Why are the Yardbirds significant? As they re-flavored British rhythm and blues with a harder and stranger sound, begat three definitive lead guitarists, and set precedents that were followed by hard rock and psychedelia for years to come.
Name comes first. The Yardbirds were a London group whose name nodded a bow to the vagabond soul of the rail yard drifter and to the bebop legend Charlie Parker.
Date and place of birth follow. They got together in 1963 in the southwest suburbs of London, becoming immediate house favorites at the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond where they followed the Rolling Stones.
People and roots are family background for a group. The early line-up brought together singer and harmonica man Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitar man Chris Dreja, bass man and arranger Paul Samwell Smith, and lead guitar men in turn Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page.
The Yardbirds in 1965. (left to right, top to bottom) Jeff Beck, Paul Samwell-Smith, Keith Relf, Chris Dreja and Jim McCarty
KRLA Beat/Beat Publications, Inc., Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsCommon language was Chicago blues mediated by acute British beat rhythms, rave up build-ups, and a hunger to stretch the guitar into new sounds. Education comes next. The Yardbirds did not study in class rooms.
They learned on stage supporting Sonny Boy Williamson II, learning at the feet of Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, and Elmore James, and testing those skills on British and American tours. The Five Live Yardbirds live album at the Marquee Club caught fast hands and lengthy stretches and turned their performances into a testing ground for ideas.
Career comes after the foundations. With Giorgio Gomelsky at first and later Simon Napier Bell and Peter Grant lurking in the wings, the group switched from incendiary blues covers to adventurous singles that extended the palette of the pop single. For Love Your caught harpsichord drama in the charts. Heart Full of Soul bent guitar towards Indian inflections.
Shapes of Things came as a genuine psychedelic icon. Over Under Sideways Down careened between chant, grove, and razor sharp riffs. When Samwell Smith quit in 1966 Jimmy Page came in at first on bass and later alongside Jeff Beck on dual lead guitar.
That short union begat the ferocious Happenings Ten Years Time Ago and the film cameo in Blow Up, in which Beck famously broke a guitar on camera. Major successes follow that lead. The group fashioned Yardbirds, oftentimes called Roger the Engineer, a wholly self penned studio statement that blended blues muscle and monk-like harmonies and international rhythms.
They perfected the rave up from club gimmick to signature feature, perfected feed back and sustain as musical tools, and proved a pop single could maintain experimental tinge without losing zip. Significant events of their lives close the circle. By 1968 musical orientations bifurcate. Relf and McCarty leaned toward folk and classical textures. Page foresaw a heavier growl.
One final stretch with producer Mickie Most yielded the band Little Games, singles scattered to the winds, and experimental stage pieces such as Glimpses and an early taking of Dazed and Confused. The original formation ended that summer.
Page and manager Peter Grant endured Scandinavian dates under the banner The New Yardbirds, and thereafter a fresh name and riches with John Paul Jones, Robert Plant, and John Bonham as Led Zeppelin. Relf and McCarty co-founded Renaissance, later joined ventures such as Armageddon and Shoot. Disaster loomed when Keith Relf died in 1976 due to an electrical accident at home.
The name slumbered til the early nineties, when McCarty and Dreja re-founded the Yardbirds for the stage with Birdland in 2003 and consistent tours that kept the songs current for a newer generation.
The group entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, a testament not only to their own body of work, but to their contribution as a crucial forerunner between blues roots and current vocabulary for rock guitar. Today Jim McCarty leads a line-up that pays tribute that flash of those early rooms.
The Yardbirds’ history is one group’s apprenticeship in public, a living chart that one small club act becomes a sound lab and careers launching pad.
