Song of the Day 1/12: Jeff Beck, “People Get Ready”

The Yardbirds spawned three of rock’s most revered guitarists — Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck. The first two have higher profiles, but a lot of people would tell you Beck, who died Tuesday at age 78, was the best of the three. He certainly was the most versatile, exploring musical styles beyond pop and blues to R&B and jazz fusion, but he managed to avoid stardom, mainly by never having a big hit.

Beck could shred as well as anyone, but he was more interested in tone, always looking to coax new sounds out of his instrument. He played on lots of hits, but the closest he ever came to the Billboard Top 40 was in 1985, when he covered Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready” with Rod Stewart, who rose to stardom singing for the Jeff Beck Group, on vocals. The track showed off the ringing guitar tone Beck often employed and received heavy play on MTV, but it only made it to No. 48.

The song that should have been Beck’s big hit was instead a No. 1 smash for co-writer Stevie Wonder. Wonder had asked Beck to contribute to the album that became “Talking Book” and was going to pay him by writing a song for him to record. Beck was fooling around on the drum kit one day and laid down the beat, and Wonder came up with the riff and melody on the spot. Beck recorded his version first, but when Berry Gordy heard it he told Wonder to scotch the agreement and release it himself.

Beck was famous for recording with anyone who asked — even Johnny Depp, with whom he released his last project, “18,” last summer. This cover of the Beach Boys classic was included.