Yardbirds Biography

[EmilyBarnettGinsberg]

the yardbirds had the best guitarists

[ryanexpress52]

The song at 2:08 was "Sunshine of Your Love'' by Cream

[rockyrigby]

What was that song at 2:08 ?

[bobbydylanio]

Jesus the intro pisses me off, the most talent and I see Queen?! And AC/DC?? Morrissey and Johnny Marr rip all of those bands to shreds any day of the week. Yardbirds, Beatles, Kinks, Smiths, the most talented and best groups ever.

[Babyhowdy233]

@bobbydylanio

I agree!

[TheComedyfan112862]

Eric Clapton is right up There with Jimi Hendrix and jimmy page(who also played for the yardbirds after Clapton left but later formed led zeppelin).I bought Eric Clapton's autobiography today and looks like its worth reading.

[fitzy5694]

@TheComedyfan112862

read it man its really good.

[recordsare]

Jeff Beck's solo on "Shapes of Things' hit a new level for top 40 radio. At the time I was in Frankfurt Germany playing in an all-night sleaze club and the other band on the bill was from Yugoslavia. Their guitar player could play "Shapes" perfectly. I traded guitars with him, but I still couldn't play the solo. blessings to all...Andy Pratt

[kapetanmarul]

@recordsare which band was the one from yugoslavia

[yardbirdmackay]

Great effect,well done

Without The Yardbirds,we wouldnt have had that great rock scene that would follow after The Yardbirds,

[forallbueaty]

bravo and many thanks

this should be seen by any director wishing to do a journalist job! what clarity so crisp, so attentive! :D the texts are very well written

wish the music was longer but that wasn't the goal i tk

[soltisimba]

Huh! Formed the basis for Led Zeppelin? The drummer? The singer? What? How about covering the fact that Page and Beck were in the group at the same time!! Now that is talent....

[bobkindel]

I saw the Yardbirds in 1967 at Earl Warren Showgrounds in Santa Barbara. I liked them but at the time did not notice the place in history or importance of which.

[faeryquene]

Brilliant! 5 Stars!♫

[projectpeach262]

this started off really strong, butmaybe if you would have treated Clapton as the other members then It would have been outstanding. No disrespect for "The Clap" but it is a Yardbirds Mini Bio.

[MrArmadillo]

fantastic bio thanks!

[boondawgle]

I just saw them playing summerfest yesterday here in milwaukee - still good stuff and I liked the three young kids they were jamming with

[1962beachboy]

Good effort! Yardbirds were a doorway to many great things. I get it....

[67lunatic]

What about the others members of the group. Could be a great group just because one guitar player? The beatles don´t have any great guitar player, not even the drummer..(Ringo)..The stone has richards and also the drummer was good, Better than Ringo. Beatles were great because were creative, they weren´t just a rock band like the "stones". But I like Yardbirds most than Beatles or stone, YB were great, unique, unpredictable, original.

[68generation]

Amen! You are so right, I mean to make a group you need more than just the lead guitar!! The other members of the group, Keith Relf, Jim Mccarty, Chris Dreja & P.Samuel Smith were also very talented guys ( but underrated) and this video sure doesn't do them justice!

[Thepussyrocker]

What a piece of shit. Why the keith moon pic?

[kidcalabria]

Thanks for posting this. I don't know who made this & who wrote the text, but it could have been done a whole lot better, because some of the info (like Clapton recommending Page, or the non-existent distinction between 'distortion' and 'fuzz-tone') is nonsense or just plain wrong. But then from the start, when among the logos of bands like The Beatles and The Ramones, the name Yes appeared, it was to be expected....

[rounds1954]

Come on, The Yardbyrds better then the Beatles? No way. They might have had better guitar players, but who cares?

[jka4311]

I personally prefer the Yardbirds to the Beatles anyday.... Everyone is entitled to their opinion.....

[stonesfan98]

The Beatles were a great band but very overrated. They were a 60's band. The Beatles and Rolling Stones were both on top and equal in the 60's but The Stones have decades on them. Far better in my opinion. As far as The Yardbirds go They were the most influential band on rock, more than the Beatles or The Stones or anyone else ever.

