The Yardbirds is an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band's… Read Full Bio ↴The Yardbirds is an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band's core lineup featured vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist and later bassist Chris Dreja and bassist/producer Paul Samwell-Smith. The band is known for starting the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, all of whom ranked in the top five of Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 greatest guitarists. The band had a string of hits throughout the mid-1960s, including "For Your Love", "Heart Full of Soul", "Shapes of Things" and "Over Under Sideways Down".

Originally a blues-based band noted for their signature "rave-up" instrumental breaks, the Yardbirds broadened their range into pop, pioneering psychedelic rock and early hard rock; and contributed to many electric guitar innovations of the mid-1960s. Some rock critics and historians also cite their influence on the later punk rock, progressive rock and heavy metal trends. Following the band's split in 1968, Relf and McCarty formed the acoustic-duo Together, and then later Renaissance, a progressive rock group memorable for being heavily influenced by medieval instruments and sound, and guitarist Jimmy Page formed Led Zeppelin - the latter of which was initially intended as a direct successor to the Yardbirds. Dreja was first invited to play guitar in the new group, then known as "The New Yardbirds", however he turned it down, opting to become a photographer instead. He captured the back cover of Led Zeppelin's first album.

The band formed in the south-west London suburbs in 1963. Relf and Samwell-Smith were originally in a band named the Metropolitan Blues Quartet. After being joined by Dreja, McCarty and Top Topham, they performed at Kingston Art School in late May 1963 as a backup band for Cyril Davies. Following a couple of gigs in September 1963 as the Blue-Sounds, they changed their name to the Yardbirds. McCarty claims that Relf was the first to use the name; he may have got it from Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road, where it referred to rail yard hobos. He adds that Topham identified it as a nickname for jazz saxophonist Charlie "Yardbird" Parker.

The quintet achieved notice on the burgeoning British rhythm and blues scene when they took over as the house band at the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond, succeeding the Rolling Stones. Their repertoire drew from the Chicago blues of Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, Sonny Boy Williamson II and Elmore James, including "Smokestack Lightning", "Good Morning Little School Girl", "Boom Boom", "I Wish You Would", "Rollin' and Tumblin'", "Got Love if You Want It" and "I'm a Man".

Original lead guitarist Topham left and was replaced by Eric Clapton in October 1963. Crawdaddy Club impresario Giorgio Gomelsky became the Yardbirds manager and first record producer. Under Gomelsky's guidance the Yardbirds toured Britain as the back-up band for blues legend Sonny Boy Williamson II in December 1963 and early 1964, recording live tracks on 8 December and other dates. The recordings would be released two years later during the height of the Yardbirds popularity on the album Sonny Boy Williamson and the Yardbirds.

After the tours with Williamson, the Yardbirds signed to EMI's Columbia label in February 1964, and recorded more live tracks on 20 March at the legendary Marquee Club in London. The resulting album of mostly American blues and R&B covers, Five Live Yardbirds, was released by Columbia nine months later, and it failed to enter the UK Albums Chart. Over time, Five Live gained stature as one of the few high-quality live recordings of the era and as a historical document of both the British rock and roll boom of the 1960s and Clapton's time in the band.

The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. They were included at number 89 in Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" and ranked number 37 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.

The Yardbirds re-formed in the 1990s, featuring drummer Jim McCarty and rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja as the only original members. In 2003, the Yardbirds released the album "Birdland" featuring original personnel Jim McCarty and Chris Dreja, along with contributions from Jeff Beck, and John Idan replacing Relf on lead vocals.

Dreja left the band in 2012, leaving McCarty as the sole original member of the band in the present lineup.

Along with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, The Yardbirds were part of the British blues scene of the 1960s. As the blues rock genre developed, some acts like Chicken Shack were playing a louder and more aggressive style, while the Yardbirds emphasized instrumental textures and extended instrumental improvisations. They covered blues classics like Howlin' Wolf's Smokestack Lightning (1956) and Bo Diddley's I'm a Man (1955) which had a repetitive structure where instrumental solos were brief breaks between repetition of verses. The Yardbirds often extended these instrumental sections into "heavy jams", known as 'rave-ups'.

Talkin' 'Bout You
The Yardbirds Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

(Chuck Berry)
Let me tell you 'bout a girl I know,
I found her walking down an uptown street.
She's so fine, you know I wish she was mine,
I get shook up every time we meet.

I'm talkin' bout you,
Nobody but you.

Yes, I do mean you,
Come on and let me get a message to you.

Let me tell you 'bout a girl I know,
I tell ya now she looks so good.
Got so nice skin and such a beautiful lip,
She oughta be somewhere in Hollywood.

I'm talkin' 'bout you,
Nobody but you.
Yes, I do mean you,
Come on and let me get a message to you.

Let me tell you 'bout a girl I know,
She's sitting here by my side.
Lovely indeed, that's why I asked her if she'd,
Promise me someday she would be my bride.

I'm talkin' 'bout you,
Nobody but you.

Yes, I do mean you,
Come on and let me get a message to you.

Overall Meaning

In "Talkin' About You" by The Yardbirds, the lyrics are a cover of the Chuck Berry original. The song portrays the feelings of a man about a girl he met and his desires to convey his emotions to her. The song begins with the singer describing a girl he saw walking down the street and how her presence causes him to be shaken up. He continues to praise her features and her potential to be in Hollywood. While the first two verses are about the girl he doesn't know yet, the third marks a shift in lyrics, as he mentions the girl by his side, whom he plans to marry someday.

The main message of the song is a man's attraction to a girl and the attempt to convey his feelings to her. The song's upbeat tempo complements the high-spirited tone of the lyrics. Chuck Berry's genius in combining his unique guitar style, excellent lyrics, and powerful vocals is evident in this song. The Yardbirds' version is notable because they added their signature sound to the song; their guitar riffs are more aggressive than Chuck's original.

Line by Line Meaning

Let me tell you 'bout a girl I know,
I want to tell you about this girl I know

I found her walking down an uptown street.
I saw her walking down a nice street

She's so fine, you know I wish she was mine,
She's very beautiful and I wish she was my girl

I get shook up every time we meet.
I get nervous every time I encounter her

I'm talkin' bout you,
I'm talking about this girl I know

Nobody but you.
There is no one else I want to talk about

Yes, I do mean you,
Yes, I am talking directly to you

Come on and let me get a message to you.
Please listen to what I have to say about this girl

Let me tell you 'bout a girl I know,
Again, I want to talk to you about this girl

I tell ya now she looks so good.
She looks amazing, I must tell you

Got so nice skin and such a beautiful lip,
Her skin is perfect and her lips are beautiful