THE JEFF BECK BULLETIN ISSUE #15

Jeff Beck

"Representin' The Mix"

Although Jeff Beck's fascination with Electronica, Dance Grooves, and Alternative World Beat/Sounds dates back to the late eighties when he was taking Terry Bozio around to London area beat clubs, ironically it wasn't until the end of that phase of Jeff's career around 2003 that any significant output in that direction was realized. Save Fankies House in 1992 amd a few fleeting tracks from WHo Else and You Had It Coming, fans could hardly tell except for when Jeff interviews revealed a passionate fascination for such.

Then 2003 came along with a bang and was the release of several solid stark guitar and groove production Dance/Rap influenced forays in most of the proper Jeff Beck release "Jeff". Then there was the exciting and bizarre Tony Hymas live Paris Ursus Minor rap/fusion gig with Jeff and the later released proper Ursus Minor lp "Zugzwang" with an unadulterated French politically charged rap classic with guest Jeff Beck.

Seemingly the only similar style that Jeff had not dabbled in was the Hip Hop genre of R&B or it's own meshing with rap. NOT SO!! Overlooked by Jeff himself and unbeknown to even his own management, ( ED Note:little surprise there Hah!)Jeff had done a session for the then budding African American female Hip Hop star Keisha White who had enlisted the aid of the former London Posse eighties star DJ/Rapper Rodney P. for the occasion. The result was a four track mix and remix of a tune called "Bigger Better Deal" whose theme was a girl who (depending on which mix) was either gay and finally outed herself repeating the lines "I'm Sorry, I'm Sorry or the same lines for leaving her boyfriend with he ( part played by Rodney P.) lashing back at her with some crude yet hilarious retorts. Ex. "I'm Sorry I'm Sorry It's Me and Not You", with the comeback to the effect of ......no need to be sorry I've been slamming your crew. Somehow I don't think Rodney was refering to a WWE wrestling throw to the mat with her girlfriends. Hah! Anyways this is the mix entitled "Bigger Better Deal Mix" that our guitar maestro was given the challenge to do something!.....kind of like when the Yardbirds would put down something unconventional and give the reigns to Jeff because they knew he would come up tih great lines.

Fans will not be disappointed in the resultant quality....just the quantity. After a vocal command to "Rock the Beat" Jeff soars once again into the ever so slightly vibrato world of a 15 note repetitive 4 times four bar stunning guitar solo line. After that all the hip hoppin turntable scratchin' begins with stuttered references to Desert Eagle Discs. At this point I'll plead ignorance of inside Hip Hop meanings/lingo and refrain from reviewing all the changes and alternative sounds in the piece (except of course for Jeff's guitar) as I wouldn't want to be put in the same category as that idiot who only knew trad jazz that reviewed Jeff's Ronnie Scott's appearance last month on that basis. With that said someone please write in and tell us the significance of the chant Desert Eagle Discs! Hah!Jeff does come back in later in the track at about the three minute and fifty second mark with some chunky augmented ninth chords and again at the four minute and ten second mark with some low nasty licks not lost on Rodney P. who besides extorting himself representin' the mix also boasts "Jeff Beck on the mix" again bringing back the reoccurring theme of the fact that many times singers cannot resist either singing or saying Jeff's name on record or during a live performance. (Stevie Wonder, Mick Jagger,Tina Turner, Sting, Patti Labelle, Johnny Lang Carmine Appice among others) The hilarious quip is when Rodney P. does it again by changing it a little bit .."JEFF BECK PUTTIN' UP WITH THE MIX!! Hah! A few final Jeff distorted hot Rod drones ala "Roy's Toy" style help finish off the track as Rodney P. boasts "This ain't no BBD (Bigger Bettter Deal) I'm Rodney Fu$%^&*n P.!!!!!!!!

The EP was released in the UK and like most everything rare is available now by the internet. Truly a snapshot in Jeff Beck's time of the master stretching out on yet another alternative format. I echo the beginning Jeff Beck call to arms at the beginning of the track. (Jeff Beck) ROCK THE BEAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Be seeing you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Google-ing Jeff Beck

aka "Naughty Bits".....Monty Python

Alas I'm still stuck in the world of the working for another few years. Ed Chapero, one of the Jeff Beck movement founding US founders and probably the only one of us that's been inside "behind the staircase in London",(Hah!) is retired. So for him it's off to the land of playing on computers for extended periods of time. Tired of Googling for info on Jeff the sane way by browsing consecutive pages and wading through the quagmire of repetition and secondary market sales, Ed (fortunately for us!) decided it would be revolutionary to start at the end pages and work backwards.

What he found will astonish you. We came up with a pictorial rare glimpse of after show pictures taken by a student at a High School in Ct. the last night before the Yardbirds with the Beck/Page dual guitar lineup took off for the West Coast where after a few more gigs Jeff would leave the group. Also included is a rare poster promoting the event. On the funny celebrity side a rock celeb "Masseuse" will keep you in stitches on the tour bus with descriptions of Vinny C's sounds.Someone is running around Sherman Oaks, CA with a Geeky Prius (Ok I admit to have a geeky Corolla too!) with Jeff Beck for a license plate. A Stephen King fanatic just may have been in the right place at the right time to have replaced a drunken session musician for the most famous of Jeff Beck "Pop" tunes. In addition a well respected rock photographer will pop up with great descriptions and reflections. Finally how does one sketch Jeff while he's looking through a phone book for Muddy Waters number in Chicago?..........

