British guitar legend Jeff Beck passed away at age 78. The eight-time Grammy winner is survived by his wife Sandra. A January 11 tweet from his Twitter account clearly indicated on behalf of his family that “after suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis, he peacefully passed away yesterday,” as can be seen here.
The Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer rose to prominence with The Yardbirds. He died “suddenly.”
The tweet from Beck’s account said absolutely nothing about vaccines. Yet, it didn’t take too long for a bunch of anti-vaccination social media accounts to play the same old song. They started claiming that vaccines were somehow responsible for the unfortunate passing of the eight-time Grammy winner Beck. For example, someone posted on YouTube a video entitled, “Jeff Beck Dies Suddenly? Another Vaccine Casualty of War?” And searching for “Jeff Beck vaccine” on social media would yielded a barrel of anti-vaccination slop as @Zimmsy suspected:
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. pic.twitter.com/4dvt5aGzlv
— Jeff Beck (@jeffbeckmusic) January 11, 2023
Beck’s death quickly reverberated around the music world, with tributes pouring in from rock icons like Ozzy Osbourne, with whom Beck once collaborated, and Kiss lead singer Gene Simmons, who called Beck’s passing “heartbreaking.”
Beck famously replaced Eric Clapton as The Yardbirds lead guitarist in 1965 and later went on to form The Jeff Beck Group, which featured Rod Stewart on vocals and Ron Wood on bass. Their two albums — “Truth” (1968) and “Beck-Ola” (1969) — would become musical touchstones for hard rockers in the years to come.