Top Songs
- For Your Love
Their first major hit married dramatic chords and harpsichord color to a taut vocal, proving the band could turn experimentation into chart power. - Heart Full of Soul
Jeff Beck’s sitar like lines pull Indian inflection into a tight beat number that still feels fresh and moody. - Shapes of Things
A cornerstone of British psychedelia with an anti war undertow and a feedback laced solo that changed how the guitar could speak. - Over Under Sideways Down
A swaggering groove with chant like hooks and slinky guitar figures that defined their adventurous mid sixties sound. - I’m a Man
Their Bo Diddley cover became a stage stormer, stretching the rave up to thrilling double time peaks. - Train Kept A Rollin’
Turbocharged take on a rockabilly classic that became a rite of passage for future heavy bands. - Happenings Ten Years Time Ago
Beck and Page together on a restless slice of psychedelic rock with edgy harmonies and a surreal lyric. - Still I’m Sad
A haunting chant piece built on minor key drones and harmonies that hinted at wider influences. - Evil Hearted You
Dark pop with sharp guitar stabs and a brooding melodic turn that showed their range. - You’re a Better Man Than I
Tough rhythm section, moral challenge in the lyric, and a ringing guitar theme that sticks. - Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
Early single that showcased their blues roots and live energy. - I Wish You Would
A churning riff and harmonica figure that announced their intent on the debut run.
Discography
- Five Live Yardbirds 1964
- For Your Love 1965 United States compilation
- Having a Rave Up with the Yardbirds 1965 United States compilation
- Yardbirds also known as Roger the Engineer 1966 United Kingdom
- Over Under Sideways Down 1966 United States version of the UK album
- Little Games 1967 United States
- Birdland 2003 new material and reimagined classics
Top Albums
Yardbirds Roger the Engineer 1966
The band’s most complete studio statement. All original songs, Jeff Beck at full creative stretch, and arrangements that move from tribal pulse to monk like harmony without losing grit.
Having a Rave Up with the Yardbirds 1965
A perfect portrait for American listeners. Side one delivers sleek studio singles. Side two drops incendiary live cuts with Eric Clapton from the Marquee era.
Five Live Yardbirds 1964
Raw club electricity. The rave up is born in real time and the band’s blues vocabulary feels urgent and alive.
Little Games 1967
A transitional set with studio gloss and hidden treasures. Page starts pushing textures that point toward heavier sounds on stage.
Birdland 2003
A respectful and spirited modern return. Guests add color, but the core feel is the band tipping its hat to its own history while writing new pages.
The Yardbirds singles with UK & US Charts
| Release date | Single (A-side) | B-side | UK peak | US peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 May 1964 (UK) / 17 Aug 1964 (US) | I Wish You Would | A Certain Girl | — | — |
| 30 Oct 1964 (UK) | Good Morning Little Schoolgirl | I Ain’t Got You | 44 | — |
| 5 Mar 1965 (UK) / 12 Apr 1965 (US) | For Your Love | Got to Hurry | 3 | 6 |
| 4 Jun 1965 (UK) / 19 Jul 1965 (US) | Heart Full of Soul | Steeled Blues | 2 | 9 |
| 1 Oct 1965 (UK) | Evil Hearted You | Still I’m Sad | 3 | — |
| 11 Oct 1965 (US) | I’m a Man | Still I’m Sad | — | 17 |
| 4 Feb 1966 (Italy) | Paff…Bum | Questa Volta | — | — |
| 25 Feb 1966 (UK) | Shapes of Things | You’re a Better Man Than I | 3 | — |
| 28 Feb 1966 (US) | Shapes of Things | New York City Blues | — | 11 |
| 11 Mar 1966 (Germany) | Boom Boom | Honey in Your Hips | — | — |
| 27 May 1966 (UK) / 13 Jun 1966 (US) | Over Under Sideways Down | Jeff’s Boogie | 10 | 13 |
| 7 Oct 1966 (UK) | Happenings Ten Years Time Ago | Psycho Daisies | 43 | — |
| 7 Nov 1966 (US) | Happenings Ten Years Time Ago | The Nazz Are Blue | — | 30 |
| 3 Apr 1967 (US) / 21 Apr 1967 (UK) | Little Games | Puzzles | — | 51 |
| 17 Jul 1967 (US) | Ha Ha Said the Clown | Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor | — | 45 |
| 16 Oct 1967 (US) | Ten Little Indians | Drinking Muddy Water | — | 96 |
| 1 Apr 1968 (US) | Goodnight Sweet Josephine | Think About It | — | 127 |
Awards
- Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992
- Included in Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time
- Ranked among VH1’s 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock
- Widely cited by critics and historians for pioneering feedback, sustain, and the rave up form and for launching Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page into guitar history