

There are a lot of books about Beck including "Hot Wired Guitar: The Life of Jeff Beck" and "Jeff: The One, Alone." Here's a link to them on Amazon. The picture of him in the chapters is from the cover of "Hot Wired Guitar," written by Martin Power. The book has an overall nearly 5-star rating on Amazon.

The tributes in this series are fascinating glimpses into the lives and impact of those who made the soundtracks of our lives. Although some of Sheldon's subjects are less famous than others, you may find that their songs and stories are equally worth your time. I sure did.

Audio engineer Mike Villegas (who’s also a musician) and I will publish all 44 tributes in the coming days or weeks. Hope you enjoy them.

This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to the show!

Available on Apple, Spotify, Audible and in other directories, and on YouTube.

Transcript

Kate:
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Hello, and welcome to Everyday Creation,

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a show about living our purpose and lifting

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our vibes for ourselves and the world.

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I'm Kate Jones, here with a tribute to

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the late, great rock guitarist Jeff Beck.

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This is the first of 44 short yet

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illuminating

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episodes

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about significant figures in the music industry who

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passed away in 2023.

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My guest, Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime writer and

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newspaper editor,

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wrote these tributes and recorded them.

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Here's what he says about Beck, who died

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on January 10th

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of last year.

Sheldon:
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If there was a Mount Rushmore for rock

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guitarists,

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Jeff Beck's face would be chiseled on it.

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Beck is considered one of the best rock

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guitarists

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ever.

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Beck died in England on January 10th from

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bacterial meningitis.

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He was 78.

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Beck never wrote a number one hit.

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His gift was what he could do with

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his guitar.

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None of his bands lasted long. He replaced

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Eric Clapton in The Yardbirds in 1966

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and played on two of their biggest hits,

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"Shapes of Things to Come"

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and "Heart Full of

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Soul." He left less than two years later.

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He formed the Jeff Beck Group, which included

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Rod Stewart and Ron Wood who went on

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to join the Rolling Stones.

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The group had two successful albums,

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but the band disbanded

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after the second album.

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He put together other bands that came and

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went. He sometimes recorded solo albums.

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The New York Times obituary

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summed up his lack of being a big

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rock star by using his quote from a

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2018

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Rolling Stone interview.

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"I've never made the big time, mercifully,"

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Beck said. "When you look around and see

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who has made it huge,

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it's a really rotten place to be."

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Beck recorded our song of the day, "Beck's

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Bolero,"

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in 1966

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while still with the Yardbirds.

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Jimmy Page, a future Led Zeppelin member, and

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Keith Moon,

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the drummer for The Who,

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played on the song, which had no lyrics.

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It wasn't released until 10 months after Beck

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recorded it.

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The recording reached number 4 in England, but

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it didn't break Billboard's Hot 100

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in the U.S.

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The song ended up on Beck's solo album,

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"Truth," in 1968.

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The album reached number 15

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on the Billboard

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album chart.

Kate:
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This is Kate again.

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Sheldon also writes Song of the Day, a

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music-related story sent daily to an email

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list of subscribers.

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All of those stories and these tributes

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include links to the featured songs.

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In this episode's description,

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you can link to "Beck's Bolero"

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on YouTube,

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as well as get information on how to

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join Sheldon's

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subscriber list.

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If you enjoyed this tribute,

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please check out the next one to Lisa

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Marie Presley,

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and share them both with anyone

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who might appreciate these well-researched glimpses

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into the lives of the talented people

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who created some of the music we love.

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Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation.