The career of guitarist Jeff Beck has been a juxtaposition of moments of brilliance and period of retreat. The English musician attended the Wimbledon Art College in London, where he played with Lord Sutch. His education was cut short when he replaced Eric Clapton with the Yarbirds. Although he only played with the band for less than two years, he had already started to build a reputation as one of the most talented musicians on his instrument. He created the Jeff Beck Group in 1967, which also featured Rod Stewart. The sound of this collaboration pulled from a bluesy base that would eventually influence heavy metal.

The band was in limbo when Stewart left and Beck was in a car crash before he could form a new band. The accident led to 18 months of rehabilitation for Beck, who started another Jeff Beck group after his recovery. This creation had a sound more akin to funk and metal. They released two albums before Beck released an album in Japan with bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Camine Appice. The failure of that album marked another 18 months of silence from Beck. He came back strong in 1975 by releaseing a jazz album called Blow by Blow, which critics loved.

Throughout the 1970s, Beck collaborated often with keyboardist John Hammer when Beck wasn't secluding himself at his 70-acre estate near London. The later part of the decade found Beck more at his estate than making music, but started performing more during the 1980s. That decade featured collaborations with Rod Stewart ("People Get Ready") as well as a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1989. He also started working with other greats in the 1980s and 1990s like Mick Jagger, Roger Waters and John Bon Jovi. He has continued to release both live and studio albums even today.