The Yardbirds are truly an innovative, influential and significant band. You covered their career beautifully. Any band that can claim Page, Beck and Clapton have to be appreciated.
What a shame alot of people don't realize how much the YARDBIRDS influenced so many bands and great guitarists. Kudos to YBs books and documentaries like ( please "like") Pop Goes the 60s.
Happenings Ten Years Time Ago was recorded with John Paul Jones on bass as Chris Dreja didn't consider himself ready yet. I love these little bits of information, especially when they lead to other things
I feel like if the Yardbirds weren’t even a thing from the 60’s, we probably wouldn’t even have Jeff Beck being in his successful solo career or having Led Zeppelin as a rock band throughout the decades
I absolutely agree. If Jimmy hadn't recommended Jeff, would we have ever heard of him? I'd like to think he would have made it anyway - he is THAT good - but you never know. And in that late Yardbirds stuff you can hear so much of what early Led Zeppelin was like, especially on the Anderson Theatre 1968 recording. Page's guitar is just devastating on that disc.
@@popgoesthe60s52 ya to me it’s like rock’s beginning of Beethoven’s fifth. But Beethoven backs off while Beck keeps smashing forward. BTW I noticed that Jeff Beck has some comparatively recent stuff on TH-cam and he might be worth a special video by you. your video histories are outstanding and I like your academic streak. Rock on, Professor!
Worth noting in Jan. '67 they toured NZ 4 piece with Walker Bros and Roy Orbison. I quit school aged 15 as my mum knew the promoter Harry M Miller's mum and I landed a job with him. An amazing year touring with Eric Burdon Animals, DDDBMT, The Who, Small Faces, Pitney, Bassey etc. Great memories!
Great players, for sure, Beck and Page, but outside of For Your Love, Hearts FUll of Soul and Shapes of Things, from someone who spent most of my broadcasting career of 35+ years, most of what was released wasn’t top 40 material for AM airplay..great music for AOR radio stations back in the day..album cuts were great, but Epic records, at the time, were looking for very commercial stuff to climb the top 40 charts..lots of competition for a top 10 Billboard or Cashbox hit. Always back to the $$$$. We covered some Yardbirds in our band back from 1966 thru 1969..Great stuff tho..👏👏👏👍🙂🎸 Great job, Matt as usual..👏👏👏🙂
It's really not that good, unfortunately. The Yardbirds never made a great album. That's a large part of why they're largely forgotten when they should be thought of in the same league as the Who and Kinks.
Really enjoyed this. But have to disagree re Roger the Engineer. It was their first real album and by far their best, with some fine songs and a variety of styles. I'm thankful that between Nov. 1968 and July 1969 I saw all three of the Yardbirds great guitarists. Clapton with Cream and Blind Faith; Beck 2x with Jeff Beck group with Rod the Mod; Page with Zep. Thanks for this post.
I'm glad Page finally released "Yardbirds '68" which is the finally released cleaned-up legal release of the infamous Anderson Theatre....well worth owning and it rocks.
@@johnr.8275 Yeah...you gotta laugh at the bullfight cheers. What the HELL was the record company thinking? No wonder Page blocked it for years. However, prior to the the legal, cleaned up release, there was a bootleg that was pretty cleaned up and it had two rehearsals of two songs on it before the concert. (I forget which two songs).
@@dancalmpeaceful3903 Page had mixed success in blocking the Anderson Theater record. It was always around somewhere. I bought a cut-out copy (not a boot - the original Epic Records release) in the Detroit area in 1973 for like $1.99 and bought the Columbia Records European release in a Utrecht NL record store several years later.
Great two-parter on a fascinating, seminal, frustrating band. Lots of interesting stuff, especially those Jeff-driven singles. Of course, Relf & McCarty also formed the band, Renaissance. However, after two albums, they left then the band got popular with a whole new line-up. Bad luck followed them, I guess. Thanks for helping to tell the story and share samples.
Thank you, John. They have such a diverse catalog and interesting story that never seems to be told properly. I hope I came close here. I appreciate the comment!
Great videos on the Yardbirds, man. I was in high school in the 80s when I started playing guitar, and a lot of my practice was playing to their records and learning the riffs, etc. I bought the Shapes of Things LP Box Set and a bunch of other LPs. I have three versions of Roger the Engineer! They were definitely a guitar player's band, but ultimately are a frustrating band. A lot of their material was just terrible. Don't get me wrong, I love the Yardbirds, but they're one of those bands that when they're good, they're really really good (and way ahead of their time), but when they're bad, boy are they bad. I think Keith Relf became more of a liability in the later years, when combined with the material they were using. If they had stayed more heavy riff-based rock, I think it would have worked better. Still one of the most important bands ever, though.
The problem with The Yardbirds is the fact that, for the most part (pun intended Mickey!) someone else was generally picking their recorded material for them. I wouldn't say that they were mostly "miss" because, as a live band, there were very few who could touch them through any of their eras. 'Five Live Yardbirds' is proof positive that they played live with guns ablazin'. The best of their material ('Shapes of Things', 'For Your Love', Over, Under, Sideways, Down', 'Mr. You're a Better Man Than I', etc) stacks up with any band out at the time. You can forget their pop singles, because, like the pre-Allman Brothers' Allman Joys and Hourglass, they rocked the house and were as legendary for it as their management chosen recorded material was spotty. I do know this, however: Anytime messers Clapton, Beck, or Page took the stage sparks were sure to fly!
