Jeff Beck's 'Freeway Jam' Named One of the Greatest Guitar Solos by Rolling Stone

Andrew McCartySat, August 29, 2026 at 11:33 PM UTC

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The Yardbirds produced three of the greatest guitarists to walk the face of planet Earth: Eric Clapton (1963–1965), Jeff Beck (1965–1966) and Jimmy Page (1966–1968) – all of whom sit in the top 35 (with Beck and Page in the top 10) of Rolling Stone’s greatest guitarists of all time.

Beck was the highest-rated of the three on the list, coming in at No. 5 so it stands to reason one of his solos would end up on Rolling Stone’s list of the greatest guitar solos of all time.

While Beck cut his teeth with the Yardbirds to launch his career, he’d float through a number of bands displaying his name before releasing just his second official solo album: Blow by Blow, which became his greatest success on the Billboard charts, hitting No. 4 – even if he didn’t like it.

“I was determined not to bore anybody with any jazz. Things like Blow By Blow were just unadulterated jazz, but I didn’t think so at the time,” he said of the album.

Among its most iconic songs was “Freeway Jam” an instrumental track written by Max Middleton and produced by Jan Hammer that included Middleton, Phil Chen on bass and Richard Bailey on drums.

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‘Freeway Jam’ Named Among the Greatest Guitar Solos

Rolling Stone listed “Freeway Jam” at No. 20 on its list of the greatest guitar solos of all time.

“Considering how innovative Jeff Beck was, this list could’ve easily been 100 Jeff Beck solos,” Rolling Stone wrote. “But his legacy blooms in Blow by Blow’s instrumental ‘Freeway Jam,’ four-and-a-half minutes of jazz-fusion expressionism on which Beck bends floating harmonics, shimmies on the high notes, and lets notes warble as he plays with the frets. It’s a master class in musicianship but the tip of the iceberg.”

“Freeway Jam” sits among Beck’s greatest songs, with Billboard putting the iconic track in its list of the 10 best songs of his career, covering everything from his early days with the Yardbirds to his solo career.

Related: One of the Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time Belongs to 1976 Hit – And It Still Rocks

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Aug 29, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”