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 Renaissance and guitarist Jimmy Page formed Led Zeppelin - the latter of which was initially intended as a direct successor to the Yardbirds.
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. Dreja left the band in 2012, leaving McCarty as the sole original member of the band in the present lineup.
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.
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".
Train Kept a Rollin'
The Yardbirds Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I met a dame
She was a hipster
Man a real gone dame
She wasn't pretty
For New York City
As we strut down on that ol' fairlane
With a heave and a ho
Get along
Sweet little woman get along
On your way
Get along
Sweet little woman get along
On your way
With a heave and a ho
I just couldn't let her go
The train kept a rollin' all night long
The train kept a rollin' all night long
The train kept a rollin' all night long
The train kept a rollin' all night long
With a heave and a ho
I just couldn't let her go
I made a stop round Albuquerque
She must'a thought I was real gone jerk
Got off the train at El Paso
A' looking so good I couldn't let her go
With a heave and a ho
I just couldn't let her go
The train kept a rollin' all night long
The train kept a rollin' all night long
The train kept a rollin' all night long
The train kept a rollin' all night long
With a heave and a ho
I just couldn't let her go
The Yardbirds's song "The Train Kept a-Rollin'" is a classic rock and roll song that describes a train journey and a chance encounter with a woman. The lyrics tell the story of the singer meeting a woman on board the train, who he describes as a "real gone dame" or a hipster. She may not be conventionally pretty for New York City, but she still captivates the singer. He takes her for a ride in his car, and he just can't let her go.
The rest of the song involves the singer and the woman traveling on the train through the night, with a chorus proclaiming that the "train kept a rollin' all night long." The singer describes making a stop in Albuquerque, where the woman seems to think he's a "real gone jerk," but he is undeterred. They eventually get off the train in El Paso, and the singer can't bear to part with this woman who has caught his eye.
Line by Line Meaning
Aboard a train
I met a woman while travelling on a train
I met a dame
I met a woman
She was a hipster
She was cool and fashionable
Man a real gone dame
She was a very cool woman
She wasn't pretty
She wasn't conventionally attractive
For New York City
By New York City standards
As we strut down on that ol' fairlane
As we walked down the aisle of the train car
With a heave and a ho
With a lot of effort
I just couldn't let her go
I couldn't bring myself to leave her behind
Get along
Move on
Sweet little woman get along
Move on, sweet woman
On your way
Keep moving forward
The train kept a rollin' all night long
The train continued to move without stopping throughout the night
I made a stop round Albuquerque
I briefly stopped in Albuquerque
She must'a thought I was real gone jerk
She must have thought I was not a good person
Got off the train at El Paso
I left the train at El Paso
A' looking so good I couldn't let her go
She looked so good that I couldn't leave her behind
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Howie Kay, Lois Mann, Tiny Bradshaw
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@stratcat71
RIP Jeff Beck. You will always be a legend's legend. 🎸🕯
@danielgiraud1118
But no my friend, he's not really dead. It's just an excuse not to work.
@debraweaver6308
@@danielgiraud1118 WHAT????????!!!!! JEFF WAS THE VERY BEST! WHERE ARE YOU GETTING YOUR INFORMATION?!
@user-jy2cn3cn4t
Jeff Beck was insanely gifted.
May he R.I.P.
@clsclearlightsound5594
Watching The Yardbirds live, you can hear the excitement they generated in the audience. It was raw and it was great. The one thing most people miss about The Yardbirds was that it was a harmonica driven guitar band. Keith Relf's vocals and his harmonica playing gave the group their unique, edgy sound out of all the the other rock bands at the time. And of course three of the greatest rock guitarists of the century. Bassist Paul Samwell-Smith was also a great producer who was later responsible for some of Cat Stevens biggest hits, among others. Drummer Jim McCarty and Chris Dreja on rhythm and later bass guitar with Jimmy Page on lead, completed the unmistakable sound of this seminal group that changed the sound of rock and roll forever. Eric Clapton went on to form Cream. Jeff Beck went on to form multiple groups that blew open the boundaries of blues rock, fusion, jazz and prog rock. Jimmy Page formed The New Yardbirds which of course became Led Zeppelin. And Keith Relf and Jim McCarty formed the classically based progressive rock group Renaissance, along with Relf's sister Jane. Keith Relf then went on to form Armageddon before his untimely death. In a recent broadcast, The Yardbirds were named as the most influential group in rock history, even moreso than The Beatles or The Rolling Stones. When you look at their musical legacy, that makes total sense.
@1blastman
Hey give their first guitarist, Top Topham some credit for creating the innovative blues jamming sound. My best friend was in England during the "Summer of Top" in 1963, and he came back raving about the Yardbirds and their young guitarist, Top Topham. The band was heavily influenced by Top's dad's blues record collection and they started fusing their extended play sound during that summer. My friend literally followed the band from gig to gig that summer and got to know them some. They sometimes fronted Cyril Davies gigs and Cyril encouraged them to "rave up" like their namesake Charlie "Yardbird" Parker. Top and Keith gave the band it's name and initial inprovisional sound. When Top had to leave the band and stay in art school, and Clapton came on board, the band's sound kept expanding.
@sandeedobberstine5591
@@1blastman. Well said. Thanks Top!
@bms9144
They were only around for about five years, and enjoyed somewhat limited success during their (original) time. They probably broke up thinking they had failed. But history has come to a very different conclusion.
@debraweaver6308
NO! The Yardbirds enjoyed MUCH MORE THAN " limited success "!!!!!!!! Are you sure that you know...... exactly......WHO THE YARDBIRDS WERE????????? FROM ENGLAND??? OH! THEY WERE ONE OF MY ALL-TIME ABSOLUTE FAVORITE GROUPS! I AM NOT SAYING THAT THEY WERE " BETTER " THAN THE BEATLES. ACTUALLY...... IT CAN BE VERY DIFFICULT TO COMPARE GROUPS.( EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT THEY WERE BOTH ENGLISH! ). The Yardbirds changed the " face " of rock music.......in a VERY CONSIDERABLE WAY!!!! The effects of the Yardbirds can STILL be felt. And I DO remember that...... when they first came out...... they SURELY DID " AFFECT " ME!!!! MY 14-YEAR OLD SELF! UNTIL THIS DAY! AND I JUST TURNED 72...... YESTERDAY!!!
@Dreamwarrior64
Wow. Fantastic accounting of the bands's history, members' history, early years and influence. Awesome stuff my friend.Thanks for taking the time and trouble to share that.