[rounds1954]

Does that make them any more enjoyable to listen to? Who, other than musicians, really cares who influenced whom? The Rolling Stones might have had decades on the Beatles, but it has been a long time since the had a decent album. I would consider them a touring band since at least 1981.

[stonesfan98]

I know everyone has their own opinions. But you made it sound like a joke that someone could prefer The Yardbirds over The Beatles. I love The Beatles, but it seem like all Beatles fans act like there the best band ever and all other bands are below them. Look on any Stones video and there is always someone comparing The Beatles to The Stones, and for those of us who prefer The Stones were sick of it.

[rounds1954]

You are correct. No one should be criticized for personal taste. That would go along with my thoughts that are not "good" bands and "bad" bands, just like there is not good and bad foods. It is all a matter of opinion.

[GardensOfStone]

The Beatles still influence the general public. The Yardbirds still influence musicians.

[JohnMalloy05]

The decades do not matter at all. Let's take an NFL runningback for instance like Barry Sanders. Best of all time but played a short career. Does that make all of the other backs just as good or better? And if that is the case let's not forget their amazing solo careers. The Beatles are better than the Stones, they are the best.

[stonesfan98]

Are you crazy? The Rolling Stones are "The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in The World". They blew The Beatles away from day 1. The Beatles never came close to The Stones.

[TheSunshineSuperman]

You're the crazy one~ Search on any Rolling Stone Magazine, or VH1 Polls..... Beatles are the best of all time hands down. Bar none. Mick Jagger couldn't sing at all. A throwaway track like What You're Doing by the fab 4 could be no. 1 for the Stones. Not that I'm bashing them, but the Beatles are 10 steps ahead of everyone.

[JohnMalloy05]

Rolling Stone Mag, VH1 polls and ETC. Any webpage or even wikipedia explains that the Beatles are the best. Stones are often always No. 2. I love the Stones, really but they're not in the same class as the Beatles, simply because nobody is. The Beatles so called best album "Sgt. Peppers Lonely............" is my least favorite by them. But it is still a good LP. But why are we arguing over who's better. This is just Stonesfan98's opinion, he likes them better.

[stonesfan98]

The Beatles weren't anead of anyone. They were talented in that they wrote great songs and they were masters in the studio. Musically there are plenty of bands that are far better like the Beach Boys and Led Zeppelin to name a couple.

[TheSunshineSuperman]

They are good bands........... but not comparable to the Beatles. Especially Zeppelin~

[stonesfan98]

O.K. I'll end with this. The Beatles are awesome and deffinately one of the greatest bands ever. But they could never rock. The Stones and Zeppelin blew them off the stage, can you argue that? Different bands have different tallents. There doesn't have to be a best.

[spiderchild2]

This man is wise.

[stonesfan98]

Thank you.

[LennonMcCartney4]

Explain how they blew the beatles from day one- then tell me y there is quotations in the greatest rock and roll band in the world. Beatles never came close hey[ but they were just the best band. The Rolling Stones are a good band, but not as great as the beatless. And the extra years doesn't really count, everything post jones' departure is shit except for a couple anyways.

[jka4311]

The Yardbirds are the best...They were certainly ahead of their time.. Keith Relf was the perfect frontman he had such presence and charisma.... Great Video thanks for posting....

[justicejayant]

Ya, they are great! My favorite band is Rolling Stones, But yardbirds was also really great and underrated.

[britishinvasion1]

Ah the Beatles are the greatest ever.

[nancelton]

"FIVE LIVE YARDBIRDS" They are all awesome. To me the "YARDBIRDS" are "THE FIVE LIVE YARDBIRDS" as they say in their recordings. But Keith deserved more credit. The YARDBIRDS existed because of him.. R.I.P Mr. Relf..

[jka4311]

You are exactly right I could not agree more with your comment. Keith Relf deserved so much more in life... His music will live on in our hearts forever.. He certainly left his mark in the music industry....

[chrapko1]

give beck more credit, he was with them the longest between all 3 guitarists

[rounds1954]

and played on their best songs. There are a lot of people who claim to like Clapton with the Yardbirds, but cannot name one song that he played on.