Love these series!!! Nobody does them better than you do Matt, Now Im going to re-watch this Yardbirds series back to back and enjoy it with a cold one-Cheers Matt 🍺✌
Thanks Matt for this in-depth look at one of my favorite bands. The first time I heard I'm a Man when it was released in the early sixties Beck's guitar spun my head around! It always sounded like he was going off the rails in that tune...I must have played that 45 hundreds of times till it scratched out.
The story of Yardbirds' possible participation in San Remo Festival is something I didn't know! Also, "Cumular Limit" is another revelation. Thanks for the very comprehensive docs in 2 parts!
I went to see the Yardbirds in 1966 at the Carousel Ballroom (later Fillmore West). At the time the SF bay area was rife with bands. Jeff Beck was the current guitar hero. Yardbirds songs had become a staple of local cover bands. SF's Harbinger Complex open for the Yardbirds. Both bands played on the dance floor rather than on the stage (?) Every guitar player in the Bay Area was there to hear Beck. Then it was announced that Beck was in the hospital with acute insomnia and would not appear! Immediately there was a mob run on the box office! People wanted their money back! I would have joined them but I wasn't quick enough! It was announced that the bass player named Jimmy Page would fill in for Jeff Beck. Chris Dreja played bass. None of us in Northern California had heard of Page in 1966.
I think I heard that was the show where Randy Holden from the Other Half (later with Blue Cheer) was going to be interviewed by Keith Relf to replace Beck, but Page had already volunteered--and the rest, they say, is rock and roll history!
I was fortunate enough to see page, Beck, and Clapton on stage at the same time at the arms benefit concert. Jimmy was coming out of his darkest time and Eric Clapton was well Eric Clapton. Jeff Beck stole the show, he was absolutely on fire
Thank you Matt for filling in the blanks of the later days of the Yardbirds. Jimmy Page did some of his best guitar work in those days. Pages’s use of the violin bow (on “Little Games”) and the flanger (on “Goodnight Sweet Josephine”) were truly unique. A passing moment that went by too quickly. Thanks and my best to you.
Just a clarification: page didn't use a "flanger," because that electronic effect had not yet been invented. Instead, the song features "flangeing"---mixing two synchronized tapes of the same stereo tracks while slowing and accelerating the tape reels on one of the tape machines by hand. (The metal tape reels sandwiched the tape between two "flanges.")
@@jotcarey Thanks for the clarification. Was that “flanger effect” was the same way Toni Fisher did it on “The Big Hurt”? It’s definitely a cool sound. Thanks.
Loved it as always. I remember my brother was a guitarist and trying to start a band in the late 60s and he swore by and listened only to The Yardbirds and Leo Kotke. Thanks always for the great content, Matt!
I had no idea The Yardbirds did, "Ha Ha Said The Clown". I only knew the Manfred Mann version. So much I didn't know about the Yardbirds. Thanks for this overview of their career.
Thanks Matt. It is tragic that at the height of their creative powers they were throttled by various factors, as you point out in this presentation. Ah, what could have been. As it is, they are one of my favorite bands. Thanks again.
As 60s bands go, they are certainly special and have enough hits and interesting songs covering many genres, that a lot of bands can’t match. Thanks for the comment!
@@popgoesthe60s52 I was glad you spoke so positively about Blow Up which is an fantastic film with a great soundtrack that Stroll on was one of the highlights of.
The guitar solo in 'Think About It' definitely had the seeds of the solo Page ended up doing on Zeppelin's 'Dazed And Confused'. And there's a live version of the Yarbirds doing 'Train Kept A Rollin' on a TV show in 68 that starts with the chords Page used at the end of the solo of 'Dazed And Confused', where he does the E D-A E G thing. Just some observations. :)
One of the most interesting stories about the aftermath of the Yardbirds is regarding the death of Keith Relf which on Wikipedia it is reported that He got into a bathtub and then decided to plug in and play an electric guitar while bathing?!?! -Some claim this is false and is Pure Urban legend.
@@erniefernandez1927 It's false. From what I've read, he was playing through an ungrounded circuit, with his headphones on, and accidentally touched his guitar against a steel radiator and was electrocuted. His son (I don't know how old the boy was at the time) reportedly found his dad's lifeless body the next morning. A sad loss and a positively horrible thing for a young boy to have had to find and have etched forever in his mind's eye.
@@obbor4 man... that last note was a zinger... Almost did that myself at 14 in a garage barefoot in the summer, garage door up and brief rain left a puddle to form at my mic and feet. Was 1976 when garage wiring was knob and tube, no need for a ground so no use for a gfi I guess lol. Was a light show they said from my mouth to mic down the stand to my feet and the glass fuse said enough lol.