Here then are brief descriptions of what you will find with ensuing hyperlinks to those web pages. Readers are encouraged to use other search engines as well as Google and/or update from Google every now and then and we'll screen and may print. If defamatory, boring or the naughty bits aren't full frontal nudity we will invoke the dreaded "Spanish Inquisition"! Hah!

1.) They call her Dr. Dot. Hands like steel with a soothing touch and mannerisms she is called upon by the rock stars in the know to knead those pesky knots during long tours. Come take a ride on the Jeff Beck tour bus with her as she shares great camera shots, gives Jeff a gender lesson on a certain mixed drink, and hits the nail on the ..... for describing what Vinny C. sounds like as his shoulders and arms are being treated.

Jeff's Lost Tribal Groove (one of many, hah!)

Hello Dick,

Thanks for your message.

I went to read some great reviews about Jeff at Ronnies in your website devoted to him, very classy.

So the story, I met Jeff in France where Miles Copeland, famous Police manager and Stewart Copeland
brother of course, has a Castle in the South-West of France not so far from Bordeaux where I live. Miles used
to organise some writing sessions there where there is 3 recording studio, I was the sessions drummer there and Jeff,
with Jennifer Batten, have been invited to come, and he came.

I did some sessions work for Jeff headed by the great bass player from Cameroon Armand Sabal-Leco. I remember that
I was recording some nice tribal drum part with a lot of overdubs, I was using brushes, mallet, etc, it was very
precise. I remember Jeff seated on the couch with his white Fender guitar, I could not believe the sound which
was coming from his guitar, from his hands, I was thinking to myself, this Guy is a Wizzard, a real genius,
and he is.

Since this day I'm still in touch with Jeff and Jennifer, I was with Jeff last summer in South-east of France,
it was really fun as he's a sweet human being too, and I'm a long time Vinnie Colaiuta friend too. All right,
keep going Guys, thanks for your message.

Roger.

Days Of Thunder (Jeff's Prequel)

With "Prequels" being the vogue in movies these days I decided to take a journalistic liberty with this particular important milestone in Jeff's career, the movie score previously mentioned in the main article (JBB Issue #14) regarding Days Of Thunder. For all the joy and amazement we all had as Hans Zimmer's score unwrapping and revealing precious though scattered Jeff Beck guitar lines, nuances, and whammied groans, turns out that the story leading to those edited for film gems is just as interesting and has yielded far more than one could ever have hoped.

When Jeff beck showed up for the sessions he took the three basic melodic themes in the later finished film score and recorded no less than five full length monstrous tunes complete with full length gut wrenching guitar solos!!!!!!!!!!!!!! With nothing more than drums, a piano, and some slightly added synth strings. Jeff, according to Hans Zimmer, plugged directly into the board for the sessions. Although not satisfied with the volume level the session was recorded at, Hans nevertheless obviously was happy with the performances as Jeff can be found on the main theme many times throughout the film score CD and as previously mentioned on the one off totally original piece "Cole's Round", track #5 on the films score.

Track number one "Beaches", starts with the Metronome you hear several places in the soundtrack and then crashes several times with a totally unique eight note crescendo heard without guitar on the end of track 11 "Talk To Me" from the edited film score. An almost phased in the background trebbly biting solo ala the Grover Jackson Flash era guitar ensnares the repeating crescendo. Absolutely breathtaking. Track 2 "Car Groove", features a pure nineties dance groove beat with some Plynth/Rice Pudding type raunchy hook, some crashing rock chord bridges, and then settles in to the dance beat ala SMMMMoKKKKiNNNN " Jim Carey type "Mask" New Orleans thirty's rumblin night club syncopated drum groove. It's hear that Jeff Beck turns up the volume and slays everything in sight with his guitar solo. The end of the track calms down Jeff's smokin "gun" and trails off to the anthemic main Days of Thunder theme! Unbelievalbe!!!!!!!

Track 3 "Car Love" deserves it's own paragraph. Exhibited increduously without guitar on track 11 "Talk To Me" from the film score, the main melody verse alternates between a sweet melancholy piano and Jeff's guitar from heaven responses for a couple of rounds. All of a sudden the bridge chords announce the second coming of the guitar as Jeff with a couple of attack notes ending at the root key understate the fact that "Jeff Beck is in the house" In this humble writers opinion the next minute and thirty or so seconds is AMONG THE TOP THREE SOLOS JEFF HAS EVER DONE INCLUDING "CAUSE WE'VE ENDED AS LOVERS" (Syreeta), and GOODBYE PORK PIE HAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

Not to be fenced in with styles, Jeff takes the second to last track, 1m1, and injects some home style chickin pickin rockin trebly sassy rockabilly lines to the main DOT theme! Track 5 , "Car Song" finds the slightly phase but up front Jeff guitar putting a different spin, slightly islandish beat on the main DOT theme. It is in this final track that you can get most of the main DOT themes blended together which is interesting to hear them again separately in the soundtrack score from vignette tracks 11 "Talk To Me',12 "Wheelchair Race", and 13"Cole & Claire Rental Car Chase." A final Jeff Beck layered solo leaves the listener yearning for more!

