History Music / TheYardbirds

Keith Relf died from accidental electrocution in 1976. In 1982, Chris Dreja and Jim [=McCarty=] reformed The Yardbirds with several new musicians and Paul Samwell-Smith joining the following year. Subsequently, they began working under a different name, called '''Box Of Frogs''' and that lasted until 1986. In 1992, Dreja and [=McCarty=] again reformed The Yardbirds with several new musicians (Indeed, [=McCarty=] has been [[RevolvingDoorBand the only stable member]] of ''any'' version of the group, bar [[Music/LedZeppelin The New Yardbirds]]). This edition of the band released one studio album (''Birdland'' in 2003) and several live albums. Dreja had to leave the Yardbirds in 2013 after suffering from several strokes, and he was replaced by founding member "Top" Topham. [=McCarty=], Topham and others continued to tour as the Yardbirds until the end of 2014, when [=McCarty=] announced the break-up of The Yardbirds.

* Ben King - guitar (2005-2014)

* '''Jim [=McCarty=]''' - drums, percussion, vocals (1963-1968, 1982-1983, 1992-2014)

* Andy Mitchell - lead vocals, harmonica (2009-2014)

* David Smale - bass (2009-2014)
* '''Anthony "Top" Topham''' - guitar, vocals (1963, 2013-2014)

* 1966 - ''The Yardbirds'' (Better known as ''Music/RogerTheEngineer''. Or ''Over Under Sideways Down'' in some territories.

Paul Samwell-Smith - who was an integral part of the band musically and was the band's chief songwriter - quit shortly after ''Music/RogerTheEngineer'' to focus on production. Jimmy Page joined to replace Samwell-Smith on bass, but it became clear that bass was not suited for him. Chris Dreja chose to switch from rhythm guitar to bass, but until Dreja could learn and play bass competently, Page continued to play bass. Once this was done, Page switched to co-lead guitar and for a very brief period, Beck and Page played lead guitar together. There are only three Yardbirds songs with both Beck and Page: The non-album single "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" (Dreja played rhythm guitar, and the bass was played by Page's future band-mate [[Music/LedZeppelin John Paul Jones]], then a session musician. Turned out to be their last major hit.), it's BSide "Psycho Daisies" (Beck on sole lead guitar, Dreja on rhythm guitar and Page on bass) and "Stroll On" ("The Train Kept-A Rollin'" with different lyrics. Used in the film Film/BlowUp). Despite all that, this line-up remains highly influential, especially for guitar enthusiasts.

* 1966 - ''The Yardbirds'', better known as ''Music/RogerTheEngineer''. Or ''Over, Under, Sideways, Down'' in some territories.

* MoodWhiplash: "Ever Since The World Began" starts as a scary, doom-laden monotone chant about the evils of {{greed}}, and then suddenly becomes a light pop song with a call-and-response section... [[LyricalDissonance about the evils of greed.]]

* CoverVersion: Most of their material, especially when they started off, was covers of blues, rock and roll and rockabilly songs, played a bit faster and heavier than the originals. Except for ''Roger The Engineer'', heavy touring and limited studio time left the band mostly at the mercy of covers and songs written by outside musicians like Graham Gouldman.

The founding line-up consisted of Anthony "Top" Topham, Paul Samwell-Smith, Chris Dreja, [=Jim McCarty=] and Keith Relf. Topham had to leave due to studies, and was replaced by Eric Clapton. With Clapton the band released their first three singles and debut album ''Five Live Yardbirds'', which was revolutionary at the time. Clapton quit to join John Mayall And The Bluesbreakers shortly before the completion of ''Music/ForYourLove'', which he felt was too much of a departure from their blues roots, and was replaced by Jeff Beck, who led the group in a distinctly [[PsychedelicRock psychedelic]] direction. It is this line-up that is generally considered to be the classic line-up, and for good reason. It was with Beck that their biggest hits came out (With the exception of "For Your Love", which was with Clapton. Most of their biggest hits appeared on ''Music/HavingARaveUp'' from 1965) as well as ''Roger The Engineer'', which is generally considered to be their MagnumOpus.

