Yardbirds
The Yardbirds are most famous for producing three of England's most famous guitarists, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. They began as a British Blues band but were, briefly, one of the pioneering psychedelic rock / psychedelic blues bands in the UK. Later they evolved into Led Zeppelin.
Contents
The Yardbirds
- Lead Vocals:
- Keith Relf (<1968),
- Jim McCarty (<1968, 1992>, rarely)
- John Idan (1992-2009, 2015>),
- Andy Mitchell (2009-2015)
- Guitars:
- Chris Dreja (<1966, 1992-2013),
- Anthony "Top" Topham (1963, 2013-2015),
- Eric Clapton (1953-1965),
- Jeff Beck (1965-66),
- Jimmy Page (1966-1968),
- Ray Majors (1995-96),
- Gypie Mayo (1996-2004)
- Jerry Donahue (2004-05),
- Ben King (2004-15)
- Andy Mitchell (2009-15)
- John Idan (2015>),
- Earl Slick (2015)
- Johnny A. (2015-18)
- Godfrey Townsend (2018>)
- Bass Guitar:
- Paul Samwell-Smith (<1966),
- Jimmy Page (1966 only),
- Chris Dreja (1966-68),
- John Idan (1993-2009)
- Ron Demick (1995 only),
- David Smale (2009-2015),
- Kenny Aaronson (2015>)
- Drums: Jim McCarty (<1968, 1992>)
- Percussion:
- Jim McCarty (<1968, 1992>)
- Alan Glen (1996-2003, 2008-09)
- Billy Boy Miskimmin (2003-08)
- Ben King (2005-15)
- Andy Mitchell (2009-15)
- Myke Scavone (2015>)
- Harmonica:
- Keith Relf (<1968)
- Ron Demick (1995 only)
- Laurie Graham (1995-96)
- Alan Glen (1996-2003, 2008-09)
- Billy Boy Miskimmin (2003-08)
- Andy Mitchell (2009-15)
- Myke Scavone (2015>)
Blues Rock Origins
The Yardbirds began as an early British Blues band. The "pure" blues sound was so important to some of them that Eric Clapton supposedly quit over the song "For Your Love," which he deemed to be a betrayal. However, his departure set in motion a change in sound, as he was replaced by the more radical Jeff Beck, whose experimentation with the guitar would help drive the band into new musical territory.
Psychedelic Blues Rock Innovators
For a brief period between Clapton's departure and Jeff Beck's, the Yardbirds were at the forefront of British psychedelic innovators. They even have a track that is considered by some to be the first ever psychedelic record, "Shapes of Things."
Psychedelic Recordings
February 25, 1966: "Shapes of Things" backed with "You're a Better Man Than I"
Inspired by a Dave Brubeck song, "Shapes of Things" is a sort of British take on a walking blues until the guitar break, when Beck lets loose on three different guitars. According to some people, this is the birth of psychedelic rock, the first song to actually sound "psychedelic."
May 27, 1966: "Over Under Sideways Down" backed with "Jeff's Boogie"
July 15, 1966: ''Yardbirds'' aka ''Roger the Engineer'' aka ''Over Under Sideways Down''
October 21, 1966: "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" backed with "Psycho Daisies"/"The Nazz Are Blue"
July 10, 1967: ''Little Games''
October 9, 1967: "Ten Little Indians" backed with "Drinking Muddy Water"
Popularization of Country Rock
Legend has it that ' next project was going to be a double-album history of popular music. If it had ever been completed, maybe it would have competed with The White Album as the most ambitious album of its era. However, the band hired a permanent keyboardist, Gram Parsons, to help them complete the project. Parsons was the primary songwriter for the International Submarine Band, the first country rock band. He soon hijacked the Byrds' project and the world got Sweetheart of the Radio. So the story goes.
For the rest of their career, prior to their 1973 reunion, the Byrds' were led by McGuinn alone and they pursued some variation of folk rock and country rock, completely abandoning their psychedelic sound.
Reunion
I have yet to listen to their reunion record to know whether or not it contains any psychedelic music.
Influenced by
Folk Rock Influences
Pete Seeger
Psychedelic Influences
Folk rock influences plus
John Coltrane
Country Rock Influences
The Louvin Brothers
Influenced within Art Rock
Though the Byrds were arguably the world's first psychedelic rock band, psychedelic rock moved on to new sounds fairly quickly, as the diverse scenes in UK and the US produced all sorts of more daring and more iconic psychedelic rock music.
Where the Byrds' real influence lies is in jazz rock, as the Byrds established how to incorporate jazz into radio-friendly pop songs before anyone else.
