The Yardbirds August 12, 2007

In the annals of rock history, the Yardbirds gave us three of the great Ph.D.s of rock guitar: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. They created hard rock out of standard twelve-bar blues, doubling the tempos and whacking the amps up to ten. The Yardbirds expanded the range of the electric guitar, experimenting with feedback, sustain and fuzztone. The Yardbirds were the bridge between the tributary white R&B of early-sixties London and the pastures of fuzz-toned psychedelia and power-chorded heavy metal plowed much later in the decade and throughout the seventies. Yes, the Yardbirds laid the groundwork for Rock Guitar As We Know It. Years later the music continues, with founding members Chris Dreja and Jim McCarty fronting a new generation of the band.