Paul Samwell-Smith - who was an integral part of the band musically and was the band's chief songwriter - quit shortly after ''Roger The Engineer'' to focus on production. Jimmy Page joined to replace Samwell-Smith on bass, but it became clear that bass was not suited for him. Chris Dreja chose to switch from rhythm guitar to bass, but until Dreja could learn and play bass competently, Page continued to play bass. Once this was done, Page switched to co-lead guitar and for a very brief period, Beck and Page played lead guitar together. There are only three Yardbirds songs with both Beck and Page: The non-album single "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" (Dreja played rhythm guitar, and the bass was played by Page's future band-mate [[Music/LedZeppelin John Paul Jones]], then a session musician. Turned out to be their last major hit.), it's BSide "Psycho Daisies" (Beck on sole lead guitar, Dreja on rhythm guitar and Page on bass) and "Stroll On" ("The Train Kept-A Rollin'" with different lyrics. Used in the film Film/BlowUp). Despite all that, this line-up remains highly influential, especially for guitar enthusiasts.

* 1966 - ''The Yardbirds'', better known as ''Roger The Engineer''. Or ''Over, Under, Sideways, Down'' in some territories.

** They went in this direction to an extent after Jeff Beck joined the group. It's best illustrated on ''Roger The Engineer''.

* SelfTitledAlbum: Almost with ''Five Live Yardbirds''; ''Roger The Engineer'' depending on where and when it was released.

Near the end of 1966, Jeff Beck was fired and Jimmy Page effectively took over as the co-leader of the band along with Keith Relf. This final line-up released one album (''Little Games'' in 1967) and several unsuccessful singles before throwing in the towel in mid-1968.. Undaunted, Page decided to organize The New Yardbirds, recruiting [[Music/LedZeppelin Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham]] to fulfil an obligation to play at several European tour dates. Page and company decided to record an album after the completion of the tour. Chris Dreja issued a cease and desist order that stated Page could only use the name for those tour dates. Inspired by a snarky comment from [[Music/TheWho Keith Moon and John Entwistle]] (that the band would go over like a lead balloon), the group changed their name to [[Music/LedZeppelin Led Zeppelin]].

Keith Relf died from accidental electrocution in 1976. In 1982, Chris Dreja and Jim [=McCarty=] reformed The Yardbirds with several new musicians and Paul Samwell-Smith joining the follwing year. Subsequently, they began working under a different name, called '''Box Of Frogs''' and that lasted until 1986. In 1992, Dreja and [=McCarty=] again reformed The Yardbirds with several new musicians (Indeed, [=McCarty=] has been [[RevolvingDoorBand the only stable member]] of ''any'' version of the group, bar [[Music/LedZeppelin The New Yardbirds]]). This edition of the band released one studio album (''Birdland'' in 2003) and several live albums. Dreja had to leave the Yardbirds in 2013 after suffering from several strokes, and he was replaced by founding member "Top" Topham. [=McCarty=], Topham and others continued to tour as the Yardbirds until the end of 2014, when [=McCarty=] announced the break-up of The Yardbirds.

* 1965 - ''Having A Rave Up'' [[note]]The second half of the album was recorded live, consisting of tracks from ''Five Live Yardbirds''[[/note]]

The founding line-up consisted of Anthony "Top" Topham, Paul Samwell-Smith, Chris Dreja, [=Jim McCarty=] and Keith Relf. Topham had to leave due to studies, and was replaced by Eric Clapton. With Clapton the band released their first three singles and debut album ''Five Live Yardbirds'', which was revolutionary at the time. Clapton quit to join John Mayall And The Bluesbreakers shortly before the completion of ''Music/ForYourLove'', which he felt was too much of a departure from their blues roots, and was replaced by Jeff Beck, who led the group in a distinctly [[PsychedelicRock psychedelic]] direction. It is this line-up that is generally considered to be the classic line-up, and for good reason. It was with Beck that their biggest hits came out (With the exception of "For Your Love", which was with Clapton) as well as ''Roger The Engineer'', which is generally considered to be their MagnumOpus.

