Interesting Facts about The Yardbirds



  • They recorded "You're a Better Man than I" with 'