The Yardbirds in 1965 (left to right): Keith Relf, Jeff Beck, Chris Dreja, Jim McCarty, Paul Samwell-Smith
Studio albums
6
Live albums
12
Compilation albums
10+
Music videos
3
EPs
2
Singles
16
The Yardbirds were an English rock group that had a string of Top 40 radio hits in mid-1960s in the UK and the US and introduced guitarists Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page. Their first album released in the UK, Five Live Yardbirds (1964), represented their early club performances with Clapton.[1] The Yardbirds' first American album, For Your Love (1965), was released to capitalise on their first hit, and to promote the group's first US tour.[2] However, Clapton had already decided to pursue a different musical direction and was replaced by Beck.[3] Several popular singles with Beck followed, including a second American album, Having a Rave Up with the Yardbirds (1965), that, as with their previous album, was a split release featuring songs with both Clapton and Beck.[4]
In 1966, the Yardbirds recorded their first studio album of all original material.[5] Released in the UK as Yardbirds and in the US as Over Under Sideways Down, the album acquired the nickname "Roger the Engineer" after a caption on the English cover drawn by rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja.[6] Shortly after its release, bassist Paul Samwell-Smith left the group and was replaced by Page.[5] Page soon switched to second lead guitar, with Dreja taking over on bass.[5] This lineup only produced two songs – the psychedelic "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" (1966), which was the group's last song to reach the charts in the UK, and "Stroll On", the proto-heavy metal remake of "Train Kept A-Rollin'" they performed for the film Blowup (1966).[5]
The dual lead lineup with Beck and Page did not last long; Beck had become increasingly unhappy with the constant touring and left the group, with Page remaining as the sole guitarist.[5] The period as a quartet with Page was the Yardbirds' most stable and lasted nearly two and a half years.[7] In the US, they continued to release singles and an album, Little Games (1967). The records, overseen by pop producer Mickie Most, were mostly out-of-step with the audience's shift to an album-oriented, more diverse sound.[5] However, the Yardbirds' frequent concert appearances at counter-culture venues were well received.[5] They were able to perform more experimental fare, such as "Dazed and Confused", the Page solo acoustic guitar piece "White Summer", and expanded, reworked versions and medleys of some of their earlier songs,[8] as documented on the Page-produced Yardbirds '68 (2017).[9] After a last American tour, the group disbanded in the summer of 1968.[10]
Since their breakup, a number of new albums have appeared. Besides numerous anthologies, albums featuring additional live recordings and various demos and outtakes from 1963 to 1968 have been released.[11] Although some have received favourable reviews, music critic Richie Unterberger has noted the great number of substandard releases throughout the world.[5] In 1994, original drummer Jim McCarty and rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja began performing and recording as the Yardbirds.[12] Recordings with various singers and guitarists have been released.[5]
^Clapton 2007, pp. 48–49.
^Russo 2016, pp. 37, 40.
^Russo 2016, pp. 32, 34.
^Russo 2016, pp. 45, 50.
^ abcdefghiUnterberger, Richie. "The Yardbirds – Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
^Russo 2016, pp. 59, 61.
^Clayson 2002, pp. 110–118.
^Russo 2016, p. 102.
^"Jimmy Page-era Yardbirds album, featuring rare live and studio recordings from 1968 due in November". ABC News Radio. 25 August 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
^Clayson 2002, p. 118.
^Russo 2016, pp. 214–229.
^Russo 2016, p. 145.
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