Ronnie Wood says Jeff Beck “wouldn’t have kept up” with the Rolling Stones’ schedule
“Anything to do with the spotlight, he’d be like, ‘You can take care of this,’ and he would be gone.”
Image: Paul Natkin / Getty Images
Ronnie Wood has opined that the late Jeff Beck wouldn’t have coped with the Rolling Stones’ intense schedule.
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Remembering Beck in a new interview with MOJO magazine, Wood addressed the rumour that the late guitar legend was invited to join the Stones at one point.
“He wouldn’t have kept up with the timetable!” Wood remarked. “Eric Clapton once said to me, ‘I could have joined that band.’ I said, ‘Yeah, but you gotta live with them, Eric!’” (via MusicNews)
Wood added that the guitarist tended to shy away from the spotlight, and that he wasn’t keen on the “simple blues and rock ‘n’ roll” sound the Stones are known for.
“Anything to do with the spotlight, he’d be like, ‘You can take care of this,’ and he would be gone,” the musician recalled. “And Jeff was not satisfied with the simple blues and rock’n’roll approach — much as he loved Buddy Guy. When he hooked up with Jan Hammer, the experimental jazz stuff, that was where I got off, although we’d already gone our different ways.”
The former Yardbirds member passed away in January at the age of 78 after contracting bacterial meningitis.
In a heartfelt tribute to Beck, Wood wrote: “Now Jeff has gone, I feel like one of my band of brothers has left this world, and I’m going to dearly miss him. I’m sending much sympathy to Sandra, his family, and all who loved him. I want to thank him for all our early days together in Jeff Beck Group, conquering America.”
“Musically, we were breaking all the rules, it was fantastic, groundbreaking rock ’n’ roll! Listen to the incredible track ‘Plynth’ in his honour. Jeff, I will always love you. God bless.”
🙏Now Jeff has gone, I feel like one of my band of brothers has left this world, and I’m going to dearly miss him. I’m sending much sympathy to Sandra, his family, and all who loved him. I want to thank him for all our early days together in Jeff Beck Group, conquering America. pic.twitter.com/UareDAdtZ9
— Ronnie Wood (@ronniewood) January 11, 2023