@@garylucas5558 Yes that's another musician who was doing this technique on stage in 1966/67. I wonder if Lindley did it first, then Phillips, then Page. For what it's worth, as stated in the video Page has said David McCallum Snr suggested it to him at a session they were both working in- around this time too. It's all around a similar time period. This all may be true, I do find the constant "oh yeah, well Page is known for copying and stealing" snark a bit tiresome. As the late Eddie van Halen once said in an interview, everyone loved telling him that he never invented tapping- but he pointed out that he never claimed that he did.
I was lucky to buy YBs Shapes of Things 7 record set with some prev unreleased material. About 4 months later it was Withdrawn! Good job on All your shows- Love it!!!
Thanks for an excellent review of this awesome band. I guess you could have mentioned their semi-reunion under the name Box of Frogs. But that's another decade.
Yes! I did omit almost all of their later work including the death of Keith Relf, but this leaves the door open to do a 3rd video on them someday. Thanks for the comment!
Great job (as usual)! I totally enjoyed these videos you did on the Yardbirds! So well produced! Loved the info, photos, and especially all the music snippets you interwove in telling their history. I was surprised at songs I never knew existed. Thank u!!
Not only did the Yardbirds lead to Led Zeppelin, but also Renaissance was created by Keith Relf and his sister Jane. They eventually were also known as Illusion, after Keith passed away while Michael Dunsford and Annie Haslam continued with the Renaissance name. An incredible harvest from an excellent band.
One of the most interesting bands from the british invasion and one of the most innovative ones of the british invasion, also quite underappreciated, i think that Roger The Engineer is a truly great record.
Thank you for your appraisal of Roger The Engineer. I’ve loved that they wrote the entire thing but I believe that exposed some weaknesses as well. I appreciate the comment!
@@popgoesthe60s52 I think that the weakest link in the record is that wordless tribal experiment called "House of omagarashid" or something like that, even if I like most of the songs, that one and other two prevented to became an even better album.
The YBs with Page also recorded "Great Shakes" and Macclenny Toothpaste Jingles. The 1st one is avail on "Little Games Sessions and More" 2CD disc and the 2nd jingle is on a 5 CD set. Plus there were BBC songs. Great documentary!!!
The photos, vinyl sleeves, and clips really add to the flow of your narrative of the Yardbirds history. I was only 16 and underage to attend when the '68 Yardbirds played a gig at The Purple Haze club in Riverside, CA. I saw what was left of them in 1998 at the Long Beach, CA Blues Fest.
Thanks Matt, that was great. I reckon The Yardbirds must have also been one of the first groups to consistently use the same font (The Yardbirds) on all of their work.
Eric Clapton was a rhythm and blues purist at one time when he was in the Yardbirds . When they wanted to stray away from that with For Your Love he said goodbye to the Yardbirds and Jeff Beck took over as the lead guitarist and Jimmy Paige played bass . Eric went to the John Mayal Blues Breakers band . If I got any of that wrong let me know . I had a motorcycle wreck . Paige switched to guitar with The Yardbirds . Poor Keith Relf got electrocuted when he touched the wrong thing . My favorite number they did was Smokestack Lightning , an old blues number . Rave Up was a great album .
Really enjoyed this history lesson. One of my favorite 60's bands. I also like the variety of albums you have in the background when you're doing these Pop Go the 60's videos! Keep up the good work!!
Thanks Matt. Super informative, as always. I'm always impressed by your ability to go into detail on things I had heard way back, or things I'd never heard. Rock on!
The Yardbirds remind me of an all star football team where there are just too many potential goal kickers with not enough side men. On paper they should have been huge but it just goes to show.
Thank you, what a great history of The Yardbirds. I have enjoyed every minute of information on parts 1 and 2. I have just about every track and album you mentioned, except for the 'Cumular' album, even though some of the Australian Versions are slightly different. Definitely will be going through them again this week.
Watching this again, Matt, and had to add a late comment. The use of violin bow on electric guitar was first done by Eddie Phillips with his band, The Creation. It was used on their single, Making Time, released in June 1966, and produced by Shel Talmy. Talmy was also The Who's producer at this time.
@@popgoesthe60s52 Yes, you did, and I plead an addled brain from a stressful weekend. I refreshed my feed after commenting and what appears, but your Creation video (apparently, Big Brother was watching) and I note that I'd already seen it. Can you see my eyes roll at my own oversight? D'oh! Thanks always, Matt, for your wonderfully informative videos and band histories.
Great follow up video! I bought a few Yardbirds CDs back in the early 1990s but they sort of fell off my radar. I may do a little more exploring of the later period. Thanks for sharing this!
Your videos are great because they cut to the chase on band developments. It's very straightforward, yet thorough and in depth in its anecdotes & insights.
Thank you, Tom. I try to give a thorough bio but not get too caught up in the unimportant stuff. Thankfully I can always fall back on playing clips of their music.
Many thanks Matt. Some great information there about this wonderful band. I'd heard Ha Ha Said the clown by Manfred Mann but didn't realise that the Yardbirds had covered it! 'Shapes of Things' still sounds good today.
You've got a nice poster or is it a handbill of the Yardbirds with the Sir Douglas Quintet on which also is the Loading Zone, the R&B cover band I was in. There's another of those Bay Area venues - the San Ramon High Stadium! But our favorite place was the Fillmore (before they called it the Fillmore West), that hall was really funky, especially the Green Room washroom and the loft up the back stairs. Thanks for the flash from the past.
FYI. You need to check out “Box of Frogs” Three original members of the Yardbirds created the band in 1983 and they put out a couple of albums. Not sure if it’s on CD, I have both of the vinyls. Pretty good sound.
I'm glad that The Yardbirds are getting a recognition of their history, one of the greatest 60s bands, shame they went early. Excited for the upcoming band history videos, which band is up next?
I've had many requests so over the next month or so you'll another Beatles related video and an American band... not sure yet which one. Thanks for asking!
Good mileage out of this story Matt - a band in England we remember for 5 big hits. Mainly a time for great singles before albums became the thing over the next few years - an extremely competitive time with so many big hit bands making their way - The Kinks, The Move, The Animals, The Who, The Small Faces, etc.
As a DJ at the Nelson Imperial Ballroom in Lancashire in 1966, I got to see Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page together, it was magical.
Bloody lucky, Mate!
@@ericrose3877 Aye, sometimes we don't know what we are a part of.
Wow! I bet...
The Yardbirds are truly an innovative, influential and significant band. You covered their career beautifully. Any band that can claim Page, Beck and Clapton have to be appreciated.
Thank you, Michael! More to come.
Great Band 👍👍😎
What a shame alot of people don't realize how much the YARDBIRDS influenced so many bands and great guitarists. Kudos to YBs books and documentaries like ( please "like") Pop Goes the 60s.
Thanks Matt! R.I.P.Jeff Beck
Evansville, Indiana
Happenings Ten Years Time Ago was recorded with John Paul Jones on bass as Chris Dreja didn't consider himself ready yet. I love these little bits of information, especially when they lead to other things
I am a great fan of the Yardbirds. They were one of the early psychedelic rock bands. I still enjoy listening to their music 50 years later.
I feel like if the Yardbirds weren’t even a thing from the 60’s, we probably wouldn’t even have Jeff Beck being in his successful solo career or having Led Zeppelin as a rock band throughout the decades
I absolutely agree. If Jimmy hadn't recommended Jeff, would we have ever heard of him? I'd like to think he would have made it anyway - he is THAT good - but you never know. And in that late Yardbirds stuff you can hear so much of what early Led Zeppelin was like, especially on the Anderson Theatre 1968 recording. Page's guitar is just devastating on that disc.
Or Cream
Or Rod Stewart
Yep this was becks audition.
I tried to learn every Yardbird riff when I started playing guitar..glad I did!
Absolutely brilliant and educational!
I vividly remember being stunned and stilled when I first heard Becks Bolero in 1969. Still enthralling today imo
That’s what the Yardbirds could have been! I marvel at the song as well. Never gets old.
@@popgoesthe60s52 ya to me it’s like rock’s beginning of Beethoven’s fifth. But Beethoven backs off while Beck keeps smashing forward. BTW I noticed that Jeff Beck has some comparatively recent stuff on TH-cam and he might be worth a special video by you. your video histories are outstanding and I like your academic streak. Rock on, Professor!
I felt the same when I heard it for the first time in 1994! I was enthralled.
Worth noting in Jan. '67 they toured NZ 4 piece with Walker Bros and Roy Orbison. I quit school aged 15 as my mum knew the promoter Harry M Miller's mum and I landed a job with him. An amazing year touring with Eric Burdon Animals, DDDBMT, The Who, Small Faces, Pitney, Bassey etc. Great memories!
Big Yardbirds fan since the 70's. Always love Matt Williamson's deep dive-backstory-history. Matt, keep up the fantastic work!
Thanks again, Christopher!
Great players, for sure, Beck and Page, but outside of For Your Love, Hearts FUll of Soul and Shapes of Things, from someone who spent most of my broadcasting career of 35+ years, most of what was released wasn’t top 40 material for AM airplay..great music for AOR radio stations back in the day..album cuts were great, but Epic records, at the time, were looking for very commercial stuff to climb the top 40 charts..lots of competition for a top 10 Billboard or Cashbox hit. Always back to the $$$$. We covered some Yardbirds in our band back from 1966 thru 1969..Great stuff tho..👏👏👏👍🙂🎸 Great job, Matt as usual..👏👏👏🙂
Roger The Engineer is in my top 5 favorite albums of all time. You may not like it, but I think it's a masterpiece.
I totally agree with you! I love this album, and there’s no denying the guitar work was way ahead of its time!
It's really not that good, unfortunately. The Yardbirds never made a great album. That's a large part of why they're largely forgotten when they should be thought of in the same league as the Who and Kinks.
Agreed, it is high in my top ten albums and captures the times brilliantly but is also ahead of it’s time if that makes sense!
That is an amazing album. I bought the British import in the early seventies . Some of Jeff Beck’s finest work and I think the best Yardbirds album.
What about the album with "over under sideways down"? I have the vinyl of it and it is a great album with an amazing cover.