AT THIS TIME PLEASE DO NOT ASK WHERE YOU CAN GET COPIES. YOU CAN'T. HOWEVER LOOK AT THROUGH THE YEARS WHAT HAS FINALLY BECOME AVAILABLE IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER!!!! Good Hunting!

"Dick, there is so much I want to tell you, that's why for me the phone would be better, but I understand you don't know me from Adam. I'm in the story you did on the chocolate Les Paul in your interview with Chris Lovell of Strings and Things. (Former link; http://www.stringsandthings.com/starzgetarz/jeffbeck/at_domains_index.html, ed.) I feel he mentioned my name giving Jeff the '54 Esquire after saying him and Jeff went into the office and talked money and that was it.

Everything Chris said was pretty much true, except the guitar was never in the store that day. I took Jeff in, I met him when I was about 13, and my sister was about 14. She is now Mrs. Fred Smith whose husband is Fred Smith, founder of FedEx. She is rich, her brothers and sisters are not. but they're very good to us and our children. This is all related. After playing with David Porter at Stax in '71, I got to know Steve Cropper well. My father was the top trumpet player in Memphis from 1950 until his death in 1990, playing lead trumpet on Shaft and many Stax records including Albert King, Little Milton, etc.

To get right to it the best I can, I was in Burkle's Bakery eating lunch. In walks Jeff and Steve. This was early '70s. He introduced us. I let Jeff know I had met him at about 13, he was 20, and playing with the Yardbirds at a skating rink in Memphis. I was invited to watch him record the album with Steve Cropper known as the Orange Album. We became friends, I was 19, he was 27. That very night, I sold him a '67 Fender Strat with Gibson pickups. I have a picture to prove it, as well as pictures of him and the '54 Esquire known in the book Crazy Fingers as a '52/'53 on page 151. I am the generous fan referred to on that page.

In 1972, Charlie and Chris at Strings and Things were stuck with the '54 Ox Blood when the person they built it for decided he didn't want it. That guitar was mine, I bought it from Robert Johnson, also mentioned in the book Crazy Fingers, who auditioned with Jeff and Rory Gallagher and Wayne Perkins for the Stones. He had two of them he got from George Gruhn in Nashville. One went to me, one went to Marc Bolan of T. Rex. I have a picture of Marc with his. I loved the neck on mine, but did not like the noisey standard pickups. I traded it to Chris and Charlie. Then they had a man named Teddy Paige who worked for them customize it. The customer who it was customized for backed out.

Charlie said, "We have $400 in this, and now we're stuck!" I said, "Well now I like it, chocolate with humbuckers, I'll buy it." Charlie said great. He let me take it right then and there. I owned it for weeks before I went and saw ZZ Top open for Beck, Bogart, and Appice in Little Rock. The crowd loved ZZ Top. Carmine knew this. I was already friends with him from Cactus days. I stayed with him in New York and Tim Bogart. They thought Jeff needed a Les Paul, also, to sound fat like ZZ Top.

I drove back home to Memphis after 3 hours sleep, my phone rang. He said, "This is Jeff." I said, "Jeff who?" He said, "Beck." I was freaked out. He said, "We're in Memphis on our way to New Orleans with time to kill. Meet me where you did with Steve Cropper, you know I'm a vegetarian." I jumped in my Mustang with the chocolate because I wanted to show it to him, I was proud of it. I took him to Strings and Things, he signed the door like Chris said. He saw nothing he liked.

To make this story shorter. Then I took him to two other music stores he saw nothing he liked. We then went to Eddie's Speed Shop, he wanted to get car parts. He loved the place. He bought lots. He said I saved him lots by showing him the place. Ernest asked me to step outside. He said that Jeff knew I was a friend of his, but also a fan and he did not want to take advantage of me. He appreciated me taking him everywhere, but Ernest said, "He likes your personal guitar. Would you consider selling it?" To be quite honest, I'm not sure if I had paid Chris or Charlie any money yet, or even part of the money, but I told him yes, he could have it for 400 because that's what Charlie, Chris' partner, was charging me. He gave me $500, laughed, and said, "Jeff had authorized him to go as high as eight." Since I was not ripping them off, he gave me a hundred more than I asked for. I said, "This is great because it's Christmas time and now I can buy presents and still buy another guitar for around 150 bucks." (From our subsequent calculations this would have occured on November 11, 1972, ed.)

A week or so later, I told Charlie what I had done. He said, "Buddy! You haven't even paid us for the guitar yet! Chris is going to kill me! The least you could do is pay it off as soon as possible." I did. I love Chris and Charlie, do not want to hurt them at all, or their reputation. But, I can only tell you I feel Chris bent the story for you a little bit becuase they felt if the guitar was in the store he would have bought it from them. But this is the real story, Ernest Chapman can verify it, so can Allan Dutton and Jeff. I have been friends with Jeff for over 30 years. I have pictures of Jeff, Santana, and myself. Jeff, Jennifer Batten, and myself. Pictures of him and the Esquire. Told the story to Jennifer Batten and Jeff again in 1999 at the Tennessee Theater in Knoxville, TN, and we all laughed. I even asked Jeff to sign a Blow by Blow T-shirt I have on the back, "Buddy, love chocolate", and then he drew a picture of a Les Paul and signed it, "Jeff Beck". I can take pictures of this shirt, and you will recognize his hand writing.

