Chapters 7 - 8 Summary

Chapter Seven begins with Stewart meeting the guitarist Jeff Beck at the Cromwellian bar in 1966. The two admired each other's work; Beck a talented guitarist from the Yardbirds, Stewart a promising singer and entertainer. Beck had produced a hugely successful single, "Hi Ho Silver Lining," a song later enshrined in British pop music history and British culture. Unfortunately, Beck hated everything about the song as well as the commercial success it brought him. He and Stewart envisioned their collaborative music as grittier, more experimental rock. Stewart describes this type of rock as "Chicago blues but harder and heavier" (p. 90). They formed the band, the Jeff Beck Group, with Beck leading vocals at the behest of his manager Mickie Most. Their first gig was in the spring of 1967. Sadly, the concert was a flop and the band entered a rough patch. Stewart...