Jeff Beck, one of the most innovative guitarists who played with the Yardbirds and created the Jeff Beck Group, has died of meningitis at the age of 78.

Often hailed as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, whose thumbs were insured for £7 million, Beck was known as a passionate innovator. Throughout his career, he pioneered jazz rock, experimented with fuzz and distortion, and paved the way for subgenres such as psych rock and heavy metal.

He was an eight-time Grammy winner, recipient of the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music, and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist and as a member of the Yardbirds.

“On behalf of the family, we are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Jeff Beck. Having suddenly contracted bacterial meningitis, he died peacefully yesterday,” the official website of the musician said on Wednesday evening.

The legendary Mick Jagger paid tribute in a video on Twitter to “a wonderful man and one of the greatest guitarists in the world”.

Gene Simmons of the rock band Kiss also wrote on Twitter: “No one plays guitar at Jeff’s place.”

Guitarist and founder of Black Sabbath Tony Iommi bowed before “an incredible symbol, a brilliant guitarist”. “There will never be another Jeff Beck,” he said.

Ozzy Osbourne also spoke on Twitter about the “incredible honor of performing with him on my latest album”.

Musician Paul Young was “devastated by the sudden and tragic death of a legendary guitarist.”

Jeff Beck, born in June 1944 in the suburbs of London, is considered one of the greatest rock, hard rock, blues and jazz guitarists, equal to Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page.

By the way, Beck joined Page in the rock band Yardbirds in 1965, right after Clapton’s departure.

The duo created their legend with the albums and songs “Shapes of Things” and “Over Under Sideways Down”.

Able to switch from one style to another (rock, hard rock, blues, jazz) and constantly innovate, he formed The Jeff Beck Group in the 1960s and 1970s with then-unknown lead singer Rod Stewart and guitarist and bassist Ron Wood.

Stewart welcomed “Jeff Beck from Another Planet” on Wednesday night. “He took me and Ronnie Wood to the States in the late 1960s with his band The Jeff Beck Group and I haven’t looked back since,” he tweeted.

Jeff Beck then embarked on a very long solo career, during which he achieved success in the mid-1970s with the album Blow By Blow.

In 2015, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him fifth in the top 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

As the special press writes, Jeff Beck was not a fan of acoustic guitars and played Fender and Gibson electric guitars.

He is also known for his distortion effects with his instrument, a sound that guitarist Pete Townshend of The Who would have experienced at the same time.

Beck recently completed a tour to promote his joint album with Johnny Depp, 18. (source news.ro)