When it comes to "getting their flowers," The Yardbirds' bouquets didn't come until much later in life. And when you consider the rock royalty that passed through the band, it is mind-blowing to think about how badly everyone missed out on their greatness in real time.
It all began in 1963 with Keith Relf on vocals and mouth organ, bassist Paul Samwell-Smith, drummer Jim McCarty, alongside guitarists Chris Dreja and Tony Topham. Far Out Magazine flags that the band got its early start as the "unremarkable" backup band for blues artist Cyril Davies.
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That's not how history would remember them, though. In fact, they'd go on to be remembered as one of the most ahead-of-their-time acts in rock history.
"We were sort of an early psychedelic band, almost heavy metal ... but really, a blues band," McCarty told the New Jersey Herald in a 2018 interview. "We were sort of ground-breakers. We did some unusual things. We just had fun with the music and tried to make it different and original."
Related: 1965 Classic Rock Hit, Written by an 18-Year-Old, Was Rejected by Record Label Before Topping the Charts
The Three Yardbirds Guitarists
To be able to pull off that untouchable, new-wave sound, you needed some serious talent, and the Yardbirds were like a flame to those skilled moths.
Eric Clapton (1963): First up was Clapton himself, who Genesis Publications reports joined after watching them play a gig on October 13. He replaced their former 16-year-old guitarist and saw them through two albums and two hit singles, "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" and "For Your Love." "Though we weren't yet in the big-money league, we were making enough for me to buy my first serious guitar, a cherry red Gibson ES-335, which was the instrument of my dreams," the outlet reports he said. McCarty claims Clapton left in 1965 to pursue a more bluesy sound as the band departed from it, and also intimated he had beef with their bass player at the time, according to Guitar Player.Jeff Beck (1965):Jeff Beck was the next to take up the axe with the Yardbirds, and his time was considered the most "commercially successful," according to Copper. While playing with them, the sound got a little more psychedelic, with hits like “Shapes of Things” and “Over, Under, Sideways, Down.” After Beck's departure, he formed The Jeff Beck Group, which featured a young Rod Stewart as the lead vocalist.Jimmy Page (1966): Funnily enough, Ultimate Classic Rock reports that Page originally turned down the Yardbirds in 1964, but suggested Beck since they were friends. He hung around a lot of their gigs, and by 1966, another vacancy opened in the band when their bassist left. Page, considered one of—if not the greatest—guitarists in the world, joined initially as the bassist. The Beck-Page overlap was short-lived after Beck was booted from the band. Page then took over as lead guitarist and stayed for a few years before forming Led Zeppelin.The Yardbirds were a revolving door of legendary talent, but perhaps the most impressive thing about them is that they are still touring together. Currently, the lineup features McCarty (drums, vocals) alongside John Idan, Godfrey Townsend, Myke Scavone, and Kenny Aaronson. While there are no shows scheduled for the rest of 2026 as of yet, who knows what the future could hold?
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