Influence of the Yardbirds Essay Example

moved up as second lead guitarist alongside Beck. The new lineup recorded only four songs, which they preformed a couple of times. Then Beck decided to leave and go off on his own. While Beck's stint with the band only lasted about 18 months, in this period he did a lot to influence the sound of 1960’s rock guitar.

When Beck left the group, Page moved up to the new lead guitarist and introduced his own musical visions and recorded the album “Little Games”. An odd mixture of pop songs and genius guitar playing, this album is most intriguing as a document of Page's early development, displaying many riffs and effects which were later redeveloped in Led Zeppelin. When the remaining members left, Page recruited vocalist Robert Plant, bassist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham, and debuted the band as the New Yardbirds, later renamed Led Zeppelin.The Yardbirds are considered "legendary", for although their recordings have lapsed into obscurity, their influence on guitar-driven rock is enduring and pervasive (Larkin 480).

Clapton, Beck, and Page gave rise to the "guitar hero" displacing the singer as the focal point of the rock and roll band, and a legion of 1970s guitarists cited the Yardbirds as a major influence. In spite of their uneven recording history, the Yardbirds' small, experimental body of work places them just behind the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Who as a major band of the British Invasion.