I consider you the premier Jeff Beck authority in the US. I saw your article about the real story of the chocolate sometime during the last ten years. It's always bothered me that the real story was not the real story. This February 14, I saw the credit Annette Carson gave you in the front of the Crazy Fingers book. Saw your email address, told myself, "I don't want to hurt Chris Lovell for many reasons. I'm the Godfather of one of his children, Jimmy." But we haven't been close, seeing each other about once a year for the last 20 years.

I feel he justified telling you what he did because possibly he considered it their guitar and not mine because it wasn't paid for yet and wanted people to know his store built this guitar Jeff is playing, we can build you one, too. I have never mentioned I knew about his statement to you on the internet about it being an old GoldTop and about him and Jeff going into the office and that was it because I was not exactly a model employee the two different times I worked at Strings and Things. Sometimes I took long lunches, went to the dog track. Other times worked on my own guitars instead of customers, etc. I have made amends to him and Charlie after becoming a member of AA in 2003. It was required to go make amends face to face with everyone I could that I've offended during my drinking, drugging days.

But, something made me want to email you this past Thursday, February 14, 2008, the 35 year anniversary of my best frined's death. The friend that went with me to England in 1971 to visit Jeff and his roadie, Paul Evans. There's more, but I feel you have the gist now.

P.S. I am going to have Robert Kent Haines send you some pictures that I talked about in this email. He already has them on his computer because he is the one who made me copies of my own pictures. If you would like to tell this story on the internet, please do so, of course leaving out my phone number, you know. You have Carte Blanche and can call or email me 24/7. Strings and Things, as I understand has filed bankruptcy and there's a chance they may never see this email. But since it's true, I stand by it 100% and leave it up to you what you want to do. I just wanted you to know the real real story and it's fine with me if you let the world know. And remember, you can check with Ernest Chapman, Allan Dutton, Ralph Baker, Chris Jeff's sound man, as you know all four have been with him for over 30 years. But Allan and Jeff would probably, next to Ernest, remember the best of the four.

By the way, my band Target signed with A&M records with two albums released in '76 and '77, lead singer Jimi Jamison of Survivor fame. If you go to his web site, you can see a little bit about my musical past and by all means, email Jimi to verify this story, every bit of it!

Sincerely,
Buddy Davis
Thanks Buddy! That was awesome! Be Seeing You

Postscript to the above story....
Dick,
My girlfriend bought me this shirt in the lobby of the Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville, TN, Friday, February 13, 1999, the first show of the second part of the tour. Ralph Baker fixed us up with tickets, after show passes. She and I spent about an hour with Steve Alexander and Jeff and Jennifer Batten, but most of the hour with Jeff and Jennifer. It was great! That's when I asked him to please sign the shirt. He said the guitar was Ox Blood. I told him I know it is, and I know you know paints better than I do, being a hot rodder and all. But please sign 'chocolate'. because that's what it was known as at the time in Memphis by us Memphis guys that don't know our colors.
Buddy Davis
Robert Haines

More Google-ing Jeff Beck

We got such a great response from the last set of interesting Jeff Beck internet related bits that we decided to do a follow up.....only this time just the quotes and commentary appear without the links. You see Ed is as retarded as I am so he never references the subject when emailing me Jeff links. I in turn am so dumb as to wait forever to do anything with them so I just copy the print from the links onto separate folders on my desktop. Two results occur. First it is like trying to find a needle in an email haystack when I go back to reference the emails that should have been referenced with the subject in the first place. The second thing that happens is that Bill shakes his head and wonders why he has to put up with this nonsense! No it's not Spanish Inquisition time...Just bring back the Naughty Bits!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cream had a funny video for their US TV performance of "Anyone For Tennis" It seems that sometime (probably in the late eighties) Jeff Beck topped that with match play at his own castle complete with this description from longtime guitarist for Manfred Mann's Earthband Mick Rogers ............... "About three years ago, I was invited to play a tennis tournament at Jeff Beck's house. Some of the other musicians were dressed up as women. Imagine these long-haired guys with their hair in pleats, hairy legs, wearing little skirts and playing the doubles! I actually beat Jeff and when he walked over and shook my hand he said 'well played… you bastard'. I almost felt like I'd upset him so I was going to leave, but luckily I stayed on and got a chance to jam with Jeff later. Jimmy Copley of Tears For Fears was on drums and I started to play this riff, an old Gene Vincent tune. Jeff came over, really pleased that I knew it. I guess I was forgiven."

