YMMV / Jeff Beck

• Germans Love David Hasselhoff: Very much the case at the start of his solo career. In Britain he was still thought of as the guy who'd been in The Yardbirds, but he was very warmly received in his first US tour as an equal to Jimi Hendrix among guitar gods, and he was also a favorite of early American FM rock radio.
• Mainstream Obscurity: He's widely known as a guitar virtuoso, but his recorded legacy is a bit scattershot, spread out over several different band configurations over the decades, and he's basically a No-Hit Wonder who's always been more comfortable in live performances. Indeed, many people are surprised to learn that Rod Stewart started out as Beck's vocalist.
• Overshadowed by Controversy: His nearly six-decade career has now been overshadowed by his final two years, in which he decided to help rehabilitate the image of his longtime friend Johnny Depp, who had become a pariah in the entertainment industry for his drug use and his alleged abuse of ex-wife Amber Heard. Said rehabilitation consisted of a joint album, 18, that was widely panned because of Depp's lyrics (some of which were allegedly plagiarized), and a tour that coincided with the end of the equally as controversial Depp v. Heard trial, which came off to Heard's supporters as an extremely tasteless victory lap for Depp after he'd spent six weeks humiliating Heard (not helped by further accusations that she had been abusive to him as well) in court. Beck's sudden death a few months later meant that 18 became his final album and tour, leaving him unable to shake off his connection to Depp and his open display of taking a side in the immensely hot-button issue of Depp vs. Heard.
• Retroactive Recognition: Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood's roles in the original Jeff Beck Group, as lead vocalist and bass guitarist, retrospectively.^note Wood was hired as a rhythm guitarist, but after Beck decided he wanted to handle all the guitar work, Wood quickly learned bass. Both would later become members of the Faces (with Wood switching to guitar), with Stewart going on to a successful solo career and Wood joining The Rolling Stones.

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