Great overview of truly how influential this band was, as far as the future of rock music.
Still hard to believe jeff beck is not with us anymore, such an enduring presence over the years
Really enjoyed this. But have to disagree re Roger the Engineer. It was their first real album and by far their best, with some fine songs and a variety of styles. I'm thankful that between Nov. 1968 and July 1969 I saw all three of the Yardbirds great guitarists. Clapton with Cream and Blind Faith; Beck 2x with Jeff Beck group with Rod the Mod; Page with Zep. Thanks for this post.
Phenomenal job!! Matt is the best on TH-cam!! Killer job!!
I'm glad Page finally released "Yardbirds '68" which is the finally released cleaned-up legal release of the infamous Anderson Theatre....well worth owning and it rocks.
I totally agree! It's awesome to hear it without the clinking glasses and bullfight cheers.
@@johnr.8275 Yeah...you gotta laugh at the bullfight cheers. What the HELL was the record company thinking? No wonder Page blocked it for years. However, prior to the the legal, cleaned up release, there was a bootleg that was pretty cleaned up and it had two rehearsals of two songs on it before the concert. (I forget which two songs).
@@dancalmpeaceful3903 Page had mixed success in blocking the Anderson Theater record. It was always around somewhere. I bought a cut-out copy (not a boot - the original Epic Records release) in the Detroit area in 1973 for like $1.99 and bought the Columbia Records European release in a Utrecht NL record store several years later.
Great two-parter on a fascinating, seminal, frustrating band. Lots of interesting stuff, especially those Jeff-driven singles. Of course, Relf & McCarty also formed the band, Renaissance. However, after two albums, they left then the band got popular with a whole new line-up. Bad luck followed them, I guess. Thanks for helping to tell the story and share samples.
Thanks for sharing this. I have an appreciation for the latter day Yardbirds. It's nice to see how Led Zeppelin was formed. Cheers! ✌️
What another great series Matt, love the Yardbirds🏴🤘🇬🇧
Thank you, John. They have such a diverse catalog and interesting story that never seems to be told properly. I hope I came close here. I appreciate the comment!
The Roger The Engineer album proves that Jeff Beck was playing the E7#9 "Hendrix Chord" before Hendrix had arrived. ;-)
"The Word"
@@GilbertNeal The tone's deliberately razor-thin, but the 7#9 is there ;-)
I am so happy that I found your channel. Sharing it with all of my friends. You Rock!!
I really enjoyed the 2 yardbirds vids. They have been a fave band of mine from the 60s. You provided some music sources for me to check out.
Thanks for watching, Marc!
Glimpses is a HUGE fan favorite for Jim McCarty’s New Yardbirds
Great videos on the Yardbirds, man. I was in high school in the 80s when I started playing guitar, and a lot of my practice was playing to their records and learning the riffs, etc. I bought the Shapes of Things LP Box Set and a bunch of other LPs. I have three versions of Roger the Engineer! They were definitely a guitar player's band, but ultimately are a frustrating band. A lot of their material was just terrible. Don't get me wrong, I love the Yardbirds, but they're one of those bands that when they're good, they're really really good (and way ahead of their time), but when they're bad, boy are they bad. I think Keith Relf became more of a liability in the later years, when combined with the material they were using. If they had stayed more heavy riff-based rock, I think it would have worked better. Still one of the most important bands ever, though.
I agree, they were hit or miss, but more miss. Relf could only do the rock, so they should have embraced that more fully. Thanks for the comment!
The problem with The Yardbirds is the fact that, for the most part (pun intended Mickey!) someone else was generally picking their recorded material for them. I wouldn't say that they were mostly "miss" because, as a live band, there were very few who could touch them through any of their eras. 'Five Live Yardbirds' is proof positive that they played live with guns ablazin'. The best of their material ('Shapes of Things', 'For Your Love', Over, Under, Sideways, Down', 'Mr. You're a Better Man Than I', etc) stacks up with any band out at the time. You can forget their pop singles, because, like the pre-Allman Brothers' Allman Joys and Hourglass, they rocked the house and were as legendary for it as their management chosen recorded material was spotty. I do know this, however: Anytime messers Clapton, Beck, or Page took the stage sparks were sure to fly!
@@obbor4 Well put, I totally agree!
The Yardbirds Greatest Hits was one of my most played albums in the 60s - all wheat, no chaff.
Always loved the Yardbirds. Thanks for the info.
Great stuff! Thank you.
Love these series!!! Nobody does them better than you do Matt, Now Im going to re-watch this Yardbirds series back to back and enjoy it with a cold one-Cheers Matt 🍺✌
I appreciate the warm comment, Ernie!
Thanks Matt for this in-depth look at one of my favorite bands. The first time I heard I'm a Man when it was released in the early sixties Beck's guitar spun my head around! It always sounded like he was going off the rails in that tune...I must have played that 45 hundreds of times till it scratched out.
Classy and totally professional as usual. Thank you!
Thanks for this. I really enjoyed both parts. Matt, you do a great deal of research for these deep dives and it's greatly appreciated.