When you think of Motown Bass players James Jamerson comes the quickest to mind. Certainly that is what Jeff and Mickey Most were promoting when they told the media about the forthcoming trip to Detroit USA back in the summer of 1970. Even after the fabled Motown sessions with Jeff, Cozy Powell and the great Motown session men were long in the can Jeff chose to use the Jamerson name when recounting the story of how it seemed that those sessions were doomed because he(Jamerson) and the others didn't take to long hair English rockers who had ideas but no scripted backup music lines already written from the sessionmen. However as you will read Jamerson was only there the first night. If you research thr great bassist's career notes he was having an extremely difficult time with alcohol addiction right around the late sixties on into the seventies. Many famous lines like for instance Stevie Wonder's "Signed Sealed, Delivered" were in reality the work of a man who replaced Jamerson as THE bass session player in Motown, went onto become a professional wrestler, and somewhere in between in that time period managed to squeeze in some unreleased sessions with a certain young English guitarist who as it would appear had more than just a one gig in mind for the bassist. Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Bob Babbitt as he responded on the message board on his website............

MOTOWN JEFF BECK SESSIONS...ANDREW SMITH DID NOT PLAY...JEFF HAD BROUGHT HIS DRUMMER AT THAT
TIME, COZY POWELL.......THEY HAD STARTED RECORDING WITH JAMERSON BUT AT THAT TIME HE WAS NOT
PLAYING UP TO PAR AND THEY CALLED ME IN....THE FIRST NIGHT IT WAS JEFF, COZY, AND MYSELF AND JEFF
HAD A MONSTER GUITAR LINE HE WANTED ME TO DOUBLE WITH HIM!! DON'T ASK ME HOW BUT SOMEHOW I MADE IT
........ONE THING I DO REMEMBER WAS THAT JEFF BROKE A STRING AND DID NOT HAVE ANY NEW STRINGS WITH HIM????
MAYBE JUST A OVERSITE?? THE OTHER SESSIONS THEY ADDED JOHNNY GRIFFITH ON PIANO, THE PRODUCER WAS MICKEY
MOST WHO HAD PRODUCED SEVERAL BIG ARTIST....I DON'T KNOW IF JEFF LIKED HIS WORK BUT WHEN THE SESSIONS WERE
OVER HE ASKED ME TO JOIN HIS BAND AND COME TO ENGLAND TO RECORD WITH HIM AND TO ALSO BE INVOLVED IN THE
PRODUCTION. WELL...GUESS WHAT???? AT THAT TIME I WAS SIGNED WITH MOTOWN AS AN ARTIST WITH A SELF CONTAINED
GROUP CALLED "SCORPION"....AND WAS PRODUCING SOME THINGS AT THAT TIME.....WHEN YOU SIGNED A CONTRACT WITH
MOTOWN YOU SIGNED YOUR LIFE AWAY!! THEY WOULD ALSO SIGN YOU AS A PRODUCER AND WRITER AT THE SAME TIME...LOCK
YOU F----N' UP!!!!! SO WHEN I WENT TO TELL THEM ABOUT JEFFS OFFER BUT.....NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
THE F------'S SAID...YOU CANT DO THAT....YOUR SIGNED WITH MOTOWN.....WE CAN DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT AT F-----'MOTOWN
FOR YOU!!!! THAT WAS THE #1 REASON I HEADED FOR THE EAST COAST INSTEAD OF CALIFORNIA...I DONT KNOW TO THIS DAY
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE JEFF BECK SESSIONS???????

Between 1970 and 1972 Babbitt, like Motown, was going through a transition period. Work had slowed down, and he was involved with a lot of unfocused and unfinished projects. Jeff Beck and drummer Cozy Powell came into Hitsville to record with Bob and some of the other musicians, but nothing ever came of those sessions. And Beck's offer to take Bob back to London with him as part of his band was blocked by Motown, because he was under contract. A company-sanctioned Babbitt solo record never got off the ground; neither did an album project with a group called Scorpion, of which Bob was a member. To supplement his income, Babbitt became a professional wrestler for six months-but he wisely chose to retire before Killer Kowalski had a chance to bite off his ear.

A guitarist in England in the late sixties recounts an evening where he was supposed to be auditioning for Ginger Baker and instead wound up listening to and meeting another guitarist with a blonde Les Paul jamming in another part of a venue with a group called "Shy Limb" Although Mr Paul Marshall remembers Jeff, it took a lot of research to figure out who was Jeff sitting in for that night. Thanks to Ed as always for tracking down the untrackable. That guitarist missing that night was......Greg Lake...........................

Paul Marshall
1. What was your best memory of the 1960/70's music scene?
   Having been fortunate enough to have spent my teen years in London, England during the 60's,
   It was often a dilemma to decide who to go and see performing locally on a Friday or Saturday
   night. The choices were amazing as I look back. You had to choose between the likes of The Who,
   or Free, or Led Zeppelin or Cream or Hendrix, all who might be performing somewhere accessible
   on any given night. The most memorable time I suppose was the day in 1969 I went to a club called
   The Rendezvous where they were holding auditions for guitar players to join Ginger Bakers Airforce.
   While waiting for Baker to consume the required amount of beer at the corner pub (he was 2 hrs late)
   I heard this music coming from upstairs in the smaller lounge, so I went up to see what was happening
   and there was this group called Shy Limb.. they had a Hammond organ player pumping pedals and a
   drummer. As I watched there was this dude who got up on stage with a blond Les Paul ( Les Pauls were
   extremely rare there and cost a fortune) who began to play the wildest shit I'd heard.. Who is this guy
   I asked?.. They took a break and I went up to him, asked him if I could sit in and play his Paul. He
   said sure.. I remember the strings were so high off the neck that I could barely bend a note.. He showed
   me a couple of tricks which I still treasure today.. Jeff Beck has always held a special place in my
   musicology.. he was a super nice guy too! BTW. I lost out on the Baker gig to Denny Lane.

