CHICAGO — When Jeff Beck first heard the music of Les Paul, it set him off on a mission to master the guitar and in the process become one of the defining instrumentalists in British rock.

Last summer, Beck paid homage to the late, pioneering guitarist on what would have been Paul’s 95th birthday at a concert in New York, documented on a recent DVD and CD, “Jeff Beck’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Party (Honoring Les Paul)” (ATCO). He teamed with Irish singer Imelda May, who channeled the vibrant vocals of Paul’s old ’50s sidekick (and then-wife), Mary Ford. Beck also dug into some of his other early influences in rockabilly and surf music, but the primary inspiration was Paul, whose unrivaled technique, melodic songwriting and innovative production remain Beck’s golden standard.

Beck took a break from rehearsals for his tour with May’s band for an email interview about his inspiration. 

Q: You’ve championed Les Paul for a long time. I know his music hit you at an early age, but what was it exactly that impressed you about Les’ music and guitar playing?

A: Young is right. I was 6 years old when I first cottoned on and my mother told me it was tricks being played on the radio. Tricks. Tricks which I knew instantly I wanted to know. I didn’t think the sounds were even possible to achieve. Les was an innovator. How could you not be impressed by his music? It’s a testament to it that I’m a little bit older than 6 these days and it still blows my mind everytime I hear it. You can’t say that about all music, can you? All the records he made were beautiful examples of musicianship with melody, harmony and bass lines all there. Not many drums — it was all guitar-based, it was a perfect match for voice and guitar. 

Q: Can you give a sense of where Les Paul’s music fit in with your training as a young guitarist: Did you practice guitar along with the Les Paul records? Technically, was it more demanding than other music (rock ‘n’ roll, blues, etc.) you were learning?

A: Let it be known, Les played at an unbelievable speed. I remember hearing “How High the Moon’ on the radio and being mesmerized. I could not believe what I was hearing: The intro, the amazing solo. I knew there and then I wanted to learn that piece of music. I think I needed to know if I was capable of getting my guitar to produce such sounds. Whether I did or not remains to be seen, but I can tell you that the intro was pretty damn tricky to master. Ultimately though, I wanted other people to feel about my guitar playing as I did for Les’ playing. I wanted people to be blown away. I practiced all the time. My challenge was to pick up his speed but still retain the originality and richness. Hopefully people hear this across my records. 

Q: What about your interactions with Les Paul — did Les ever give you any career or guitar player advice that stuck with you? What kind of a guy was he?

A: Les was one of the funniest guys I have ever met, with a wicked sense of humor. Combine that with his approach to music as well his unbelievable talent, and you really didn’t need advice from him. The man was a walking endorsement for what you can achieve if you work hard and don’t have to falsify the nice guy mentality. He was inspirational and that’s about the best way to describe him — a tremendous character and an amazing musician. He is missed. 

Q: I understand you will be working with Rod Stewart again on a new album? Can you tell me anything at all about it?

A: We are working on things at the moment so there is nothing concrete to tell anyone yet. We are both putting our ideas down to see where we go from there. 

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