Thank you, Dana! I appreciate the comment.
The story of Yardbirds' possible participation in San Remo Festival is something I didn't know! Also, "Cumular Limit" is another revelation. Thanks for the very comprehensive docs in 2 parts!
My pleasure - thanks for watching!
I went to see the Yardbirds in 1966 at the Carousel Ballroom (later Fillmore West). At the time the SF bay area was rife with bands. Jeff Beck was the current guitar hero. Yardbirds songs had become a staple of local cover bands. SF's Harbinger Complex open for the Yardbirds. Both bands played on the dance floor rather than on the stage (?) Every guitar player in the Bay Area was there to hear Beck. Then it was announced that Beck was in the hospital with acute insomnia and would not appear! Immediately there was a mob run on the box office! People wanted their money back! I would have joined them but I wasn't quick enough! It was announced that the bass player named Jimmy Page would fill in for Jeff Beck. Chris Dreja played bass. None of us in Northern California had heard of Page in 1966.
I think I heard that was the show where Randy Holden from the Other Half (later with Blue Cheer) was going to be interviewed by Keith Relf to replace Beck, but Page had already volunteered--and the rest, they say, is rock and roll history!
Thank you for another great video Matt!
My pleasure! Thanks for the comment.
I was fortunate enough to see page, Beck, and Clapton on stage at the same time at the arms benefit concert. Jimmy was coming out of his darkest time and Eric Clapton was well Eric Clapton. Jeff Beck stole the show, he was absolutely on fire
'Happenings Ten Years Time Ago' / 'Psycho Daisies' might just be my second favourite UK single of 1966.
It’s a monster. Still somewhat unknown in some 60s circles.
And Jimmy's riff was stolen by Lowell Fulson and used for his later song Tramp, without credit. We never hear about that though. Hmmm.
Thank you Matt for filling in the blanks of the later days of the Yardbirds. Jimmy Page did some of his best guitar work in those days. Pages’s use of the violin bow (on “Little Games”) and the flanger (on “Goodnight Sweet Josephine”) were truly unique. A passing moment that went by too quickly. Thanks and my best to you.
Thank you Scott! I appreciate the comment.
Just a clarification: page didn't use a "flanger," because that electronic effect had not yet been invented. Instead, the song features "flangeing"---mixing two synchronized tapes of the same stereo tracks while slowing and accelerating the tape reels on one of the tape machines by hand. (The metal tape reels sandwiched the tape between two "flanges.")
@@jotcarey Thanks for the clarification. Was that “flanger effect” was the same way Toni Fisher did it on “The Big Hurt”? It’s definitely a cool sound. Thanks.
Loved it as always. I remember my brother was a guitarist and trying to start a band in the late 60s and he swore by and listened only to The Yardbirds and Leo Kotke. Thanks always for the great content, Matt!
My pleasure, William.
I've really enjoyed these Yardbirds videos, great job.
Thank you for the kind words. More to come!
I had no idea The Yardbirds did, "Ha Ha Said The Clown". I only knew the Manfred Mann version. So much I didn't know about the Yardbirds. Thanks for this overview of their career.
Jimmy Page was NOT fond of that song, or most of "Little Games", for that matter. Which is hardly surprising.
GREAT JOB!
Thank you
Thanks Matt. It is tragic that at the height of their creative powers they were throttled by various factors, as you point out in this presentation. Ah, what could have been. As it is, they are one of my favorite bands. Thanks again.
As 60s bands go, they are certainly special and have enough hits and interesting songs covering many genres, that a lot of bands can’t match. Thanks for the comment!
@@popgoesthe60s52 I was glad you spoke so positively about Blow Up which is an fantastic film with a great soundtrack that Stroll on was one of the highlights of.
How very fine indeed! Thank you so much! 🤘🏻🎸🎤💙
The guitar solo in 'Think About It' definitely had the seeds of the solo Page ended up doing on Zeppelin's 'Dazed And Confused'. And there's a live version of the Yarbirds doing 'Train Kept A Rollin' on a TV show in 68 that starts with the chords Page used at the end of the solo of 'Dazed And Confused', where he does the E D-A E G thing. Just some observations. :)
Great series!!! Would love another 5 or 10 minutes to continue with the start of Led Zeppelin and what became of the other members.
One of the most interesting stories about the aftermath of the Yardbirds is regarding the death of Keith Relf which on Wikipedia it is reported that He got into a bathtub and then decided to plug in and play an electric guitar while bathing?!?! -Some claim this is false and is Pure Urban legend.
@@erniefernandez1927 It's false. From what I've read, he was playing through an ungrounded circuit, with his headphones on, and accidentally touched his guitar against a steel radiator and was electrocuted. His son (I don't know how old the boy was at the time) reportedly found his dad's lifeless body the next morning. A sad loss and a positively horrible thing for a young boy to have had to find and have etched forever in his mind's eye.
@@obbor4 man... that last note was a zinger... Almost did that myself at 14 in a garage barefoot in the summer, garage door up and brief rain left a puddle to form at my mic and feet. Was 1976 when garage wiring was knob and tube, no need for a ground so no use for a gfi I guess lol. Was a light show they said from my mouth to mic down the stand to my feet and the glass fuse said enough lol.
