— Ted Nugent (@TedNugent) February 15, 2023
We all know that Jeff Beck passed away recently. Since then many musicians and former actor Johnny Depp, have publicly donated of their kind words the former legendary guitarist and his surviving family. Today, Ted Nugent, whom has very strong opinions when it comes to guns, aggression and self-defense, had a thing or two to say about the legend.
According to Ultimate Guitar, Ted Nugent paid homage to the late guitarist Jeff Beck, saying that “his musical legacy has *so* enriched real music lovers’ life” and that there were “a lot of parallels” between the two of them.
Two weeks ago, the music world Jeff Beck after he “suddenly contracted bacterial meningitis”, at age 78. Having risen to prominence with The Yardbirds (where Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page also cut their teeth), the British guitar icon went on to enjoy a decades-long career during which he kept pushing the boundaries of the instrument to such an extent that he often got compared with Jimi Hendrix in terms of sheer skill and soulful phrasing.
After his death was announced, dozens of Beck’s prominent colleagues, friends, and younger musicians whose careers he inspired paid homage to the late icon.
In a recent episode of “The Nightly Nuge”, Ted Nugent also spoke about Jeff Beck’s passing (transcription via Blabbermouth):
“There is not a meaningful guitarist in the world that didn’t discover the brilliance, the lyricism, the dynamics, the vocabulary, the tonal spread of what Jeff Beck literally created.
“He was inspired by Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley and certainly The Ventures and Duane Eddy and Lonnie Mack and all those original electric guitar virtuosos. Just an adventurous, creative, wonderful guy.
“We did a lot of shows early on with The Yardbirds and Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice with Carmine Appice and Tim Bogert from Vanilla Fudge. But his musical legacy has so enriched real music lovers’ life. And he was a good man; he was a kind man.
“There was a lot of parallels [between Jeff and me] because the way he expressed himself on the guitar, it referenced that mechanics of horsepower. It represent[ed] the spirit side of the samurai, the martial arts. He was an archer. He made his own long bows out of Osage orange and he made his own arrows. So there’s a lot of parallels there.
“When you play with that dynamic lyricism that Jeff Beck had mastered and uncharted tonalities, it was really mesmerizing. And ultimately, as I say about Eddie Van Halen and all of our lost souls, when Chuck Berry passed, their music will continue to enrich our lives. So nobody ever forget Jeff Beck.
“And if you haven’t listened to a lot of Jeff Beck, go back to The Yardbirds and go back to the Jeff Beck ‘Truth’ album — unbelievable soulful music.”
