Jeff Beck: Top 30 Songs

Jeff Beck Top 30 Songs

Jeff Beck was born on June 24, 1944, in Wallington, Surrey, England. He died on January 10, 2023 at age 78. He is considered one of the best and most influential guitarists of all time, being credited with how his experimentation with feedback, distortion, and fuzz tone opened the door for psychedelic rock. All Music Guide’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine called him “as innovative as Jimmy Page, as tasteful as Eric Clapton, and nearly as visionary as Jimi Hendrix.” He became well-known as a guitarist with the Yardbirds from 1965 to 1967 before forming his own group, The Jeff Beck Group, which lasted from 1967 to 1972. The next year he recorded an album with bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice, both of Vanilla Fudge. He then became a solo artist, largely recording instrumental albums. He only released three solo albums in the 1980s, but in 1984 he worked with The Honeydrippers, a one-time supergroup which also featured Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and Nile Rodgers. In the ‘90s, he played guitar on a number of projects, including Jon Bon Jovi’s solo album Blaze of Glory (1990), Roger Waters’ Amused to Death (1992), Kate Bush’s The Red Shoes (1993), and Paul Rodgers’ Muddy Water Blues (1993). He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Yardbirds in 1992. He was inducted a second time as a solo artist in 2009. He won eight Grammys from 1985 to 2010. For a complete list of this act’s DMDB honors, check out the DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry. Click here to see other acts’ best-of lists. Spotify Podcast: Check out the podcast Remembering Jeff Beck, 1944-2023, based on this list. Debut: January 18, 2023, at 7pm CST. New episodes based on Dave’s Music Database lists are posted every Tuesday at 7pm CST.

Awards:

Top 30 Songs Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists, appearances on compilations and live albums by the featured act, and songs’ chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. Songs which hit #1 on various charts are noted. (Click for codes to singles charts.) DMDB Top 5%: 1. Shapes of Things (Yardbirds, 1966) 2. Heart Full of Soul (Yardbirds, 1965) DMDB Top 10%: 3. Rockin’ at Midnight (The Honeydrippers, 1984) DMDB Top 20%: 4. Happenings Ten Years Time Ago (Yardbirds, 1966) 5. People Get Ready (with Rod Stewart, 1985) 6. Over Under Sideways Down (Yardbirds, 1966) 7. Beck’s Bolero (Jeff Beck Group, 1967) 8. I Ain’t Superstitious (Jeff Beck Group, 1968) 9. I’m a Man (Yardbirds, 1965) 10. Ol’ Man River (Jeff Beck Group, 1968) Beyond the DMDB Top 20%: 11. Down So Long (live with Sting from Live for Life, 1986) 12. Freeway Jam (1975) 13. ‘Cause We’ve Ended Up As Lovers (1975) 14. Hi-Ho Silver Lining (1967) 15. Goo Goo Barabajagal (Love Is Hot) (Donovan with the Jeff Beck Group, 1969) 16. Plynth (Water Down the Drain) (Jeff Beck Group, 1969) 17. Tallyman (1967) 18. I’ve Been Drinking (Jeff Beck Group, 1968) 19. Manic Depression (with Seal, 1993) 20. She’s a Woman (1975) 21. Evil Hearted You (Yardbirds, 1965) 22. Love Is Blue (L'Amour Est Blue) (Jeff Beck Group, 1968) 23. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat (1976) 24. Like a Rolling Stone (with Seal, 2012) 25. Going Down (Jeff Beck Group, 1972) 26. Gets Us All in the End (1985) 27. Still I’m Sad (Yardbirds, 1965) 28. Train Kept A-Rollin’ (Yardbirds, 1965) 29. A Day in the Life (1998) 30. Scatter Brain (1975) Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Jeff Beck DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Jeff Beck Group DMDB Encyclopedia entry for The Yardbirds Dave’s Music Database: “Acts’ Profile Pages and Best-of Lists” First posted 1/17/2023; last updated 1/19/2023.

 

