The Yardbirds

This flagship band of the "British Blues Boom" of the early 1960s featured three renowned guitarists: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. Formed in London in 1963 around Keith Relf (vocals, harmonica), Chris Dreja (rhythm guitar, then bass), Paul Samwell-Smith (bass) and Jim McCarty (drums), the band's first solo guitarist was Anthony "Top" Tophan, whose names were changed to The Metropolis Blues Quartet and then The Blue-Sounds. After accompanying Cyril Davies, and drawing inspiration from jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker for its new name The Yardbirds, the band played at the Crawdaddy Club, alternating with The Rolling Stones, and hired Eric Clapton and Giorgio Gomelsky as manager. Gomelsky arranged for the band to accompany Sonny Boy Williamson II on tour, and to record Five Live Yardbirds (1964) for EMI/Columbia, captured live at the Marquee Club. Previously faithful to Chicago blues and nascent rhythm'n'blues, The Yardbirds set themselves apart with Graham Gouldman's "For Your Love" (ranked #3 in the U.K. and #6 in the U.S.), deemed too "pop" by Clapton, who resigned. Having become popular across the Atlantic, where they were distributed by the Epic label, which released the album For Your Love (1965), the band enlisted the services of guitar virtuoso Jeff Beck for "Heart Full of Soul" (no. 2), again signed by Gouldman, "Evil Hearted You" (no. 3) and "Shape of Things" (no. 3). Spurred on by its prodigy, the album Having a Rave Up with the Yardbirds (1965) made a strong impression on the public, all the more so as it participated in the blossoming of psychedelic rock with the following Yardbirds - renamed Roger the Engineer in the U.S. and Over Under Sideways Down elsewhere - which reached No. 20 and broadened the scope of guitar tones by employing new effects pedals for distortion and other technical developments. The hiring of a second guitarist to make up for the departure of Paul Samwell-Smith, replaced on bass by Chris Dreja, ushered in a new era for The Yardbirds, who appeared with their two soloists, Jeff Beck and the recently hired Jimmy Page, in Michelangelo Antonioni's film Blow-Up (1966). With Jeff Beck gone after a few concerts in the U.S., Jimmy Page led the band towards a heavier sound, sometimes using a bow to rub the strings of his instrument. The result was the 1967 album Little Games, produced by Mickie Most, and the association with a new manager, Peter Grant. After the live album Live Yardbirds: Featuring Jimmy Page (1968), recorded in New York, the band, which took the name The New Yardbirds, opened the way to hard rock and in fact gave birth to Led Zeppelin, after the departures of Keith Relf and Jim McCarty, dissatisfied with the turn of events. The former died of electrocution in his home on May 14, 1976, and the latter reunited with Dreja and Samwell-Smith in Box of Frogs. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, The Yardbirds have since been reborn, recording the 2003 album Birdland, featuring Jeff Beck, Joe Satriani, Brian May and Slash. Without Chris Dreja, Jim McCarty remains the band's leader, surrounded by new musicians. On January 10, 2023, Jeff Beck, who had enjoyed many solo adventures, died of bacterial meningitis at the age of 78. His death was followed by that of Chris Dreja, on September 25, 2025, at the age of 79.