We interrupt this extremely long and tedious article to bring you fresh news from this year. Hold on to your seats AND YOUR BLACKBERRIES!!!!!!! .............. Naomi Campbell reportedly went nuts when she realized her BlackBerry was missing at the recent Led Zeppelin concert in London. Naomi accused other celebs of stealing her cell at the concert's after party. "As soon as she realized her stuff was missing she started screaming and shouting and wildly pointed in the direction of where Dave Grohl was sitting, screeching, 'Have they got it, have they got it?,'" a source claims "She then got into a lift with Jerry Hall, Jeff Beck and Vic Reeves, who were there with their other halves. They were all rolling their eyes as she continued her tirade."

We all know that Jeff has dabbled with Beatles tunes before. What we didn't know was that he took part a line literally from an Abbey Road tune (substitute He for She)and decided to make a rather odd entrance at a gathering as recounted by a friend of Leigh Stephens that purveyor of turning Marshall Amps up to 11 in Blue Cheer before Nigel Tufnel ever picked up a guitar.............

"Leigh is a great guy and was the one that told me to write to you------we shared some great times in
Hollywood.(and are amazed that we both survived!!) Though he is very humble about it, he was an integral
part of the English rock scene after breaking up with Blue Cheer and was very highly regarded and respected
by the likes of Ronnie Wood (an old roommate from London), Bill Wyman (from the Stones) and Rod Stewart (for a
few weeks a potential band mate along with Woodie on bass and Mickey Waller on drums (from Jeff Beck's band).
(Speaking of Jeff Beck----there was the time we were having a party of assorted card games at our Spanish
courtyard apartment complex in Hollywood, when Jeff floored us all by coming walking out of the bathroom! He
had climbed in through the bathroom window as a surprise to meet up with his buddy Kim Gardner (bass player
from Ashton, Gardner & Dike (London band) and later owner with his wife of the Hollywood pub "The Cat & the
Fiddle"--------and off they went into the night in one of Jeff's Hot Rod Chevy's"

Finally you've got homework to do "What I have to read through all this hearsay and skulduggery and they want me to go somewhere else to finish reading the article?" ....Only folks to your local Borders to browse and possibly buy Ronnie Woods new biography. In it he has a Jeff Beck story so outrageous that you have to read it to believe it. There is a certain truck stop that all musicians on the road in England back in the sixties frequented. Seems Jeff, Ronnie, and the lads got caught up in a most frightful situation with some Rockers bent on no good. You'll also learn where Jeff got some of his Hot Rod driving skills in that same story........Just don't get on his bad side. Hah!.................

Be seeing you!

Beckology Blow By Blow By Carmine

As the old Mother Goose nurery rhyme goes...."If wishes were horses beggars might ride"..........What if Phil Basile now deceased former manager of Carmine Appice) had not got silly demanding equal billing for Carmine with Jeff on the forthcoming seminal groundbreaking rock instrumental LP 'Blow By Blow"? Part of that answer has finally come forth from Carmine himself. Featured now on Carmine's official website on the Carm-O-Phonic link (below on our home page link list) is a "juke box" housed stable of four tracks recorded after George Marin had already been retained for the project recorded at Air Studios in London. Most of them are early mixes/demos save the one BBA carryover "Jizz Whizz" which here sounds like both the early BBA II unreleased demo and the official Beckology released final mixed version although the solos on all three are at different places in the tune. The other BBA tune brought over to the sessions suprisingly enough was another BBA II unreleased track "Satisfied". This version is probably a 1st demo take EXTREMELY funky and with the Jeff lick hint at what it morphed into on the final product "You Know What I Mean." Syreeta (Cause We've Ended As Lovers) features Jeff giving his expression of the delicate sad tune Motown style with trebly fills and runs in deference to the original tune Stevie Wonder wrote for Syreeta Wright to which she put her vocals to on her lp from that era. This is in stark contrast to the lp version with it's howling moans, wails, and the added nod to the volume knob cry wah swells that fascinated Jeff when he saw Roy Buchanan do "The Messiah WIll Come Again" while locked in his Boston hotel room under a death threat watch from mob related music act extortionists probably linked to a mobster Anthony Falcone who was later arrested for extortion after a '72 concert at which Jeff was interviewed by CBS radio as having said that Falcone threatened to blow the whole band's heads off while they were onstage. Fianlly the tour de force of all the tracks is an early but semi mixed strong version of "She's A Woman." The track is more rock than the reggae influenced final version with Jeff doing the seven note intro with the multi bended last note intro as he did on the live UPP performance of that number on the BBC "Five Faces Of Guitar" special with the insipid Brian Matthews. Carmine Appice really smokes at the end of the song with incredible drumming. Sadly, Carmine does not possess tapes of the other tracks done before his departure from the project which would be "Theolonius", "Constipated Duck" and "Scatterbrain" to which Carmine to this day is wistful about because he wrote that drum lick to which Richard Bailey recorded on that track....It's true Jeff had a winner with that final lineup on the finished lp and tour with Bernard Purdie and Wilbur Bascombe in place of Phil Chenn and Richard Bailey.....Still it might have been fun! Thanks to Carmine for supplying us with the tracks prior to putting them on his site and check out Carmine's reunions with the Fudge and Cactus coming to a venue near you soon!

