Becker was born in Queens, New York City. After Becker's parents separated when he was a boy, his mother, who was British, returned to England. He was raised in Queens and Scarsdale, New York by his father and grandmother. His father sold paper-cutting machinery in Manhattan. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan in 1967. After starting out on saxophone, he switched to guitar and received instruction in blues technique from neighbor Randy California, who later formed the band Spirit.