Blow by Blow: The Jeff Beck Story

Brad Tolinski

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Book cover for Blow by Blow: The Jeff Beck Story
Image for variant 9780306836589
Book cover for Blow by Blow: The Jeff Beck Story
Image for variant 9780306836589

Blow by Blow: The Jeff Beck Story

Blow by Blow: The Jeff Beck Story

Brad Tolinski

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Description

From the house authors of the critically acclaimed oral history on Eddie Van Halen, Eruption, a revealing narrative biography of legendary British guitarist Jeff Beck featuring brand new interviews with the icon himself as well as his famous colleagues, collaborators, and loved ones

With his shag haircut and white Stratocaster guitar, Jeff Beck was an icon known and loved by millions. Yet somehow, he maintained the ineffable low profile cool of a cult hero as he glided through six decades of musical trends with nary a lapse in taste. Not to say he ever played it safe. What other guitarist can lay claim to performing with opera star Luciano Pavarotti, mainstream television personality Kelly Clarkson, and professional degenerates like Guns N' Roses with equal grace and wit? Or as Beck himself once quipped, "I'm an awkward son of a bitch when it comes to doing the expected."

In Blow by Blow: The Jeff Beck Story​, Brad Tolinski and Chris Gill return to chart the unexplored life of rock's greatest and perhaps most enigmatic instrumentalist. Culled from approximately 30 hours of interviews with the late guitarist himself, numerous conversations with those closest to him, and extensive research, the book sheds new light on the genius that Jimmy Page once said, "shifted the whole sound and face of electric guitar music."

About the Author

Brad Tolinski was the editor-in-chief of Guitar World magazine for over twenty-five years. His is also the author of Eruption: Conversations with Eddie Van Halen, Light & Shade: Conversations with Jimmy Page and Play It Loud: An Epic History of the Style, Sound, and Revolution of the Electric Guitar. Tolinski has interviewed Jeff Beck multiple times, including historic joint conversations with Jimmy Page and Billy Gibbons.

Chris Gill is a regular contributor to Guitar World magazine. He is also the author of Eruption: Conversations with Eddie Van Halen and contributed extensive guitar background and historical text to Eric Clapton's Six String Stories and Jeff Beck's Beck 01: Hot Rods and Rock & Roll. Gill has also interviewed Jeff on many occasions, including spending many hours with the guitarist at his home in England.

Critical Reviews

"This is the book Jeff deserves. It's honest, thoughtful, and true."--Johnny Depp

"Fine, fine work. This Blow By Blow composition by authors Brad Tolinski and Chris Gill skillfully and artfully captures the story of one of the truly great heroes of the guitar: Jeff Beck.
Jeff, in a very real way, stands as a gifted artist and innovator who refined his technical skills to a super-detailed, personal point. The same is true of this great book. It's full of deep insights and takes one into Jeff Beck's life, mind, and singular artistic brilliance. There will not soon be another Jeff Beck.
Beck's story is the stuff of legends and is told masterfully in this high-volume volume."--Billy Gibbons

Publishing Information

Publisher: Da Capo
Pub date: 2026-07-14
Length: 400 pages

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