The Jeff Beck Group - The First Jeff Beck Group

The First Jeff Beck Group

The first Jeff Beck Group formed in London in early 1967 and included guitarist Jeff Beck, vocalist Rod Stewart, 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 less than four drummers before settling on Aynsley Dunbar and switching Ron Wood to bass. This line up 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 Beck as a solo artist.

During 1967 the band released three singles in Europe and two in the United States, the first being the most successful. "Hi Ho Silver Lining" reached No. 14 on the UK singles chart and included the instrumental "Beck's Bolero" as the B side, which had been recorded several months earlier. The lineup for that session included guitarist Jimmy Page on rhythm guitar, bass player John Paul Jones, drummer Keith Moon (of The Who) and pianist Nicky Hopkins. Another two tracks are said to have been recorded, but have never seen the light of day. Each artist involved were keen to start a band, but because of contractual complications and other responsibilities it never took place. The next two singles fared far worse, although Rod Stewart and the rest of the Jeff Beck Group can be heard on both B sides. Frustrated that the band was not playing a strict enough blues set for his taste (they were actually billed quite often as "The Jeff Beck Blues Band"), 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 US 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 Mickie Most, who refused to let Beck go. By early 1968 the band was ready to throw in the towel, and again to his credit, Grant convinced them not to break up, and booked a short US tour for them. Beck is quoted as saying "We were literally down to one change of clothing each". Grant's first stop for them was in New York City, for four shows at Fillmore East, where they played second on the bill to The Grateful Dead. They apparently took the town by storm. The New York Times ran the Robert Shelton article: "Jeff Beck Group Cheered in Debut", with the byline "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, Peter Grant had secured them a new album contract with Epic Records.

The band quickly returned to England to record Truth, which reached No. 15 in the US 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 line up for these sessions included John Paul Jones on Hammond organ, drummer Keith Moon and Nicky Hopkins on piano. They returned to the US for a tour to promote the release of Truth, billed as The Jeff Beck Group. Long time Beck fan Jimi Hendrix jammed with the band at Cafe Wha during this and their following tours.

They embarked on their third tour in December 1968 with Nicky Hopkins, who although in poor health, decided he wanted to play live. He accepted Beck's invitation, even though he had been offered more money by Led Zeppelin. Later, he lamented that "We lost one of the greatest bands in Rock history...." This was high praise from someone who played and recorded with some of the most stellar acts in the business. Even with his best intentions, the last leg of the tour was curtailed by illness. Beck then postponed a fourth, February 1969 US tour. This was also because he felt they shouldn't keep playing the same material with nothing new to add to it. New material was written, Micky Waller was replaced by power drummer Tony Newman and Wood was dismissed, only to be re-hired almost immediately. The success of Truth ignited new interest from Mickie Most and they recorded an album with the same name of their earlier single: Beck-Ola at De Lane Lea Studios, engineered by Martin Birch. They released the single "Plynth" and laid down three Donovan backing tracks as a favour to Most. Two of them were used for his single "Barabajagal (Love Is Hot)".

In May 1969 the Jeff Beck Group embarked on their fourth U.S tour, this time with Nicky Hopkins as a full fledged member. The tour went smoothly, Beck-Ola was received extremely well, reaching No. 15 on The Billboard Charts, but it was reported that there was now terrible in-fighting within the band. Rod Stewart had recorded his first album An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down for Mercury Records. They finished and returned to England, only to turn around and come right back to the States in July 1969 for their fifth and final time. It was a short tour, mostly along the East Coast, including Maryland, their final Fillmore East appearance, and the Newport Jazz Festival. Beck broke up the band on the eve of the Woodstock Music Festival, altthough they had been scheduled to play there. This is something that Beck now regrets.