I saw him singing the blues in a pub in Belfast and it was an astonishing experience! This guy should have been on a stage in front of thousands of people, not in front of me! A deep broken manly voice, a genuine charisma and particular guitar skills. What could you ask more? Oh, I know… A few beers and three incredibly talented musicians playing in harmony around him!
Though this 1960s very British band is not so famous it indirectly gave birth to a musical revolution. Indeed, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page all started playing in the Yardbirds at the youth of their musical careers. The Yarbirds was one of those successful bands that met a regular audience but did not manage to go beyond Europe. It seems surprising because they had an incredible potential. Just listen to Stroll on or Train kept a rollin’ to realize the energy they could spread.
I think that the Yardbirds was quite a “teaching band”. Through it those three amazing guitarists learnt the last elements they needed to reach their best. They faced the musical rigor, the hardships, the audience fluctuant mood, the tensions… And they efficiently dealt with that. Little by little they started to get well known by the professionals and earned enough musical credit to fly with their own wings.
Most of all, through the Yardbirds they defined their musical directions. They turned their backs to the successful pop music and aimed towards the music that appealed to them and that would be the core of their future fantastic creations: The Blues.
Eric Clapton played with Cream and met a worldwide success. Jeff Beck started an irregular solo career, but made some astonishingly beautiful albums. And obviously Jimmy Page gave birth to the amazing Led Zeppelin.
Hail to the Yardbirds!
“I don’t need no doctors!”
A great song by Ray Charles played afterwards by John Mayer and John Scofield. It is incredible how many bands are playing it now. I hope you’ll like it!
