Jack White Reflects on Playing With Jeff Beck as The Yardbirds: ‘One of the Greatest Thrills of My Life’

The music industry is coming together to mourn the loss of Jeff Beck, one of rock’s most masterful guitarists. Following Beck’s death on Wednesday (Jan. 11), famous admirers of the celebrated guitarist have been coming forward to express their sadness, with White Stripes‘ Jack White reflecting on special moments he shared with the late guitarist.

“Jeff Beck, guitar innovator extraordinaire has moved to the next realm. I wrote to him a couple of years ago to show him that I was standing where he once stood inside Sam Phillips studio in Memphis some 50 odd years before,” White wrote on Instagram. “He was amazingly kind and instructional to me over the years. Many shows that I’ve played began moments after listening to his song “Led Boots” backstage.”

But one moment in particular stands out to White. “This bootleg clip that I’m posting is when I had one of the greatest thrills of my life, along with Meg White and Jack Lawrence of the Greenhornes, we were ‘the yardbirds’ for one night backing up Jeff at the Royal Festival Hall in London,” he shared. “In our rehearsals he plugged straight into an amp, no effects pedals. He was changing the sound of the guitar and doing things people didn’t know were possible from his earliest days on stage. God Bless you Jeff, you must already be chatting with Cliff Gallup somewhere.”

The news of Beck’s death was confirmed in a statement released by his family: “It is with deep and profound sadness that we share the news of Jeff Beck’s passing,” the statement reads. “After suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis, he peacefully passed away yesterday. His family ask for privacy while they process this tremendous loss.”

See White’s tribute post to Beck below.