Artist · EveryDisc catalogue

The Yardbirds

A British rock group that created a number of hits in the mid-1960s, including "For Your Love," "Over Under Sideways Down," and "Heart Full of Soul." The group is known for the fact that the careers of three of the most famous rock guitarists began in it: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page. Yardbirds became one of the first groups with a new guitar sound: fuzz, distortion, echo, etc. Pat Pemberton, a journalist for Spinner, wrote that the Yardbirds were the most influential guitar group in rock music. After the Yardbirds broke up in 1968, their lead guitarist at the time, Jimmy Page, founded the group Led Zeppelin. Most of the group's most successful songs were written by bassist and group manager Paul Samwell-Smith, who founded the group with Keith Relf (vocals, harmonica), Jim McCarty (drums), and Chris Dreja (guitar, bass guitar). The group, revived in the 1990s, included McCarty, Dreja, and new members. The Yardbirds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.