CARLTON FLETCHER: Yardbirds unmatched in rock guitar talent

Forget all about that macho (bleep), learn how to play guitar.

— John Mellencamp

There are any number of amazing rock and roll guitarists who’ll get their share of votes when it comes to best-of lists.

Jimi Hendrix is usually among the top two or three on most such lists, and virtuosos like Jimmy Page, Tom Morello, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Carlos Santana, Duane Allman, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Warren Haynes are a fitting random Top 10.

With no short supply of superior performers — Jack White, George Harrison, Keith Richards, Buddy Guy, The Edge (U2), Chuck Berry, Eddie Hazel (Parliament-Funkadelic), Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits), Dickey Betts (Allman Brothers), Bo Diddley, Kirk Hammett (Metallica), Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple), John Fogerty (CCR), Pete Townsend (The Who), David Gilmore (Pink Floyd), Adam Jones (Tool), Eddie Van Halen, Kim Thayil and Dave Davies … the latter two with Soundgarden and The Kinks, respectively, and among rock’s most underrated players — only taste separates the Top 30 or so.

But I’ll stand for little argument when it comes to the band that proved to be the top producer of guitar greatness. That title belongs to The Yardbirds.

If you’ve ever taken a liking to British Invasion-era rock — and who hasn’t? — you know The ‘Birds (not, for clarity’s sake, The Byrds). In a relatively short period of time the band produced a memorable Blues-based rock catalog, most notable among their better-known hits “For Your Love,” “Heart Full of Soul,” and the wonderful “Shapes of things” and “Over, Under, Sideways, Down.”

The Yardbirds were a group in search of an identity when they got their start, five guys — singer Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, bassist Paul Samwell-Smith, guitarists Chris Dreja and Anthony “Top” Topham — who decided they wanted to make music, but weren’t quite sure how.

It was no surprise, then, that a few months into their existence, Topham took a hike. The other band members decided they wanted to carry on, though, so they quickly found a replacement, a fellow by the name of Eric Clapton. With “Slow Hand” on board, The Yardbirds soon found themselves flying. They developed an ever-growing following and struck Top 10 gold with “For Your Love.”

But Clapton seemingly pulled the rug out from under his bandmates just as they were on their way, deciding he no longer wanted to travel down the musical path the ‘Birds had carved out for themselves. He did suggest a suitable replacement before he left, though, a guy who’d started making a name for himself on the hot London scene, cat named Jimmy Page.

Page, however, was making good money as a studio musician, and he didn’t want to risk that steady gig. So he turned The Yardbirds’ offer down but did suggest a suitable replacement, a guy named Jeff Beck.

With Beck playing lead, the ‘Birds really soared. In short order, they released classics “Shapes of Things,” “Heart Full of Soul” and “Over, Under, Sideways, Down.” Beck’s abrasive manner, though, drove Samwell-Smith off, so he called on Page to join the now successful band. Page, believe it or not, was recruited to play bass, but instead became half of a twin guitar duo whose only ever worthy challengers were Allman and Betts.

Still with no bassist, a guy named John Paul Jones signed on for a short while. He and Page would get together a few years later in a little combo called Led Zeppelin.

The Yardbirds, though, finally got their fill of the cantankerous Beck and booted him out of the band, not, however, before he and Page teamed on the classics “Happening Ten Years Time Ago” and “Stroll On.” That would be the beginning of the end for the band, who split soon after giving Beck the heave-ho.

But before everyone headed off in their own musical direction, band founder Dreja threw out the idea of giving the ‘Birds one more go. Page was in, but Relf declined. At the suggestion of friends on the London music scene, the band first recruited Terry Reid as their vocalist, but he was a no-go. He did, however, recommend an up-and-comer, guy named Robert Plant, and Plant brought on his childhood friend John Bonham to play drums.

Dreja knew he was losing any control he might have had, so he stepped away to chase a career as a photographer. And he took the rights to the band’s name with him.

While discussing his new band — which now included himself, Plant, Bonham and Jones — with old pal and Who bassist John Entwhistle, Page was famously told that a band playing heavier music steeped in American Blues would go over like a lead zeppelin. The “a” in the first word was dropped for clarity’s sake, and The Yardbirds had morphed into one of the two or three greatest rock bands of all time.

Still, except for the Allmans — with Duane, Betts, and later Haynes and Derek Trucks added to their lineup — no rock band has ever boasted even close to as great a collection of guitar talent as the Yardbirds.

Email Carlton Fletcher at [email protected]. Follow @ABH_Fletcher on Twitter.