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The Jeff Beck Group were a British rock band formed in London in January 1967 by former Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck. Their innovative approach to heavy-sounding blues, rhythm and blues and rock was a major influence on popular music.

History

First group

The first Jeff Beck Group formed in London in early 1967 and included guitarist Jeff Beck, vocalist Rod Stewart, and rhythm guitarist Ronnie Wood, with bass players and drummers changing regularly. Early bass players were Jet Harris and Dave Ambrose, with Clem Cattini and Viv Prince trying out on drums. The lineup went through months of personnel changes, notably no fewer than four drummers, before settling on Aynsley Dunbar and switching Wood to bass. This lineup spent most of 1967 playing the UK club circuit and appeared several times on BBC Radio. Beck signed a personal management contract with record producer and manager Mickie Most, who had no interest in the group, only in Beck as a solo artist.

During 1967, the band released three singles in Europe and two in the United States, the first, "Hi Ho Silver Lining", being the most successful, reaching No. 14 on the UK singles chart; it included the instrumental "Beck's Bolero" as the B-side, which had been recorded several months earlier. The lineup for that session included Jimmy Page on rhythm guitar, John Paul Jones on bass, Keith Moon on drums, and Nicky Hopkins on piano. Frustrated that the band were not playing a strict enough blues set for his taste, drummer Dunbar left and was replaced by Roy Cook for one show, before Stewart recommended Micky Waller, a bandmate of his from Steampacket. Waller went on to play with the band all through 1968 and early 1969, and was their longest-lasting drummer.

Peter Grant, a road manager at the time, had been to the U.S. with the New Vaudeville Band, and was aware of the new concert and album-oriented rock FM radio format developing there. It was now possible to break out a band without using the "hit single" formula. Grant realised that Beck's band was ideal for this market and tried several times to buy Beck's contract from Most, who refused to let Beck go.

By early 1968 the band was considering disbanding, but Grant convinced them not to, and booked a short U.S. tour that began in early June.

Beck said the group "were literally down to one change of clothing each". Stewart has revealed that he and Wood were reduced to stealing hard-boiled eggs from the Automat on 57th street. Grant's first stop for them was at the Gorham Hotel in New York City, just south of Central Park. The Jeff Beck Group then did four shows at the Fillmore East, where they played second on the bill to the Grateful Dead. The New York Times ran a Robert Shelton article, "Jeff Beck Group Cheered in Debut", with the secondary headline "British Pop Singers Delight Fillmore East Audience," proclaiming that Beck and his group had upstaged the Grateful Dead. The reviews from The Boston Tea Party were as good or better: "By the time he got to his last number ... (the fans) were in a state of pandemonium the likes of which hadn't been witnessed since the Beatles hit town." By the time they wrapped up the tour at San Francisco's Fillmore West, Grant had secured them a new album contract with Epic Records.

The band quickly returned to England to record the album Truth (under the name "Jeff Beck"), which reached No. 15 in the U.S. charts. The tracks were recorded within two weeks, with overdubs added the following month. Mickie Most was busy with other projects at the time and delegated most of the work to Ken Scott, who basically recorded the band playing their live set in the studio. Beck's amplifier was apparently so loud, it was recorded from inside a closet. The extra lineup for these sessions included John Paul Jones on Hammond organ, drummer Keith Moon and Nicky Hopkins on piano. The core group, billed as the "Jeff Beck Group", returned to the U.S. for a tour to promote the release of Truth. Long-time Beck fan Jimi Hendrix jammed with the band at Steve Paul’s Scene during this and their following tours.