* 1965 - ''Having A Rave Up'' [[note]]The first half of the album was recorded in the studio[[/note]]

* BreakupBreakout: Clapton, Beck and Page.

Keith Relf died from accidental electrocution in 1976. In TheNineties, Chris Dreja and Jim [=McCarty=] reformed the Yardbirds with several new musicians. (Indeed, [=McCarty=] has been [[RevolvingDoorBand the only stable member]] of ''any'' version of the group, bar [[Music/LedZeppelin The New Yardbirds]]). This edition of the band released one studio album and several live albums. Dreja had to leave the Yardbirds in 2013 after suffering from several strokes, and he was replaced by founding member "Top" Topham. [=McCarty=], Topham and others continued to tour as the Yardbirds until the end of 2014, when [=McCarty=] announced the break-up of The Yardbirds.

* SarcasticTitle: The ProtestSong "Mr. You're A Better Man Than I".

A [[UsefulNotes/TheBritishInvasion British Invasion]] band active in the 1960s British blues scene alongside Music/TheAnimals, Music/TheSmallFaces and Music/TheRollingStones. '''The Yardbirds''' were best known for their hard-edged BluesRock sound, which influenced future HardRock and early HeavyMetal performers and for serving as the starting point for several guitar players who became famous in their own right; Music/EricClapton, Jeff Beck and [[Music/LedZeppelin Jimmy Page]].

!!Principal Members (1963-1968) (Founding members in '''bold'''):

* '''Chris Dreja''' - guitar, bass, piano, vocals (1963-1968)
* '''Jim [=McCarty=]''' - drums, vocals, percussion (1963-1968)
* [[Music/LedZeppelin Jimmy Page]] - guitar, bass (1966-1968)
* '''Keith Relf''' - lead vocals, harmonica, maracas, guitar, percussion (1963-1968, died 1976)
* '''Paul Samwell-Smith''' - bass, backing and co-lead vocals (1963-1966)
* '''Anthony "Top" Topham''' - guitar (1963)

----
!!Principal Members (1982-1983, 1992-2014) (Founding members in '''bold'''):

* Joe Allanson - bass (1982)

* '''Chris Dreja''' - guitar, vocals (1982-1983, 1992-2013)

* '''Jim [=McCarty=]''' - drums, percussion, vocals (1982-1983, 1992-2014)

* '''Paul Samwell-Smith''' - bass (1983)

* '''Anthony "Top" Topham''' - guitar, vocals (2013-2014)

The original line-up consisted of Anthony "Top" Topham, Paul Samwell-Smith, Chris Dreja, [=Jim McCarty=] and Keith Relf. Topham had to leave due to studies, and was replaced by Eric Clapton. Clapton eventually left to join John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers shortly before the completion of ''Music/ForYourLove'', which he felt was too much of a departure from their blues roots, and was replaced by Jeff Beck, who led the group in a distinctly [[PsychedelicRock psychedelic]] direction. It is this line-up that is generally considered to be the classic line-up, and for good reason. It was with Beck that their biggest hits came out (With the exception of "For Your Love", which was with Clapton) as well as ''Roger The Engineer'', which is generally considered to be their MagnumOpus.

* 1965 - ''Having A Rave Up''

* 1966 - ''Sonny Boy Williamson And The Yardbirds'' [[note]]Duet with Sonny Boy Williamson[[/note]]

The original line-up consisted of Anthony "Top" Topham, Paul Samwell-Smith, Chris Dreja, [=Jim McCarty=] and Keith Relf. Topham had to leave due to studies, and was replaced by Eric Clapton. Clapton eventually left to join John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers shortly before the completion of ''Music/ForYourLove'', which he felt was too much of a departure from their blues roots, and was replaced by Jeff Beck, who led the group in a distinctly [[PsychedelicRock psychedelic]] direction. After Samwell-Smith quit to become a producer, Jimmy Page joined (with Dreja switching over to bass) and for a very brief period, Beck and Page played co-lead guitars. While there are few recordings of the two playing together, this configuration turned out to be highly influential.

