Jason Becker

Jason Eli Becker (born July 22, 1969) is an American composer and guitarist.

Becker was born in Richmond Hospital on 23rd Street on July 22, 1969, and raised in Richmond, California, by his parents, Gary and Patricia (Heffley) Becker.

His maternal grandfather was actor Wayne Heffley.

He was exposed to the guitar at an early age by both his father and his uncle who were guitar players.

He absorbed all kinds of music from around the world and melded different aspects of each style into his playing.

He cited Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen as early influences.

Becker started out playing alongside Marty Friedman in the Mike Varney-produced duo, Cacophony.

Together, they put out two albums, Speed Metal Symphony and Go Off! and toured Japan and the U.S. While they never went mainstream in the U.S., they proved popular enough in Europe to sell out almost every performance.

At the age of 16, he became part of the Shrapnel Records-produced duo Cacophony with his friend Marty Friedman, and they released two albums, Speed Metal Symphony (1987) and Go Off! (1988).

Since the dissolution of Cacophony in 1989, Becker has undertaken a solo career, releasing seven albums since his 1988 debut Perpetual Burn.

He later joined David Lee Roth's solo band and recorded one album with him, A Little Ain't Enough.

Becker's performing career was cut short by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which he was diagnosed with in 1989.

In 1989 Becker joins David Lee Roth's solo band, having released his first solo album titled Perpetual Burn in 1988, while Friedman joins Megadeth in 1990.

He has since released the albums Perspective, Collection and Triumphant Hearts, as well as two albums of demos, entitled The Raspberry Jams and The Blackberry Jams.

In 1989, Becker joined David Lee Roth's solo band to work on his third album A Little Ain't Enough, replacing Steve Vai, who left the band to record and tour with Whitesnake.

While preparing for the album, Becker began to feel what he called a "lazy limp" in his left leg.

He was soon diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS; Lou Gehrig's disease) and was given three to five years to live.

He finished the recording using lighter gauge guitar strings and other techniques, which made it easier for him to play with his weakening hands.

Although he managed to finish the album, he did not join the supporting tour due to his inability to perform on stage; former Lizzy Borden guitarist Joe Holmes took Becker's place on tour.

His ALS gradually robbed him of his ability to play guitar, to walk, and eventually his ability to speak.

He now communicates with his eyes via a system developed by his father.

Due to the nature of the disease, he remains mentally sharp and, with the aid of a computer, continues composing.

In the back of the Perspective CD case, Becker states "I have Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. It has crippled my body and speech, but not my mind."

By 1996, Becker had lost the ability to speak, and he now communicates with his eyes via a system developed by his father.

In 1996, Becker released an album entitled Perspective, an instrumental album composed by him (with the exception of Bob Dylan's song "Meet Me in the Morning").

The writing of the music had been started before ALS completely disabled his abilities.

By using guitar, and, later, when he was unable to use both hands, a keyboard, he continued to compose while his disease worsened.

However, when Becker could no longer physically play even a keyboard, his friend and music producer Mike Bemesderfer helped him with a music-composing computer program that reads movements of his head and eyes, enabling Becker to continue to compose after he lost control of the rest of his body.

His medical condition has remained stable since 1997.

Several years later, Becker released Raspberry Jams (1999) and Blackberry Jams (2003); the first contained various unreleased demo-tracks, and the latter contained demo-tracks and alternate versions of songs that were later reworked and published into other albums.

Two tribute albums to Jason Becker have been issued.

Respectively entitled Warmth in the Wilderness I and Warmth in the Wilderness II, they feature guitarists such as Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert, Marty Friedman, Joe Becker, Rusty Cooley, and Mattias Eklundh.

The album profits were sent to Becker to help him with his medical finances.

In 2003, Becker posted on his website that he was feeling better and had gained some weight, while the folder for his 2008 album Collection also mentions an upcoming book.

He continues to compose with the aid of a computer and has since released Collection in 2008 and Triumphant Hearts in 2018, as well as various compilations.

On November 4, 2008, Shrapnel Records released a new Jason Becker album entitled Collection.

The album includes three new songs in addition to some older recordings (some never before released) and features Marty Friedman, Greg Howe, Joe Satriani, Michael Lee Firkins, Steve Vai, and Steve Hunter.

On August 20, 2010, Becker declared that he was considering releasing an album of music he recorded when he was in his teenage years.

He has since released this album, titled Boy Meets Guitar, in 2012.

In October 2016, Becker launched a campaign to fund an album, which was initially estimated for release in July 2017.