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He might not have had the same kind of commercial success as his peers (Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix), but classic rock lost a legend when Jeff Beck died at age 78. His music will live on, and so will the awards he won when he was alive. He might add another piece of hardware, too. Beck could win at the 2023 Grammy Awards for a guest spot on Ozzy Osbourne’s 2022 album Patient Number 9 in a category that nearly eluded him his entire career.

Jeff Beck plays his cream-colored Fender Telecaster during a 2009 concert in Melbourne, Australia.
Jeff Beck | Martin Philbey/Getty Images

Jeff Beck earned his 17th Grammy Awards nomination for an Ozzy Osbourne song

Jeff Beck found fame early in his career. He starred for the Yardbirds when Clapton left the group. When he tired of that group, he started the Jeff Beck Group and recorded two groundbreaking albums before the dawn of the 1970s — Truth and Beck-Ola.

Several Beck songs earned Grammy Awards nominations over the years, but not the ones you might expect. Signature songs such as “Beck’s Bolero,” “I Ain’t Superstitious,” “Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers,” and “You Shook Me” (side note — Beck cried over Led Zeppelin’s version) missed Grammy nods. 

Heading into the 2023 Grammys, Beck earned 16 nominations and eight wins across 11 ceremonies. He won three times in 2010: Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals (“Imagine”), Best Pop Instrumental Performance (“Nessun Dorma”), and Best Rock Instrumental Performance (“Hammerhead”). 

Beck’s nomination for Ozzy’s song “Patient Number 9” comes in a category that surprisingly eluded him for nearly his entire career.

Beck could win a posthumous Grammy for Best Rock Performance for ‘Patient Number 9’

Beck established his reputation as an ace rock ‘n’ roll guitarist early in his career. Some of his later work veered toward jazz and slow blues, but Beck made a name for himself with his blue-blooded rock riffs.

That makes Beck’s possible posthumous Grammy nod so surprising. He and Osbourne earned a nomination for Best Rock Performance. Or put more simply — the best rock song with vocals. “Patient Number 9” nomination is just the second time Beck earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance. He and Joss Stone picked up a nod in 2010 for their cover of “I Put a Spell on You.” They lost to The Black Keys song “Tighten Up.”

Beck was never a singer, but he featured guest vocalists on plenty of his albums. Rod Stewart sang for the Jeff Beck Group, for instance. His 2022 album with Johnny Depp, 18, featured the actor’s singing. Yet the 2023 Grammys will be just the second time Beck’s name appears in the Best Rock Performance category.

Several artists won posthumous Grammy nominations

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Jeff Beck’s Net Worth at the Time of His Death

If Beck wins a Grammy from beyond, he will join some illustrious company to win posthumous awards. The 21st century alone features some of the most famous musicians ever winning Grammys after they died.

Folk singer John Prine won twice in 2021, nearly a year after he died from complications of the coronavirus (COVID-19), according to the Los Angeles Times. Chris Cornell died in 2017 and picked up a Grammy in 2020, per Variety.

Ray Charles, George Carlin, and Joan Rivers all won posthumous Grammy Awards, Yahoo wrote before the 2016 ceremony. David Bowie, who died in January 2016, won four of his five Grammys that year.

If Jeff Beck wins a Grammy Award for his “Patient Number 9” collaboration with Ozzy Osbourne, he’ll become a nine-time winner and join a short list of accomplished artists to take home a Grammy after they died.

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