“Stratus”
Written by Billy Cobham
SOREN REIFF: Guitar
JERVONNY COLLIER: Bass
VINNIE AGUAS: Drums
DANE BRYANT: Keyboards
Producer: Tom Emmi
Mixing Engineer: Bob Schachner
Video Editors: Dexter Gresh, Adam Henderson
If electric guitars could talk, they’d probably have a lot to say about Jeff Beck. Of course, in Beck’s hands, guitars did talk. And cry. And Laugh. And, most of all, they sang. Over a career that spanned seven decades, Beck was both the consummate master and the ultimate student of his instrument, chasing new sounds and zagging where other players zigged. Along with his close friends Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, Beck invented and reinvented the potential of his instrument with every new album, pioneering the use of the “talk box” and transforming the whammy bar to create his signature vibrato. A born mechanic, he collected and tinkered with vintage cars, motorcycles and, of course, guitars throughout his lifetime which was cut short in January, 2023. Jeff Beck has plucked his last earthly note, but his tone will sustain forever.
Related Segments
Bobby Caldwell
Bobby Caldwell was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He released several albums spanning R&B, soul, jazz and adult contemporary. Known for his soulful and versatile vocals, Caldwell released the…
Robbie Robertson
You could be forgiven for wondering if there was a major musical moment in the past sixty years when Robbie Robertson wasn’t in the room. As the lead songwriter and…
Michael Rhodes
Michael Rhodes was an extraordinary bassist who sadly left us in March 2023. A Nashville staple since the late ’70s, his incredibly long list of credits includes recordings for Willie…
Denny Laine
You’ve just ended the most productive creative partnership in the history of popular music. Now who do you call? If you’re Paul McCartney in 1970, the answer is Denny Laine.…
Cynthia Weil
You’ve lost that loving feeling. On Broadway. Here you come again. We’ve got to out of this place. He’s so shy. The names of the songs she wrote are more…
Burt Bacharach
Although just five feet eight inches in height, Burt Bacharach towered over the field in songwriting stature for more than half a century. Working in a style that was decidedly…
Tony Bennett
He made his first record in 1952 and his last in 2021. In the six decades in-between, Tony Bennett became the foremost interpreter of the Great American Songbook and maybe…
Jesse Gress
Jesse Gress was an extraordinary American rock guitarist. Over the years, he toured and recorded extensively with Todd Rundgren and the Tony Levin Band. A performer, music educator, and former…
Randy Meisner
When an eagle flies, it might be the flash of feathers that catches your eye, but it’s the mighty muscle underneath that keeps it aloft. For the musical Eagles, that…
Robbie Bachman
Robin Bachman was a Canadian drummer and the youngest brother of guitarist, singer and songwriter Randy Bachman. He was the original drummer for the Bachman-Turner Overdrive band.
David Lindley
When it comes to sidemen, David Lindley was always way out in front. A multi-instrumentalist who could play anything with strings from an Apache Fiddle to a Zither, Lindley was…
David Crosby
David Crosby was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He first found fame as a member of The Byrds, and later as part of the supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash,…
George Winston
George Otis Winston III was an American pianist who was an established contemporary instrumental music performer. Best known for his solo piano recordings, Winston released his first album in 1972,…
Barrett Strong
Barrett Strong, Jr. was an American singer and songwriter. Together with producer Norman Whitfield, they penned such songs as “I Heard It Through The Grapevine,” War,”, “Just My Imagination (Running…
Floyd Sneed
Floyd Chester Sneed was a Canadian drummer, best known for his work with the band Three Dog Night. Sneed grew up in a musical family and became interested in drums…
Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter was an American jazz saxophonist, composer and bandleader. He came to mainstream prominence in 1959 upon joining Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, for whom he eventually became the primary…