@@TheeRocker Yikes!
Thanks Matt! Always look forward to another episode. Great work. Keep Rockn!
Thank you, Brent!
For anyone interested there is a great Yardbirds version of Dazed and Confused from French television on TH-cam.
I saw that. Very cool.
Excellent version!
I'm sure Eddie Phillips of The Creation was Page's inspiration for using a violin bow.
Considering how much Jimmy stole from other artists, this wouldn't surprise me. I'm sure they played around the same areas too.
Well yes, The Creation and Page in the Yardbirds were exactly the same era and time: 1966/1967.
Page saw David Lindley use a violin bow to play his electric guitar with Kaleidoscope live in the US before Eddie Phillips
@@garylucas5558 Yes that's another musician who was doing this technique on stage in 1966/67. I wonder if Lindley did it first, then Phillips, then Page.
For what it's worth, as stated in the video Page has said David McCallum Snr suggested it to him at a session they were both working in- around this time too. It's all around a similar time period.
This all may be true, I do find the constant "oh yeah, well Page is known for copying and stealing" snark a bit tiresome. As the late Eddie van Halen once said in an interview, everyone loved telling him that he never invented tapping- but he pointed out that he never claimed that he did.
@geldofpunk32
A tiresome and exaggerated old accusation. Get a new idea yourself. 😉
What a great view of the yardbirds, love them so much. You did a great job of recognizing them and their fame, ty🎶
Thank you, Karen.
Roger The Engineer is flawed, but still great.
I was lucky to buy YBs Shapes of Things 7 record set with some prev unreleased material. About 4 months later it was Withdrawn! Good job on All your shows- Love it!!!
I agree flawed but still a terrific album.
Thanks for this video Matt. Learned a lot about the later years of the Yardbirds. Cheers
You're welcome, thanks for watching!
Thank you for this really interesting stuff
Great 2-parter on this under-appreciated band. I learned a lot I didn't know. Thanks Matt!
Thank you for watching Kenneth!
Thanks for an excellent review of this awesome band. I guess you could have mentioned their semi-reunion under the name Box of Frogs. But that's another decade.
Yes! I did omit almost all of their later work including the death of Keith Relf, but this leaves the door open to do a 3rd video on them someday. Thanks for the comment!
Thank you...LOVE IT!!!!!
Another great video. I'd love to see one for Cream
I do plan to do a combo Graham Bond Organization in line with a Cream video. Still working out the logistics. Thanks for the request!
Great job (as usual)! I totally enjoyed these videos you did on the Yardbirds! So well produced! Loved the info, photos, and especially all the music snippets you interwove in telling their history. I was surprised at songs I never knew existed. Thank u!!
You are quite welcome - this was a fun one to do!
Not only did the Yardbirds lead to Led Zeppelin, but also Renaissance was created by Keith Relf and his sister Jane. They eventually were also known as Illusion, after Keith passed away while Michael Dunsford and Annie Haslam continued with the Renaissance name. An incredible harvest from an excellent band.
I was in Junior high during the Yardbirds' heyday and a freshman in highschool when they broke up. I loved their hits.
Great video.
I love how you put their history together.
Thank you, Patrick - more to come!
Love the format of the show. Please keep these biographies coming.
Thank you, Dennis - plenty more to come!
One of the most interesting bands from the british invasion and one of the most innovative ones of the british invasion, also quite underappreciated, i think that Roger The Engineer is a truly great record.
Thank you for your appraisal of Roger The Engineer. I’ve loved that they wrote the entire thing but I believe that exposed some weaknesses as well. I appreciate the comment!
@@popgoesthe60s52 I think that the weakest link in the record is that wordless tribal experiment called "House of omagarashid" or something like that, even if I like most of the songs, that one and other two prevented to became an even better album.
The YBs with Page also recorded "Great Shakes" and Macclenny Toothpaste Jingles. The 1st one is avail on "Little Games Sessions and More" 2CD disc and the 2nd jingle is on a 5 CD set. Plus there were BBC songs. Great documentary!!!
I do have the Great Shakes but I'll have to find the Macclanes! Thanks for the tip.
Really nicely done. Enjoyed it. Lots of interesting facts some I didn’t know.
Def gonna check out more of your posts.
The photos, vinyl sleeves, and clips really add to the flow of your narrative of the Yardbirds history. I was only 16 and underage to attend when the '68 Yardbirds played a gig at The Purple Haze club in Riverside, CA. I saw what was left of them in 1998 at the Long Beach, CA Blues Fest.
Thank you for watching, Al!
Thank you, I learned a lot!!!
Thanks Matt, that was great. I reckon The Yardbirds must have also been one of the first groups to consistently use the same font (The Yardbirds) on all of their work.
Yes! I love that logo - something I forgot to mention.
Great to hear all this info, and especially with the little tastes of the tracks you talk about, you’ve given me some good stuff to explore further.
I appreciate you watching, Matt!