Today in Music (1965): The Impressions “People Get Ready” charted

People Get Ready The Impressions

Writer(s): Curtis Mayfield (see lyrics here) First Charted: February 13, 1965 Peak: 14 BB, 15 CB, 20 GR, 17 HR, 3 RB, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 9.9 video, 53.18 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler met in a Chicago church choir as teens. They formed the Impressions in 1958 when they joined up with a vocal trio from Tennessee. The lineup had changed by 1962 with Butler moving on and Mayfield writing the songs. In 1963, they teamed with producer Johnny Pate whose “polished arrangements propelled the Impressions to popular success.” NRR The group’s most celebrated song, “People Get Ready,” may just sound like a “simple song of Christian faith” NRR and Mayfield acknowledged that the influence for this “soul song with a big dose of gospel” TC “came directly from the pulpit.” TC However, “the racial subtext was obvious to African Americans.” NRR Mayfield composed the song in 1964, on the eve of Martin Luther King Jr.’s march on Chicago. SS It became “the unofficial anthem of the Civil Rights Movement.” NRR It is “about the sin of slavery never atoned for, the systemic racism that followed, and the promise of deliverance.” NRR The song uses trains as a metaphor for freedom, which harkens back to the 1830s and the Underground Railroad, which wasn’t an actual train but a network that helped slaves escape to freedom. Mayfield sings “in a silken falsetto over pizzicato strings and Sam Gooden responds, ‘There’s a train a-coming.’ Mayfield’s guitar marks time with staccato upstrokes over low French horns while bell-like glockenspiel tones rise to the heavens. ‘You don’t need no baggage,’ sings Mayfield; Gooden and Cash respond, ‘You just get on board.’ This is a train song; this is a gospel song delivering good news.” NRR While the song wasn’t a big hit initially, “it has become one of the longest-lasting soul singles of all time.” TC That has been helped by Aretha Franklin’s cover version on Lady Soul and a rock version by Vanilla Fudge. There was also “Bob Marley & the Wailers’ joyful mash-up, ‘One Love/People Get Ready.’” NRR The song also marked an important reunion for Rod Stewart and Jeff Beck in 1985. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for The Impressions TC Toby Creswell (2005). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time. Thunder’s Mouth Press: New York, NY. Page 764. DM Dave Marsh (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. New American Library: New York, NY. Page 122. NRR National Recording Registry essay by Brad Erickson SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Pages 317-8. First posted 1/31/2024.

Bob Marley & The Wailers released Exodus

Exodus Bob Marley & the Wailers

Released: June 3, 1977 Peak: 20 US, 15 RB, 8 UK, 88 AU Sales (in millions): 0.7 US, 0.1 UK, 4.5 world (includes US and UK) Genre: reggae

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Natural Mystic So Much Things to Say Guiltiness The Heathen Exodus (6/25/77, 14 UK, 19 RB) Jamming (12/10/77, 9 UK) Waiting in Vain (8/77, 27 UK, 38 RB) Turn Your Lights Down Low Three Little Birds (8/80, 17 UK) One Love/ People Get Ready (4/21/84, 5 UK) Total Running Time: 37:24 The Players: Bob Marley (vocals, guitar) Aston “Family Man” Barrett (bass) Carlton “Carlie” Barrett (drums, percussion) Tyrone Downie (keyboards) Junior Marvin (electric guitar) Alvin “Seeco” Patterson (percussion) Rita Marley, Judy Mowatt, Griffiths (backing vocals)

Rating: 4.267 out of 5.00 (average of 25 ratings) Quotable: “A concept album that distills the myriad experiences of both our daily lives and collective unconsciousness into 46 minutes of aural perfection.” – Rebecca, Levine, Amazon.com Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “It’s hard to find reggae as good as this.” AMG “This is the visionary Bob Marley’s masterpiece.” AZ In fact, “in 1999 Exodus was rightfully voted by Time Magazine the most important album of the 20th century.” AZ This is “a concept album that distills the myriad experiences of both our daily lives and collective unconsciousness into 46 minutes of aural perfection,” AZ showcasing “what is probably the Wailers’ tightest recorded performance.” AZ “Every song is a classic, from the messages of love to the anthems of revolution. But more than that, the album is a political and cultural nexus, drawing inspiration from the Third World and then giving voice to it the world over.” TM “Recorded in London following an attempt on his life, Exodus shows Bob Marley mellowing a bit. Despite some powerful political tracks, Marley adopts a less fiery, more reflective approach than his previous outings.” AMG “The first half of Exodus bears witness to Marley’s shift in focus away from the mundane problems of Babylon existence and toward a greater understanding of vital universal truths.” AZ “The initial notes of the album’s opening track, Natural Mystic, fade up from a deep silence, giving the listener the impression that the music generates from within a continuum of the past, present, and future.” AZ Throughout, “Exodus has all one would expect from a Bob Marley album: rumbling statements like Exodus and The Heathen as well as poetic love songs like Turn Your Lights Down Low.” AMG “The second half features songs like Jamming and Waiting in Vain, which take a gently wistful look at the more interpersonal aspect of human relations.” AZ These and One Love/ People Get Ready were also “huge international hits” AMG and “inspired tracks…[which] came to define Marley around the world. They are irresistible no matter how many times they are played.” AMG “Never one to dodge innovation, Exodus hints that Marley was taking cues from the emerging dub scene. Exodus, even though it contains some of Marley's best work, has an underlying nostalgic feel to it, hinting that Marley was getting a little formulaic.” AMG Notes: A 2001 Deluxe Edition adds a second disc of material for a total of 25 songs. Most of the material is alternate or live performances of the original album’s material, but extra songs “Roots,” “Crazy Baldhead/ Running Away,” “War/ No More Trouble,” “Punky Reggae Party,” and “Keep on Moving” are added as well.

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Bob Marley AMG Matthew Hilburn, All Music Guide review by Matthew Hilburn AZ Amazon.com review by Rebecca Levine TM Time Magazine (12/31/1999). “The Best of the Century” First posted 3/26/2008; last updated 5/10/2021.