Be seeing you!

Some Blow By Blow Era Pics Courtesy of Jim Summaria

Hi,
 
My name is Jim Summaria and back in the 1970’s I was the photographer for a  
Chicago concert promoter.  I’ve attached some photos of Jeff  Beck taken in 
1975 and 1977.  I have more of Jeff, Cozy Powell and Jan  Hammer.   
 
Yours,
Jim Summaria

Buddy Davis Redux

Dear Dick,

I have a story I want to share with you that happened in Memphis in 1995.
At the Jeff Beck/Santana show at Mud Island Amphitheatre, hadn’t seen Jeff since 76, hadn’t talked to him either. No communication for 19 years. My girlfriend and I figure he’s at the Peabody, Memphis’ best, but no. Being the detective she is, my girlfriend finds them at the Crown Plaza, the nicest place near the venue. And how does she find them? Terry Bozzio is listed under his own name! We found this out too late. So we went to the show, bought our own tickets, saw Jeff and the band blowin’ the lid off the place.

I saw an acquaintance; we’ll call him Randall M. He had a stage pass. I asked him to let Jeff know I was here. He came back out; said Jeff’s people asked Jeff did he want to put anybody on the guest list. He said since Stax is closed and TMI is closed, Cropper’s left town, there was nobody he wanted to put on the guest list, except for Buddy Davis, and that he hadn’t seen me in about 19 years but quote, “If I know Buddy he’ll turn up If he still lives in Memphis. So leave him two tickets and two after show passes at will call.”

My girlfriend and I immediately went to the monorail to go to will call and get these tickets and after show passes which takes about twenty minutes to do. While we were gone the same guy, Randall M, took another friend of his back to see Jeff because he was given the green light by Jeff’s people to bring me back.

Long story shorter, Jeff didn’t recognize him, but to be safe because he hadn’t seen me in 19 years, ran a few quick questions by him, which he couldn’t answer. Jeff turned to his people and said that ain’t Buddy, get them out of here. They were both escorted out—stage passes and all. Out front, when we got back with no tickets or after show passes because will call was closed, Shawn Lane, who has since passed, a great Memphis guitarist and friend of Jennifer Batten’s, you can check him out on the web if you want, was laughing when Patty and I got back and told me what happened and how they got busted by Jeff’s people and thrown out.

I was pissed. I watched one or two Santana songs, saw Jeff peeking out back stage at Santana, left immediately and went to a pub near the Crown Plaza. After a few beers, I was still drinking at the time, I turned to Patty and said it’s time. We walked over to the Crown Plaza, saw a beautiful bus, and I recognized Allan Dutton and asked him if he was Allan Dutton. He said yes. I told him I’m Buddy Davis who sold Jeff the Ox Blood, and gave him the ‘54 Esquire, too. He said quote, “Buddy, Jeff left you two tickets and after show passes. You’re the only person he left tickets and passes for saying ‘If I know Buddy and he is still around he’ll turn up.’ Two blokes came back stage and one tried to pass the other off as you.” Allan said, “If we could find those two guys now we would kick their butts.” You know yourself, Dick, how Jeff’s people operate. “But don’t worry, I’ve called Jeff, he’ll be down in a minute.” And sure enough, blue jean jacket and all, here comes Jeff out of the elevator with a grin on his face saying, “Good to see you Buddy, and no offense but I knew you should be a bit older than that guy that tried to pretend to be you. I asked him a few questions about Burkle’s Bakery and Mike Ladd’s guitar and Drum City and he didn’t know what I was talking about.” Then before I know it in the lobby walks Carlos Santana. Jeff says, “Carlos, this is Buddy Davis. He’s a good Memphis guitar player, and he’s been a friend of mine for over twenty years.” You can imagine how I felt about the friend part knowing I’m mainly a fan. It was the ultimate compliment, the friend part, not the guitar player part.

Trying to wrap it up for you now, Carlos says, “Buddy, would you please tell Jeff those people there tonight were there to see him, not me. It was obvious, and would he quit waiting every four years to grace us with his presence, live playing and recordings. If anyone has the God-given talent, and the gift, it’s Jeff.” Jeff just gave that sly grin of his you’ve seen so many times yourself, Dick. And Carlos showed me right then and there he is truly the spiritual, humble, and classy guy we’ve all heard he is. So now it’s time for the picture, and Carlos and Jeff tell me to get in the middle. I said to Patty, “I can’t believe this! I’m in the middle of two of the greatest guitar players in the world!” Carlos says, “No”, and points as you can see in the picture to Jeff and says, “He’s the man!” as if to say, “You and I Buddy are getting our picture made with one of the greatest guitar players who’s ever lived and probably ever will live.” That’s why when I show the picture to people, I rate it Jeff #1, Carlos #2, and me a distant, distant, distant, well, you got the picture, 3rd!