Near the end of 1966, Jeff Beck was fired and Jimmy Page effectively took over as the leader of the group. They soldiered on until they disintegrated in 1968. Undaunted, Page decided to organize The New Yardbirds, recruiting [[Music/LedZeppelin Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham]] to fulfil an obligation to play at several European tour dates. Page and company decided to record an album after the completion of the tour. Chris Dreja issued a cease and desist order that stated Page could only use the name for those tour dates. Inspired by a snarky comment from [[Music/TheWho Keith Moon and John Entwistle]] (that the band would go over like a lead balloon), the group changed their name to [[Music/LedZeppelin Led Zeppelin]].

* [[Music/LedZeppelin John Bonham]] - drums (1968, died 1980)

* [[Music/LedZeppelin John Paul Jones]] - bass (1968)

* [[Music/LedZeppelin Robert Plant]] - lead vocals, harmonica (1968)

The original line-up consisted of Anthony "Top" Topham, Paul Samwell-Smith, Chris Dreja, [=Jim McCarty=] and Keith Relf. Topham had to leave due to studies, and was replaced by Eric Clapton. Clapton eventually left to join John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers shortly before the completion of the group's first studio album, which he felt was too much of a departure from their blues roots, and was replaced by Jeff Beck, who led the group in a distinctly [[PsychedelicRock psychedelic]] direction. After Samwell-Smith quit to become a producer, Jimmy Page joined (with Dreja switching over to bass) and for a very brief period, Beck and Page played co-lead guitars. While there are few recordings of the two playing together, this configuration turned out to be highly influential.

* 1965 - ''For Your Love''

[[quoteright:344:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_yardbirds_574.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:344:The Yardbirds in 1966. From left to right: Jeff Beck, Jim [=McCarty=], Chris Dreja, [[Music/LedZeppelin Jimmy Page]] and Keith Relf.]]

!! For Your Tropes:

* AuthorExistenceFailure: Keith Relf left the world in 1976 after electrocuting himself with a badly maintained guitar.

* CutAndPasteTranslation: Every album of theirs released stateside until ''Roger the Engineer''.

* [[Music/EricClapton Eric Clapton]] - guitar, backing and lead vocals (1963-1965)

* '''Paul Samwell-Smith''' - bass, backing and lead vocals (1963-1966)

!!Tropes:

* 1966 - ''Yardbirds'', better known as "Roger The Engineer"

** They went in this direction to an extent after Jeff Beck joined the group. It's best illustrated on ''Roger the Engineer''.

* SelfTitledAlbum: Almost with ''Five Live Yardbirds''; ''Roger the Engineer'' depending on where and when it was released.

* RevolvingDoorBand: Throughout the Yardbirds' history, Dreja and [=McCarty=] were been the only consistent members until Dreja retired in 2013.

* Jeff Beck - guitar, occasional lead vocals, bass (1965-1966)

* [[Music/EricClapton Eric Clapton]] - guitar, occasional lead vocals (1963-1965)

* '''Paul Samwell-Smith''' - bass, occasional lead vocals (1963-1966)

A [[UsefulNotes/TheBritishInvasion British Invasion]] band active in the 1960s British blues scene alongside Music/TheAnimals, Music/TheSmallFaces and Music/TheRollingStones. '''The Yardbirds''' are best known for their hard-edged BluesRock sound, which influenced future HardRock and early HeavyMetal performers and for serving as the starting point for several guitar players who became famous in their own right; Music/EricClapton, Jeff Beck and [[Music/LedZeppelin Jimmy Page]].

