Beck

Beck rose from Los Angeles coffeehouses and clubs to mainstream success with “Loser,” the 1993 single whose loose, experimental approach became a defining alternative hit of the decade. Born Bek David Campbell on July 8, 1970, he is an American singer, songwriter and record producer known for assembling folk, hip-hop, funk, soul, electronic music, country, psychedelia and rock into sharply contrasting records. His work often combines samples, drum machines, live instruments and sound effects with oblique, ironic lyrics.

Raised in Los Angeles, Beck gravitated toward hip-hop and folk as a teenager and began performing locally. He moved to New York City in 1989, where he became involved with the anti-folk movement, before returning to Los Angeles in the early 1990s. “Loser” became his commercial breakthrough after he signed with DGC Records, peaking at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100. The track led his major-label debut, Mellow Gold, released in 1994.

His 1996 album Odelay expanded on the sample-based, collage-like approach of his early work, topped critics’ polls and won several awards. That same year, Beck appeared as a taxi driver in the US video for Alisha’s Attic’s “I Am, I Feel.” He shifted directions repeatedly afterward: Mutations in 1998 drew on country music, while 1999’s Midnite Vultures leaned into funk. The acoustic Sea Change, released in 2002, presented a more restrained and serious side of his songwriting.

Beck returned to sample-driven production on 2005’s Guero. The Information followed in 2006, drawing inspiration from electro-funk, hip-hop and psychedelia, while 2008’s Modern Guilt looked to 1960s pop. His 2014 album Morning Phase, a folk-infused stylistic and thematic follow-up to Sea Change, won Album of the Year at the 57th Grammy Awards. Colors, released in 2017, received Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.

Beck has released 15 studio albums, along with non-album singles and a book of sheet music. His fourteenth studio album, Hyperspace, arrived on November 22, 2019. In 2022, he was nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Odelay and Sea Change were both included in Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and Beck is a four-time platinum artist who has also collaborated with other musicians and contributed to soundtracks.