That private audience with Jeff and Carlos, Patty and myself, for about forty-five minutes, was one of the greatest highlights of my life. Carlos left. It was him and Jeff’s last show of the tour together. Jeff had one more show, I believe, in Virginia the following night and for the first time on this tour, was going to ride on the bus with the rest of the band instead of fly. I remember Allan or Ralph one, joking, “We’ll have to make him a few martinis so he won’t gripe about the bumpy ride.” With that we all went outside. They all got on the bus and as Jeff reached the door of the bus, he turned to Patty and I, and gave her a hug, shook my hand and said, “God bless, Buddy. Until next time.” I can’t remember who, but someone got on the bus behind him making sure the coast was clear, and the door shut, and that was it. Never saw him again or talked to him again until the ‘99 show in Knoxville.

Thanks for your patience with me Dick, and I want to thank Rob, who is right here with me. I’m really enjoying our friendship, Dick, whether it be internet or telephone. If you get the chance, please let us know you got the email and the pics. Hopefully, we’ve got more good times with each other and Jeff to come.

Much love, much respect, Your friend, Buddy Davis

end quote.
Robert Kent Haines

Jim Copley's 'Slap My Hand'

Hooray for Jimmy Copley, longtime Jeff Beck friend and inspirational jam mate and Jim's new solo LP "Slap My Hand." Inspired by a retrospective look at his youth and influences, Jim indeed seals the deal with a host of friends including Jeff with the "Slap" of the hand (shake). The bonus track at the end of the CD, "Forget It" features a tight groove with bassist Paul Jackson, keyboardist Yoshi Kojima, and Japan's premier guitarist (and Jeff fan) Char. It's like UPP in the Twenty First Century!

Need some more inspiration? As Steve Vai said on the liner notes to "Merry Axemas" if you want to fill the pews in your church look no further than Jeff Beck. The first of the three offerings with Jeff is the Jimmy Rushing classic "Everyday I Have The Blues". Trying to start off with the true original feel, Mr. Beck reminds us in a very short amount of time that he is Jeff Beck, the mischief and mayhem are going to come out and it's not if .....it's when.

J Blues is one of those "roll the tape jams where everyone all three of 'em that is.....Jimmy, Jeff, and Pino Palladino just fit like a glove. I dare say it's Jeff here who provides the inspirational spark hence the title named after him. Make no mistake, no matter how you think Jeff Beck has stretched the boundaries of twelve bar and related blues structures, he once again re-invents what is possible with touch, tone, and feel from his Strat. Building up just before wind down Jimmy gives off a syncopated tom roll which Pino picks up on and Jeff then swoops both of them up and throws down the landing gear for the ride home. ...Simply stunning!

Finally "All Shook Up" is given a refreshing upbeat straight forward bluesy arrangement which is a far cry from the rockabilly Elvis version or still the king of dare we say it "heavy metal" versions ala Beck Ola. A young man by the name of Dino Baptiste plays some rollicking barrel house piano with Jeff interspersing some understated quick jazzy and low bursts to play off with still another tight glove fitting rhythm section of Jim Copley and Big Town Playboy Ian Jennings.

Fans in the UK might remember Jeff playing with Ian and Jimmy Copley at that club a few months back where unfortunately all that is currently available is a second rate cell phone nevertheless historical performance on YouTube.com.

You can catch Jimmy when he is not on tour with a ad hoc band Hub featuring himself, Robbie Blount, and Ian Jennings which has a MySpace page and promises "Guests" in the future which hopefully will include at the very least a good smattering of guitar from Jeff Beck.

Be seeing you!

Joe Bonamassa - Strings Attached

Saturday night May 3rd saw young (and now thin and lookin' fit) Joe Bonamassa take the stage at the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida in a rare support/opening act (the schedules fit) for the man he had toured with as a 12 yr old prodigy, Mr. B.B. King. Sporting his new signiture gold top Les Paul (more about that later) Joe charged through an all too abbreviated set with his recent number one in the Blues Charts title track "Sloe Gin", my favorite stone cold "So Many Roads" and others from the past as well as more from the last two CD's.

After the show Joe told me a great story about Gibson turning him down for his request to label his serial numbers for the new Joe Bonamassa signature Les Paul as JB1 JB2, etc. Gibson it turns out is saving that inscription for another JB on another Les Paul..........It is 35 years after the Ox Blood made it's way into Jeff Beck's hands via our pal Buddy Davis!.......Official London response "at this stage still wishful thinking on Gibson's part".

Joe signed about three dozen Les Paul Jr. replicas from Epiphone for his upcoming tour promotion give aways. As he signed the last one I noticed it took him forever to finish. Grinning he turned around to me and shoved it my hands. "To Dick, Thanks for everything...especially all the J.B. Your friend, Joe Bonamassa". No problem Joe, thanks for your inspiration on and off the stage, your mutual admiration of Jeff, and your very own "whistle" technique no one else's. It's yours!

Be seeing you!