"There were four rock groups in the world that really counted and The Yardbirds were one of them."
It's tough to argue with that quote by Simon Napier Bell, one of the Yardbirds' producers. Their influence continues to this day, not only in the superstar guitarists whose careers began with the Yardbirds - Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page - but in the groups inspired by the Yardbirds' sound, including Aerosmith and even Bruce Springsteen, whose screaming, whining Telecaster solos trace their lineage directly back to Jeff Beck's hitch with the Yardbirds.
As Alan Clayson notes in his new book, ironically, despite their influence and the superstar guitarists they launched, the core group of musicians who made up the Yardbirds after original bassist Paul Samwell-Smith left were surprisingly average: Keith Relf was a so-so singer, Jim McCarty was a stiff drummer and Chris Dreja was an average bassist and rhythm guitarist.
The Internet makes it very easy to do an A/B comparison between the late period Yardbirds and early Led Zeppelin. Simply download the bootleg live versions of "Dazed and Confused" and "Train Kept a Rollin" as done by both late period Yardbirds and early Led Zeppelin, you'll hear exactly what I mean: Bonham and John Paul Jones absolutely leave McCarty and Dreja in the dust as a rhythm section and Plant is a far more flexible vocalist than Relf (who tragically died via electrocution during a live performance) ever was.
The Yardbirds' rep rests on three pillars: the fact that three of the greatest electric guitarists in the history of rock music passed through their doors, their appearance, at the height of their career, in Antonioni's classic 1966 film, Blowup, one of the great films of the 1960s, and on a handful of great, often experimental, singles.
And what singles they were: while the Yardbirds failed as a blues group in their initial incarnation, as a hard rocking pop act, they were terrific. "For Your Love" with Clapton on guitar, (which, as Clayson documents, ultimately cost the Yardbirds his services), and then the string of singles with first Jeff Beck, and then Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page on dueling lead guitars, including "Shapes of Things", "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago", "Over Under Sideways Down", and "Train Kept a 'Rollin'" (or as it was retitled for Blowup, "Stroll On".
![Blow Up [VHS]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510T5AY1NYL._SL120_.jpg)
Article comments
1 - Eric Olsen
Ed, Classic group of course. I still think they were longer on potential and as an unprecedented source of talent (unless you include the Bluesbreakers) than as an actual great band themselves. They certainly had moments, and you have mentioned them, but weren't super consistent in their songwriting.
I think it's really funny that Led Zeppelin began as the "New Yardbirds."
2 - Hazy Dave
I saw Dreja and McCarty's Yardbirds at the Milwaukee County Zoo a few years ago. An enjoyable show, but it started to rain towards the end, so we didn't stick around to see who was in the Animals that week...
BTW, Relf died in his home, not on stage. I won't dispute that he was "a so-so singer" (or harmonica player), but his album with the band Armageddon is well worth searching out for an idiosyncratic 70's hard rock extension of the Yardbirds.
3 - Eric Olsen
Good point Dave, I love that Armageddon album. He was also involved with early Renaissance, which had some moments. He actually died playing electric guitar in his bathtub: my 3 year-old knows better than to take electrical equipment into the tub.
4 - mt
What role did Giorgio Gomelski play in the development of the Yardbirds? Didn't he produce some of their hits ... like FOR YOUR LOVE?
5 - pat
There are a lot of apocraphyl stories about how Keith Relf died; the most accurate one seems to be that he DID NOT die in the bathtub, but was electrocuted because the amp was not grounded (in his basement).
Maybe he was a "so-so" singer, but he had...something. Heart? Soul? That a lot of "great" singers don't have.
6 - Will
Well I guess you who say Keith Relf was nothing, are something great yourselves. (I kind of doubt it though). I love his harp playing AND his singing. He was an important part of the Yardbirds. I'm glad Clapton left. Jeff Beck was unique and original. Clapton was/is just a wanna be blues player. And I'll bet John Lee Hooker would turn over in his grave if he could hear Clapton sing.