[MightyAlz]

Jeff Beck gets like 5 seconds?!

Clapton gets about 3/4 of the video?

WTF?!

[bandcouver]

That is odd how he don't leave it at Clapton joining John Mayall's Bluebreakers, then start sketching in some background on Jeff Beck. You can always mention what all 3 guitarists did after the Yardbirds at the end of the bio. The Yardbirds were at both their creative and commercial peak when Jeff Beck was in the band. "Heart Full Of Soul", "Evil Hearted You", "I'm A Man ( studio version )", "...Better Man Than I", "Shapes Of Things", "Over Under Sideways Down", "Happenings 10 Years Time Ago".

[rounds1954]

Actually, there were four lead guitarists, including Anthony "Top" Topham

[bandcouver]

Good point. There WERE four guitarists. Tony was with them at the beginning. Clapton, Beck and Page get so much of the spotlight, that it's an unfortunate habit to forget about Anthony "Top" Topham. My apologizes for the omission...and the bad english in the earlier post.

[MikeG62]

Anthony "Top" Topham went on to play as a session man and worked as a producer on the British blues scene. He almost died in 1970 from a blood disorder, but he's still alive and playing these days at 63. He played on "The Legendary Christine Perfect" album in '69, after she left Chicken Shack and before she joined Fleetwood Mac.

[notiteither]

I grew up in the Chicago 'burbs. Saw the Yardbirds with Beck and Paige when I was 12 yo. John Mayall came thru regularly, as did Jeck Beck ..saw him 6-8 times incl. w/Rod Stewart. Creem played a small club in Arl. Hts. my town. Only saw Clapton as a sideman with Delaney and Bonnie. All those guys loved Chicago...lucky me.

[acidtones1]

You left out half of the Jeff Beck era and you left out the whole Jimmy Page era of the Yarbirds. I hate this video!

[acidtones1]

I mean, the Yardbirds were great... This documentary is boring though. One reason being is because you don't have a narrator's voice. Work on that some.

And you should never start a documentary with an opinion if you are going to narrate the damn thing. ("Yardbirds were the best" or whatever you said.) Ken Burns wasn't like,"I wish the South won the Civil War! Now It all started..."

[68generation]

I'm sick of hearing these legends sohodelights- Keith Relf was as talented as these guys, good-looking great harmonica player and frontman who also founded Renaissance and Armageddon, little known because the group couldn't market it, an amazing album with lyrics by Relf - the problem is that he died too soon!!

[SohoDelights]

Clapton = Legend

Beck = Legend

Page = Legend

Cream = LEGEND

Jeff Beck Group = LEGEND

Led Zeppelin = FUCKING LEGEND!

[tabithatu]

Great job

[NCBilly]

Great Work !!!

Most people don't realize what came out of the Yardbirds

[DreadedEd]

i have heard of old amps that have been earth ground and people died

good bio, but some facts are incorrect

[RevRabbitNov63]

...Sticks nicely to the facts (+), but there's still the annoying tendency (...shared w/ all these soundtracks set to still photos videos...) to show things other than what is being talked about (egs.: Showing Jeff Beck or an older Calpton when discussing the young Clapton...)

- Kudos for credting the Yardies, though - ! They were in the vanguard (...w/ The Who & Kinks & a few others...) of Guitar Rock - but also (!!) of Psychedelia - being almost 2 years ahead of their time w/ that - !!...

[tmick7]

You are a floppy-headed Canadian.

[jexplink]

Keith wasn't in the bath when he died. It was in his home studio, he was using an amp with a plug that hadn't been earthed correctly, and recieved a shock after stepping on a copper pipe.

[Babyhowdy233]

Yes, jexplink is absolutely correct.

[bluesb47]

Why you don't play a clip from Jeff Beck after his work at the YB? You give Clapton and Page a plug but nothing from Truth or Wired?

[fipfop]

keith relf died of electrocution by playing his electric guitar in the bath tub

[Stacela]

He wasn't playing his guitar in the bath tub, he was playing it in his basement.