Jeff Beck is and will always be remembered as one of the greatest guitarists, and his music will live on forever.
A song that should have been included in his discography is a wildly popular and successful Stevie Wonder song, "Superstition."
According to reports, apparently, the hit single, included in Wonder's successful album "Talking Book" was composed for Beck, but was ultimately performed and released by Wonder before Beck.
In a 1989 interview, Beck recounted how he began to work with Wonder, "We needed the catalyst, somebody to write these incredibly interesting songs or riffs that we could get off on.
"Unfortunately, it wasn't forthcoming - I was into Stevie [Wonder] and I wanted to be doing more black, souly stuff."
Beck was invited by the legendary singer to hop on and collab with him for "Talking Book," and in exchange, compose a song for him.
"The idea was that I was going to guest on his record and he was going to give me a song in return," Beck shared.
However, Beck and his band-Beck, Bogert & Appice-had a little hiccup with the release of their debut studio album, that's why Wonder's version of "Superstition" came out first and became an instant hit.
"Superstition" shot up to No. 1 on the charts in January 1973, and made Wonder a household name in the music scene, New York Post reported.
Of course, Beck's version of the song eventually got released in March 1973 but did not perform as well as Wonder's.
However, Beck and Wonder's friendship remained steadfast despite this incident, and as a thank-you gift, the "I Just Called to Say I Love You" singer gifted him the "Cause We've Ended as Lovers" song.
The song was dedicated to Wonder's ex-wife Syreeta Wright, whom he divorced in 1972.
"Stevie gave me [Cause We've Ended As Lovers] as an apology for releasing Superstition first," the guitarist said. "He wrote [it] for me, but the record company had the power to prevent any other record coming out and they said, 'This is a number one smash: Beck doesn't get this'."
To prove that there was no beef between the two, Wonder joined Beck onstage to perform "Superstition" during the 25th Anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Beck was a pioneer in jazz-fusion music, and he was a celebrated guitarist. His sudden death was announced by a representative, and was said to have been caused by "suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis."
He is a Grammy Award winner, Ivor Novello recipient, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame.
© 2024 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
