TED NUGENT Pays Tribute To JEFF BECK: He Was 'An Adventurous, Creative, Wonderful Guy'

Ted Nugent has paid tribute to British guitar legend Jeff Beck following his death on January 10.

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer, who rose to prominence with THE YARDBIRDS, died "suddenly" after contracting bacterial meningitis, his representative said.

Ted addressed Jeff's passing during the latest episode of "The Nightly Nuge", a news-style clip in which he offers his take on the news of our world every night. Speaking to co-host Keith Mark, Ted said in part: "There is not a meaningful guitarist in the world that didn't discover the brilliance, the lyricism, the dynamics, the vocabulary, the tonal spread of what Jeff Beck literally created. He was inspired by Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley and certainly THE VENTURES and Duane Eddy and Lonnie Mack and all those original electric guitar virtuosos. Just an adventurous, creative, wonderful guy.

"We did a lot of shows early on with THE YARDBIRDS and JEFF BECK GROUP and BECK, BOGERT & APPICE with Carmine Appice and Tim Bogert from VANILLA FUDGE," Ted continued. "But his musical legacy has so enriched real music lovers' life. And he was a good man; he was a kind man.

"There was a lot of parallels [between Jeff and me] because the way he expressed himself on the guitar, it referenced that mechanics of horsepower. It represent[ed] the spirit side of the samurai, the martial arts. He was an archer. He made his own long bows out of Osage orange and he made his own arrows. So there's a lot of parallels there.

"When you play with that dynamic lyricism that Jeff Beck had mastered and uncharted tonalities, it was really mesmerizing," Nugent added. "And ultimately, as I say about Eddie Van Halen and all of our lost souls, when Chuck Berry passed, their music will continue to enrich our lives. So nobody ever forget Jeff Beck.

"And if you haven't listened to a lot of Jeff Beck, go back to THE YARDBIRDS and go back to the Jeff Beck 'Truth' album — unbelievable soulful music."

Having cultivated one of the most influential careers in rock history, Beck was universally acknowledged as one of the most talented and significant guitarists in the world, and has played alongside some of the greatest artists of rock, blues and jazz.

Over the course of his distinguished 50-plus-year music career, he had earned an incredible eight Grammy Awards, been ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the "100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time," and been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame twice — once as a member of THE YARDBIRDS and again as a solo artist. In the summer of 2016, the guitar virtuoso celebrated his five decades of music with an extraordinary concert at the famous Hollywood Bowl.

Speaking when he was inducted to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame for the second time in 2009, Beck said: "I play the way I do because it allows me to come up with the sickest sounds possible. That's the point now, isn't it? I don't care about the rules. In fact, if I don't break the rules at least 10 times in every song, then I'm not doing my job properly."

Beck famously replaced Eric Clapton as THE YARDBIRDS' lead guitarist in 1965 and later went on to form THE JEFF BECK GROUP, which featured Rod Stewart on vocals and Ron Wood on bass. Their two albums — "Truth" (1968) and "Beck-Ola" (1969) — would become musical touchstones for hard rockers in the years to come.

The constantly evolving Beck's next move — a power trio with bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice, which released "Beck, Bogert And Appice" (1973),once again shattered people's preconceptions of what a rock guitarist was supposed to sound like.

1985's "Flash" kept Beck in the spotlight as he earned the "Best Rock Instrumental" Grammy for the song "Escape". A second Grammy came with Jeff Beck's "Guitar Shop" with Terry Bozzio and Tony Hymas, and a third for "Dirty Mind" from the "You Had It Coming" album in 2001. 2009 saw the release of the platinum-selling "Performing This Week… Live at Ronnie Scott's", which earned a Grammy for "A Day In The Life".

Beck's astonishing 2010 solo album, "Emotion & Commotion", brought about two additional Grammy Awards; Beck was nominated in five categories before bringing home three: "Best Rock Instrumental Performance" for "Hammerhead" and "Best Pop Instrumental Performance" for "Nessun Dorma", both from "Emotion & Commotion", and "Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals" for "Imagine", his collaboration with Herbie Hancock.

His "Rock 'N' Roll Party (Honoring Les Paul)" album was nominated for a 2012 Grammy Award for "Best Rock Album". In 2016 he released "Loud Hailer" and in 2017 "Jeff Beck: Live At The Hollywood Bowl" was released, both to widespread critical acclaim.

The eight-time Grammy winner is survived by his wife Sandra.