The Yardbirds

The Yardbirds
John Idan, Jim McCarty, Chris Dreja, 2006
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	Blues-rock, psychedelic rock
Years active	1962–1968 1992–
Labels	Columbia, Epic
Past member(s)	Andy Mitchell Chris Dreja Ben King David Smale Jim McCarty Jimmy Page Eric Clapton Jeff Beck Keith Relf

The Yardbirds are a English blues band. They formed in the 1960s. They are famous for having the guitarists, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page. Eric Clapton left the band after they turned from a blues band to a pop band, in keeping with the moving trend of music in the 1960s. He suggested Jimmy Page, who had been a studio musician at the time (performing on records for many stars but not being a member of a specific band). Unwilling to give up his career as a studio musician, Page suggested Jeff Beck. Shortly thereafter, Page joined the band, playing bass and lead guitar.

Towards the end of the '60s, the Yardbirds broke up while in the middle of a tour. Page wanted to keep the band going, and eventually put together a band called "The New Yardbirds" consisting of vocalist Robert Plant, bassist John Paul Jones, and drummer John "Bonzo" Bonham. This group would soon gain a new name, allegedly taken from a quote by Who drummer Keith Moon. Moon had said previously said that their band would go over "like a lead zeppelin," and the name "Led Zeppelin" stuck.