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.

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"

Transition to Metal

After Jeff Beck was fired, the band slowly drifted towards a different sound, influenced by their new guitarist, Jimmy Page. When McCarty and Relf quit, Page set out to form a new version of the band. Dreja eventually retired from music and Page famously formed Led Zeppelin as a result. Zeppelin's music contains elements of early art rock - more ambitious compositions, guitar effects and unusual techniques, tons of overdubs - but rarely sounds psychedelic.

Reunion

Jim McCarty reformed the Yardbirds as a strictly oldies act.

Influenced by

Blues Rock Influences

Sony Boy Williamson

Bo Diddley

Psychedelic Influences

Blues influences plus Indian Music

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. The Yardbirds likely influenced bands from the San Francisco Scene as well as the psychedelic efforts of bands like The Rolling Stones but, beyond that, they didn't influence a lot of later art rock bands, in part because their music was so reliant on the blues, which was falling out of fashion in more "progressive" circles, due to a lack of great songwriting.