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'.
You Can't Judge A Book By Looking At The Cover
The Yardbirds Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You can't judge honey by looking at the bee,
You can't judge a daughter by looking at the mother,
You can't judge a book by looking at the cover.
[Chorus]
Oh can't you see,
Oh, well, you misjudge me.I look like a farmer,
But I'm a lover
Can't judge a book by looking at the cover.
Yeah, that's right,
That's so good.
You can't judge a fish by looking in the pond,
You can't judge right by looking at the wrong,
You can't judge one by looking at the other,
You can't judge a book by looking at the cover.
[Chorus]
Can't judge a book by looking at the cover.
You can't judge sugar by looking at the cane,
You can't judge a woman by looking at her man,
You can't judge a sister by looking at her brother,
You can't judge a book by looking at the cover.
[Chorus]
Can't judge a book by looking at the cover.
The Yardbirds's song "You Can't Judge A Book By Looking At The Cover" is about not judging someone or something at first glance. The lyrics make use of several metaphors to convey the message. For example, the first verse says "you can't judge an apple by looking at the tree" and "you can't judge honey by looking at the bee". These metaphors mean that you can't judge something by its outward appearance. You need to look deeper to truly understand it.
The second verse talks about judging right by looking at the wrong. This makes the point that you can't judge someone's character by their mistakes. Similarly, you can't judge a woman by looking at her man, or a sister by looking at her brother. These metaphors say that we must not generalize people simply based on where they come from or who they surround themselves with.
The chorus repeats the refrain that "you misjudge me" and that the singer "looks like a farmer, but [is] a lover". It emphasizes that if you judge someone based on their appearance, you'll never truly know who they are. The idea is that we all have hidden qualities that can't be seen at first glance.
Overall, this song message is about open-mindedness and not judging others before you know them fully. The metaphors used are catchy and serve as a memorable way to make the message stick.
Line by Line Meaning
You can't judge an apple by looking at the tree,
The true essence or quality of an apple fruit cannot be determined by merely looking at the tree it grew on.
You can't judge honey by looking at the bee,
The true quality or taste of honey cannot be known by simply looking at the bee that produced it.
You can't judge a daughter by looking at the mother,
The character or abilities of a daughter cannot be determined by merely looking at the mother's attributes.
You can't judge a book by looking at the cover.
The true worth, content, or value of a book cannot be determined by merely looking at its outer cover or appearance.
[Chorus] Oh can't you see, Oh, well, you misjudge me. I look like a farmer, But I'm a lover
The artist of the song is urging the listener not to misjudge them based on their outer appearance as they may be completely different than what they seem. The artist may appear to be a farmer but is actually a lover.
You can't judge a fish by looking in the pond,
The true value or quality of a fish cannot be determined by simply looking at the pond it swims in.
You can't judge right by looking at the wrong,
One cannot determine what is right by merely looking at what is wrong as they may be completely different from each other.
You can't judge one by looking at the other,
One cannot assume the qualities or attributes of one thing by merely looking at another thing as they may be completely different from each other.
You can't judge a book by looking at the cover.
The true worth, content, or value of a book cannot be determined by merely looking at its outer cover or appearance.
[Chorus] Can't judge a book by looking at the cover. Yeah, that's right, That's so good.
The artist reiterates that one cannot determine the true value of a book by merely looking at its outer appearance. The line 'that's so good' may suggest that this is a valuable lesson to learn.
You can't judge sugar by looking at the cane,
The true quality or taste of sugar cannot be determined by simply looking at the cane it was extracted from.
You can't judge a woman by looking at her man,
The character or abilities of a woman cannot be determined by merely looking at the man she is associated with.
You can't judge a sister by looking at her brother,
The character or abilities of a sister cannot be determined by merely looking at the brother she is associated with.
You can't judge a book by looking at the cover.
The true worth, content, or value of a book cannot be determined by merely looking at its outer cover or appearance.
[Chorus] Can't judge a book by looking at the cover.
The chorus repeats the central theme of the song, which is that one cannot determine the true worth or value of something or someone by merely looking at their outer appearance.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: Willie Dixon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@peterarmentano5294
The Yardbirds were ahead of their time.
@joebrewer4529
They were the best love band around this time. Too bad they couldn't take him what they did here and applaud that to 1966 and 1967. if they would have that kind of vision they could have just blew away everybody. Wishes essentially what Jimmy Page did with led Zeppelin as far as a live band. What I like most about this period of music it was so innocent people just didn't really know what to do where to go. That's what kind of makes music now kind of boring everybody knows what to do.
@m.j.c.6969
"Look like a farmer"?
@romain2008
L'instru est tellement folle. J'adore ce groupe que ce soit avec Jeff Beck, Jimmi Page ou Eric Clapton. Toute les époques sont bonnes.
@keithleeuwen877
Great !
@ThatsfeelgbSound
hard life (MULDEW) ~ gary b *
@keithleeuwen877
Great !