Eric Clapton was a rhythm and blues purist at one time when he was in the
Yardbirds . When they wanted to stray away from that with For Your Love he said goodbye to the Yardbirds and Jeff Beck took over as the lead guitarist and Jimmy Paige played bass . Eric went to the John Mayal Blues Breakers band . If I got any of that wrong let me know . I had a motorcycle wreck . Paige switched to guitar with The Yardbirds . Poor Keith Relf got electrocuted when he touched the wrong thing .
My favorite number they did was Smokestack Lightning , an old blues number . Rave Up was a great album .
Really enjoyed this history lesson. One of my favorite 60's bands. I also like the variety of albums you have in the background when you're doing these Pop Go the 60's videos! Keep up the good work!!
Thank you, Rob! Plenty more to come.
@@popgoesthe60s52 Good! I've enjoyed the 4 I've watched so far.
Happily Jeff Beck Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, these 3 Legends are still with us.
Thanks Matt. Super informative, as always. I'm always impressed by your ability to go into detail on things I had heard way back, or things I'd never heard. Rock on!
Thank you Wildon!
Great series. Learned so much, thanks.
I love the Roger the Engineer album had it since the 70s
Good Night Sweet Josephine is a banger!
Great show. Great production and very informative. Thank you for this😊🌎
I appreciate the kind words, Bill! Thank you.
Black Rose, love that one as with all of the post Clapton era, yet i love that era
As well
No words for their Influence
Another stellar job! Great review Matt!
Every doc I've seen on the Yardbirds is terrible. Thank you for this.
My pleasure.
The Yardbirds remind me of an all star football team where there are just too many potential goal kickers with not enough side men. On paper they should have been huge but it just goes to show.
Thank you, what a great history of The Yardbirds. I have enjoyed every minute of information on parts 1 and 2. I have just about every track and album you mentioned, except for the 'Cumular' album, even though some of the Australian Versions are slightly different. Definitely will be going through them again this week.
Thank you for watching, Denis. Cumular Limit does have some worthwhile material on it.
Watching this again, Matt, and had to add a late comment. The use of violin bow on electric guitar was first done by Eddie Phillips with his band, The Creation. It was used on their single, Making Time, released in June 1966, and produced by Shel Talmy. Talmy was also The Who's producer at this time.
Yes, I do address that in my video history on the Creation. Thanks for the comment!
@@popgoesthe60s52 Yes, you did, and I plead an addled brain from a stressful weekend. I refreshed my feed after commenting and what appears, but your Creation video (apparently, Big Brother was watching) and I note that I'd already seen it. Can you see my eyes roll at my own oversight? D'oh!
Thanks always, Matt, for your wonderfully informative videos and band histories.
Great follow up video! I bought a few Yardbirds CDs back in the early 1990s but they sort of fell off my radar. I may do a little more exploring of the later period. Thanks for sharing this!
You're welcome Bill!
Your videos are great because they cut to the chase on band developments. It's very straightforward, yet thorough and in depth in its anecdotes & insights.
Thank you, Tom. I try to give a thorough bio but not get too caught up in the unimportant stuff. Thankfully I can always fall back on playing clips of their music.
Many thanks Matt. Some great information there about this wonderful band. I'd heard Ha Ha Said the clown by Manfred Mann but didn't realise that the Yardbirds had covered it! 'Shapes of Things' still sounds good today.
Thank you, Mike!
Keith relf was a very talented singer of the yardbirds!
The Film Blow Up Is on my hard drive , I remember seeing when I came out I think 67 ?
My only comment is, I think it is pretty well accepted that the first rock guitar player using a violin bow is Eddie Phillips of The Creation.
I would accept that - certainly the first recorded bowed guitar. I'll cover that in my Creation video so stay tuned!
That’s an interesting note about David McCallum. Somewhere in my collection I have an album he put out around that time.
Great episode, Matt, really appreciate your research 👏
Thanks Lee!
You've got a nice poster or is it a handbill of the Yardbirds with the Sir Douglas Quintet on which also is the Loading Zone, the R&B cover band I was in. There's another of those Bay Area venues - the San Ramon High Stadium! But our favorite place was the Fillmore (before they called it the Fillmore West), that hall was really funky, especially the Green Room washroom and the loft up the back stairs. Thanks for the flash from the past.
FYI. You need to check out “Box of Frogs”
Three original members of the Yardbirds created the band in 1983 and they put out a couple of albums.
Not sure if it’s on CD, I have both of the vinyls. Pretty good sound.
Well done. Thanks for the video. ✌️😁👍
Thanks for the comment, Larry!
I'm glad that The Yardbirds are getting a recognition of their history, one of the greatest 60s bands, shame they went early.
Excited for the upcoming band history videos, which band is up next?
I've had many requests so over the next month or so you'll another Beatles related video and an American band... not sure yet which one. Thanks for asking!
Good mileage out of this story Matt - a band in England we remember for 5 big hits. Mainly a time for great singles before albums became the thing over the next few years - an extremely competitive time with so many big hit bands making their way - The Kinks, The Move, The Animals, The Who, The Small Faces, etc.
Beck has proven that he alone has emerged as top dog guitar God of all the invasion era players.
Truth.