Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English guitarist. He rose to prominence as a member of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to an instrumental style with focus on an innovative sound, and his releases spanned genres and styles ranging from blues rock, hard rock, jazz fusion and a blend of guitar-rock and electronica.

Beck was ranked in the top five of Rolling Stone and other magazines’ lists rankings of the greatest guitarists. He was often called a “guitarist’s guitarist”. Rolling Stone described him as “one of the most influential lead guitarists in rock”. Although he recorded two successful albums (in 1975 and 1976) as a solo act, Beck did not establish or maintain commercial success like that of his contemporaries and bandmates. He recorded with many artists.

Beck earned wide critical praise and received the Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performancesix times and Best Pop Instrumental Performance once. In 2014, he received the British Academy’s Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: first as a member of the Yardbirds (1992) and secondly as a solo artist (2009).