Jeff Beck Watched Jimi Hendrix ‘Put the Final Nail’ in His Guitar God Coffin
Guitar maestro Jeff Beck played alongside many notable musicians during his life. Jimi Hendrix wasn’t one of them. Beck’s brand of classic rock saw him briefly share the Yardbirds with Jimmy Page, add Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood to his namesake band, and form a surprising friendship with Johnny Depp. Beck called Hendrix trouble and then witnessed him “put the final nail” in his coffin as the dominant guitar god of the era after Hendrix arrived in England.
Jimi Hendrix found a receptive audience for his music in England
With The Beatles bending musical norms, the Yardbirds twisting American blues into something psychedelic, and The Rolling Stones coming into their own, the English music scene in the mid-1960s was a cauldron of creation.
Then Jimi Hendrix entered the picture and blew up the frame.
The guitarist played with Isley Brothers and backed groups such as Wilson Picket, Sam Cooke, and Little Richard in the United States. Yet Hendrix didn’t find much success on his own until he moved to England in the back half of 1966. Coincidentally, Hendrix and Wood shared a flat in London, and the American guitarist got Wood kicked out of his place for trying to be a good friend.
Beck, Eric Clapton, The Who’s Pete Townshend, and Page suddenly had another ace guitarist to contend with. Beck said he knew he was in trouble when he saw Hendrix perform and put the final nail in his coffin as one of England’s pre-eminent guitar players.
Jeff Beck knew Hendrix was ‘trouble’ when he ‘put the final nail in the coffin’ of England’s guitar gods
Hendrix performing solos with his teeth, playing riffs behind his head, and lighting his guitar on fire are pillars of the classic rock iconography. Beck saw them all and more during one of Hendrix’s first shows in England and knew he had witnessed a changing of the guard.
Clapton and Beck, the Yardbirds’ first two guitarists who personified the term guitar god, suddenly had a replacement. Beck said Hendrix put the nail in their collective coffin (per Louder):
“When I saw Jimi, we knew he was going to be trouble. And by ‘we,’ I mean me and Eric, because Jimmy [Page] wasn’t in the frame at that point. I saw him at one of his earliest performances in Britain, and it was quite devastating. He did all the dirty tricks – setting fire to his guitar, doing swoops up and down his neck, all the great showmanship to put the final nail in our coffin.”
Jeff Beck on watching Jimi Hendrix perform
Beck’s performing style routinely included swoops up and down the neck, finger-tapping solos, and deft use of the whammy bar. Even he was awed by Hendrix’s showmanship.
“I had the same temperament as Hendrix in terms of ‘I’ll kill you,’” Beck said, per Louder, “but he did it in such a good package with beautiful songs.”
Beck was right about being replaced as a guitar god — sort of
Hendrix died roughly four years after arriving in London. Yet in that short time, he wrote dozens of songs that became classic rock staples. Hendrix also added to his list of signature moments, including his “Star Spangled Banner” performance at Woodstock in 1969 and headlining the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival shortly before he died.
His career didn’t last long, but Hendrix didn’t need much time to become an ascendant guitar god. Still, Beck said Hendrix nailed shut his coffin, but that’s not entirely true.
At the same time Hendrix was at his peak, Jeff Beck Group churned out two of the guitarist’s finest albums — Truth and Beck-Ola. (His cover of “I Ain’t Superstitious” from the former is one of the great examples of wah-wah pedal finesse). Beck’s longevity allowed him a chance to join elite company with a posthumous Grammy after his tragically sudden death on Jan. 10, 2023. Hendrix earned one Grammy nod for his “Star Spangled Banner” rendition (and somehow lost).
Jimi Hendrix achieved critical acclaim during his brief career and quickly established himself as a guitar legend. Jeff Beck said Hendrix put the final nail in his coffin as a guitar star, but that wasn’t quite right. Beck continued writing, performing, and playing brilliantly technical guitar until his death. That final nail in Beck’s coffin never quite took hold.
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