It's hard to imagine the power pop of The Who, Jimi Hendrix, and the Beatles' more rocking mid-1960s songs (such as "Day Tripper", "I Feel Fine", and "Your Bird Can Sing") without these songs. Indeed, while Hendrix was an astonishing rhythm and blues guitarist in America, seeing the Yardbirds in London, particularly Jeff Beck's experiments with feedback and raga-styled solos, gave him the core ideas that formed his legendary first album, Are You Experienced and his early live act to support it.
And yet, despite this influence, the Yardbirds were doomed to failure. Poor management, an exhausting touring schedule and poor chemistry among the group caused them to burnout and breakup in 1968. Jimmy Page, their last guitarist, having inherited their name through a series of twists of turns, and finding the Yardbirds contractually obligated to play a series of gigs in Scandinavia, quickly decided to form a group to fulfil them. Initially dubbed "The New Yardbirds", they would achieve the breakthrough fame that always eluded the Yardbirds under their new name: Led Zeppelin.
Chris Dreja declined an invitation from Page to continue as bassist in Zeppelin, and successfully transitioned from a professional musician with the Yardbirds, to a professional photographer; he took the back cover photo of the band for Led Zeppelin's first album. Dreja's career has come full circle: today, he and McCarty tour small clubs and the nostalgia circuit as a reformed version of the Yardbirds.
Speaking of Dreja and McCarty, it's worth searching the used bookstores, or ordering from a site such as Bookfinder.com, 1983's The Yardbirds, written in a collaboration between journalist John Platt, along with McCarty and Dreja. It's simultaneously an accurate, but extremely humorous look at the history of the Yardbirds, perfectly written in a style that complements the Yardbirds music.
While it's much more droll than that 1983 Yardbirds biography, Clayson does a thorough, scholarly and workmanlike-job of documenting their history, and his well-illustrated book is recommended to anyone who doesn't know the history of this seminal group.
![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.