Keith Relf died from accidental electrocution in 1976. In TheNineties, Chris Dreja and Jim [=McCarty=] reformed the Yardbirds with several new musicians. (Indeed, [=McCarty=] has been [[RevolvingDoorBand the only stable member]] of ''any'' version of the group, bar The New Yardbirds.) This edition of the band has released one studio album and several live albums. Dreja had to leave the Yardbirds in 2013 after suffering from several strokes, and he was replaced by founding member "Top" Topham. [=McCarty=], Topham and others continue to tour as the Yardbirds to this day.

!!Principal Members (1963-1968) (Founding members in '''bold''', current members in ''italic''):

* '''''Jim [=McCarty=]''''' - drums, vocals, percussion (1963-1968)

* '''''Anthony "Top" Topham''''' - guitar (1963)

!!Principal Members (1982-1983, 1992-Present) (Founding members in '''bold''', current members in ''italic''):

* ''Ben King'' - guitar (2005-Present)

* '''''Jim [=McCarty=]''''' - drums, percussion, vocals (1982-1983, 1992-Present)

* ''Andy Mitchell'' - lead vocals, harmonica (2009-Present)

* ''David Smale'' - bass (2009-Present)
* '''''Anthony "Top" Topham''''' - guitar, vocals (2013-Present)

* CoverVersion: Most of their material, especially when they started off, was covers of blues, rock and roll and rockabilly songs, played a bit faster and heavier than the originals. Except for ''Roger the Engineer'', heavy touring and limited studio time left the band mostly at the mercy of covers and songs written by outside musicians like Graham Gouldman.

A [[UsefulNotes/TheBritishInvasion British Invasion]] band active in the 1960s British blues scene alongside Music/TheAnimals, Music/TheSmallFaces and Music/TheRollingStones. The Yardbirds are best known for their hard-edged BluesRock sound, which influenced future HardRock and early HeavyMetal performers and for serving as the starting point for several guitar players who became famous in their own right; Music/EricClapton, Jeff Beck and [[Music/LedZeppelin Jimmy Page]].

* RevolvingDoorBand: Throughout the Yardbirds' history, Dreja and [=McCarty=] have been the only consistent members.
* SarcasticTitle: "Mr. You're A Better Man Than I"

A [[TheBritishInvasion British Invasion]] band active in the 1960s British blues scene alongside Music/TheAnimals, Music/TheSmallFaces and Music/TheRollingStones. The Yardbirds are best known for their hard-edged BluesRock sound, which influenced future HardRock and early HeavyMetal performers and for serving as the starting point for several guitar players who became famous in their own right; Music/EricClapton, Jeff Beck and [[Music/LedZeppelin Jimmy Page]].

A [[TheBritishInvasion British Invasion]] band active in the 1960s British blues scene alongside Music/TheAnimals, Music/TheSmallFaces and Music/TheRollingStones. The Yardbirds are best known for their hard-edged BluesRock sound, which influenced future HardRock and early Music/HeavyMetal performers and for serving as the starting point for several guitar players who became famous in their own right; Music/EricClapton, Jeff Beck and [[Music/LedZeppelin Jimmy Page]].

!!Principal Members (1963-1968)(Founding members in '''bold''', current members in ''italic''):

!!Principal Members (1963-1968):

* Chris Dreja - guitar, bass, piano, vocals (1963-1968)

* Jim [=McCarty=] - drums, vocals, percussion (1963-1968)

* Keith Relf - lead vocals, harmonica, maracas, guitar, percussion (1963-1968, died 1976)
* Paul Samwell-Smith - bass, occasional lead vocals (1963-1966)
* Anthony "Top" Topham - guitar (1963)

!!Principal Members (1982-1983, 1992-Present):

* Chris Dreja - guitar, vocals (1982-1983, 1992-2013)

* Ben King - guitar (2005-Present)

* Jim [=McCarty=] - drums, percussion, vocals (1982-1983, 1992-Present)

* Andy Mitchell - lead vocals, harmonica (2009-Present)
* Paul Samwell-Smith - bass (1983)
* David Smale - bass (2009-Present)
* Anthony "Top" Topham - guitar, vocals (2013-Present)