Guitar legend Jeff Beck looked toward Ravel for inspiration

Jeff Beck, who died Jan. 10 at 78, was known as one of rock music's greatest guitarists. But he also had an interesting connection to classical music — "Beck's Bolero," a 1966 tune hailed as one of his genre's best instrumentals and based on Maurice Ravel's famous Bolero.

Now considered an instrumental classic, "Beck's Bolero” was initially released as a B-side to “Hi Ho Silver Lining.” It wasn’t until Beck’s debut album in 1968, Truth, that the instrumental received the exposure it deserved. For the rock genre, the work was compositionally years ahead of its time.

Another exciting thing about the recording was that it was the first attempt to create a music group that would later evolve into Led Zeppelin. Jimmy Page, Keith Moon, John Paul Jones and Nicky Hopkins joined Beck in recording the piece. How did Beck’s name end up on the title with so many greats in the room?

Steven Rosen of Louder Magazine tried to understand the confusion of who actually created the music, with some saying it had been Page.

“No, Page didn’t write that song,” Beck told Rosen in an interview. “We sat down in his front room once, this tiny, pokey room, and he was sitting on the arm of a chair and started playing that Ravel rhythm. He had a 12-string, which sounded so full, fat and heavy. And I just played the melody. And I went home and worked out the other bit [the up-tempo section].”

In a separate interview, Page remembered it differently.

“Even though he said he wrote it, I wrote it,” Page said. “It was just left to me and Jeff, because the producer, [Simon] Napier-Bell, just pissed off. He wasn’t seen. So, Jeff was playing, and I was sort of in the box [control booth]. I’m playing all the electric and 12-string, but it was supposed to be a solo record for him.

"The slide bits are his,” Page said, “and I’m just basically playing around the chords. The idea was like Ravel’s Bolero, and it was built around that. It’s got a lot of drama. It came off right. It was a good lineup, with Keith Moon and everything.”

While there is still much disagreement on credits, the fact remains that this lineup is epic and the song deserves its place as one of the greatest rock instrumentals, with Beck playing a key role in its creation.

Rest in peace, Jeff Beck.

Here are two videos, including the original recording from 1966 (released in 1968) and a live performance 50 years later.

“Beck's Bolero” from Truth, 1968

“Beck's Bolero,” live at the Hollywood Bowl, 2016