Legendary guitarist Jeff Beck dead at 78

Legendary guitarist Jeff Beck, an eight-time Grammy Award winner who played lead guitar for The Yardbirds during the mid-1960s and had a productive solo career, died Tuesday, a representative for the rock star confirmed Wednesday. He was 78.

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Beck died Tuesday after “suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis,” his representative said in a statement. He died at a hospital near his home in Surrey, England, his publicist, Melissa Dragich, told The New York Times.

“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,” a representative said in a statement. “His family ask for privacy while they process this tremendous loss.”

Beck is a two-time inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, both as a member of The Yardbirds (1992) as well as for his work with his own band, the Jeff Beck Group (2009), Rolling Stone reported.

Beck won seven Grammy Awards for instrumental performances, and an eighth for his 2009 work on Herbie Hancock’s “The Imagine Project,” according to Variety.

Beck, a blues and jazz virtuoso, anchored The Yardbirds after joining the group as a replacement for Eric Clapton in 1965, according to Variety. His guitar work was apparent on lead guitar on the band staples such as “Shapes of Things” and “Over Under Sideways Down” the Times reported.

“Always and ever,” Clapton tweeted in tribute.

“Jeff Beck is the best guitar player on the planet,” Aerosmith lead guitarist Joe Perry told the Times in 2010. “He is head, hands and feet above all the rest of us, with the kind of talent that appears only once every generation or two.”

Beck played guitar with vocalists as varied as Luciano Pavarotti, Macy Gray, Chrissie Hynde, Joss Stone, Imelda May, Cyndi Lauper, Wynonna Judd and Buddy Guy, according to The Associated Press. He recorded a pair of albums with Rod Stewart -- 1968′s “Truth” and 1969′s “Beck-Ola” -- and released an album with a 64-piece orchestra, “Emotion & Commotion.”

In a tweet, Stewart wrote that Beck “was on another planet.”

“I like an element of chaos in music. That feeling is the best thing ever, as long as you don’t have too much of it. It’s got to be in balance. I just saw Cirque du Soleil, and it struck me as complete organized chaos,” Beck told Guitar World in a 2014 interview. “If I could turn that into music, it’s not far away from what my ultimate goal would be, which is to delight people with chaos and beauty at the same time.”

When Beck formed the Jeff Beck Group, he teamed with Stewart and future Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood, the Times reported. The band’s 1968 debut, “Truth,” became a template for another Yardbirds alumnus, Jimmy Page, who would form Led Zeppelin.

“His technique unique. His imaginations apparently limitless,” Page wrote on his social media accounts. “Jeff, I will miss you along with your millions of fans.”

During the 1970s, Beck put together a more R&B-influenced version of his group and formed a trio with bass player Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice, Variety reported.

During the mid-1970s, Beck achieved his greatest critical acclaim with the instrumental albums “Blow by Blow” and “Wired,” according to the entertainment news site.

Beck recorded “Wired” with keyboardist Jan Hammer, formerly of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Variety reported.

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