New Bedford Guitar Hero Reacts to Passing of the Legendary Jeff Beck
The death of guitar legend Jeff Beck has hit music fans hard all over the world – including New Bedford’s own resident guitar hero.
Quinn Sullivan, the 23-year-old guitar prodigy from New Bedford who has been performing on the national stage since age six, took to social media to share a special memory of Beck, who died Tuesday at the age of 78.
“This one hurts,” Sullivan wrote. “I was lucky enough to meet and hang with Jeff over the years. A thought that comes to mind is back in 2013, I was standing on the side of the stage with Buddy Guy at Crossroads Guitar Fest, and Jeff was onstage playing. Buddy tapped me on my shoulder and whispered in my ear, ‘Quinn he’s the best, you gotta watch him.’”
“The guitar player who inspired Jeff saying those words to me will be something I will never forget. A spiritual experience,” he wrote. “Rest in Power, Jeff Beck.”
Sullivan had the opportunity to work with Beck and many others through his relationship with Guy. Sullivan became famous at the age of six when he appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and a year later Guy pulled him onto the stage while performing at New Bedford’s Zeiterion Theater. The rest was musical history.
Beck, who replaced Eric Clapton in the hugely influential Yardbirds in 1965 before leaving and forming The Jeff Beck Group in 1967, is considered one of the greatest and most influential guitar players of all time.