The Yardbirds

The Yardbirds
The Yardbirds, 1966. From left: Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Chris Dreja, Keith Relf and Jim McCarty.
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	Blues rock psychedelic rock rhythm and blues
Years active	1963–1968 1992–present
Labels	Columbia Epic EMI/Capitol
Associated acts	The Jeff Beck Group Cream Led Zeppelin Renaissance Box of Frogs Graham Gouldman
Website	www.theyardbirds.com
Members	Jim McCarty Kenny Aaronson John Idan Johnny A. Myke Scavone
Past members	See: Members section for detailed list

The Yardbirds are an English rock band formed in London in 1963 that had a string of hits during the mid-1960s, including "For Your Love", "Heart Full of Soul" and "Over Under Sideways Down". The group launched the careers of guitarists Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck. A blues-based band that broadened its range into pop and rock, the Yardbirds contributed to many electric guitar innovations of the mid-1960s, such as feedback, "fuzztone" distortion and improved amplification. After the Yardbirds broke up in 1968, lead guitarist Jimmy Page founded what became Led Zeppelin, while vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf and drummer Jim McCarty formed the symphonic rock group Renaissance.

The bulk of the band's most successful self-written songs came from Relf, McCarty and bassist and producer Paul Samwell-Smith, who, with rhythm guitarist and bassist Chris Dreja, constituted the core of the group. The band reformed in the 1990s, featuring McCarty, Dreja and new members. The Yardbirds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. They were included in Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time", and VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock".

The group formed in the south-west London suburbs in 1963. Relf and Samwell-Smith were originally in a band named the Metropolitan Blues Quartet. After being joined by Dreja, McCarty and Top Topham in late May, they performed at Kingston Art School in late May 1963 as a backup band for Cyril Davies. Following a couple of gigs in September 1963 as the Blue-Sounds, they decided to change their name to the Yardbirds, both an expression for hobos hanging around rail yards waiting for a train and a reference to the jazz saxophonist Charlie "Yardbird" Parker.