Jeff Beck Tributes Pour In From Mick Jagger, Rod Stewart, Michael Des Barres and More: ‘The Picasso of Rock and Roll’

Rock stars Mick Jagger, Rod Stewart, The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson and more shared their tributes to legendary guitarist Jeff Beck after his family reported his death on Wednesday.

Jagger declared The Yardbirds and Jeff Beck Group axman “one of the greatest guitar players in the world.” Wilson raved about his “genius” and Power Station’s Michael Des Barres dubbed Beck “the Picasso of rock and roll.”

Rod Stewart, who got his start in the Jeff Beck Group, shared a recent photo of himself with the guitarist and 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…. Jeff, you were the greatest, my man.”

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Ron Wood shared several photos of Beck, writing, “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… I want to thank him for all our early days together in Jeff Beck Group, conquering America… Musically, we were breaking all the rules, it was fantastic, groundbreaking rock ’n’ roll! Listen to the incredible track ‘Plynth’ in his honour. Jeff, I will always love you.”

Mick Jagger shared a clip of himself performing with Beck to Twitter with the note, “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.”

Des Barres tweeted, “[Beck] was the Picasso of Rock & Roll. Unlike every other guitar player, he created music that literally sounded as if he was an alien, following no rules, no clichés, a true master of the instrument. I am shocked and saddened by his passing. RIP Jeff Beck.”

Black Sabbath guitarist Geezer Butler shared, “Shocked to hear of the sudden death of Jeff Beck. Truly one of the greats. First time I saw him was in 1966 with the Yardbirds. Brilliant, unique guitarist. RIP.”

“I’m shocked and bewildered,” wrote Dave Davies of The Kinks, who called Beck “a good friend and a great guitar player.”

Poison frontman Bret Michaels remembered Beck’s 1976 album “Wired” as the “guitar soundtrack of my youth,” while Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready wrote, “I was lucky to see him once and I stood in awe of his genius.”

Beck was also remembered by Dokken, former MTV VJ Matt Pinfield, Spandau Ballet’s Gary Kemp and more.

His death was announced on Twitter with the message: “On behalf of his family, it is with deep and profound sadness that we share the news of Jeff Beck’s passing. After suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis, he peacefully passed away yesterday. His family ask for privacy while they process this tremendous loss.”

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