Jeff Beck died at the age of 78

A statement on his official Twitter account read: 'On behalf of his family, it is with deep and heartfelt sadness that we announce the news of Jeff Beck's death. The artist passed away peacefully yesterday after suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis. His family requests privacy as they process this tremendous loss.' Beck rose to fame in the '60s as a member of the band The Yardbirds. The guitarist replaced Eric Clapton in the band before forming the Jeff Beck Group with Sir Rod Stewart. Beck's innovative approach to music-making influenced numerous well-known artists in the 1960s and beyond, including Sir Paul McCartney and Jimi Hendrix. However, the musician later revealed that his groundbreaking use of feedback in guitar playing happened rather accidentally. Beck had told BBC Radio 2's Johnnie Walker: 'It was a coincidence. We were playing in bigger venues, it was like '64-65 and the pA was inadequate. So we turned the level up and then we found I found out that there was feedback. I started using that because it was controllable -- you could play tunes with it. I did it at Staines Town Hall with the Yardbirds one time, and then this guy was like, 'Listen you that weird noise that shouldn't be there? I wouldn't leave that out if I were you.' So I said, 'That was on purpose, mate. Go away'.' The late guitarist won eight Grammys during his career and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.

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