They followed up with “Heart Full of Soul” (1965). It was obviously going to be a hit as soon as we started.” We went into the studio and put that down. “We were playing with The Beatles at their Christmas Show in Christmas 1964, and there was a publisher in the audience who had the demo disc and he thought it would fit us. The band’s first big hit was “For Your Love” (1965). “You never knew what was going to happen!” “That was a pretty hot band,” McCarty said. So Beck and Page both played lead guitar for about nine months. He loved getting different sounds.”Įventually, Page joined in 1966, so The Yardbirds had Page and Beck at the same time! McCarty said Page played bass for a while, then swapped with rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja. He could play all sorts of stuff on the guitar. He didn’t care what he wore he wore the dirty old jeans, leather jacket and let his hair get really long. When Clapton left the band in 1965, they sought out Jimmy Page, who was too busy at the time, but he suggested his understudy Jeff Beck. He found it difficult being part of a team in the end.” … He was always destined to be a solo guy. He used to practice all the time - practicing before breakfast - so he was very dedicated and very keen, and he was also very attached to fashion.

In 1963, Topham was replaced on lead guitar by Clapton, whom McCarty called, “very ambitious and very dedicated. We used to go and watch The Rolling Stones … so we gradually brought up a repertoire and we formed a group.” “Three of the guys were from Kingston Arts School, they were art students, and me and Paul Samwell-Smith were from a grammar school. “We were all in the Southwest Landon area and we used to hang out at a pub in Kingston,” McCarty said. “We’ve got all in there, and we do some blues covers, ‘Train Kept a Rolling,’ ‘Smokestack Lightning,’ ‘Drinking Muddy Water,’ so it’s a pretty good show.”įormed in 1963, the lineup saw McCarty on drums, Keith Relf on vocals and harmonica, Chris Dreja on rhythm guitar, Paul Samwell-Smith on bass and Top Topham on lead guitar. “You’ve got the grandparents and the grandchildren who’ve all got their Zeppelin T-shirts on, so they know all about The Yardbirds,” longtime drummer Jim McCarty told WTOP. Imagine replacing Eric Clapton on guitar by bringing in Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page in the same band together! That’s the story of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band The Yardbirds, who bring psychedelic blues-rock to Rams Head in Annapolis, Maryland, on Saturday. WTOP's Jason Fraley previews The Yardbirds at Rams Head in Annapolis (Part 1)

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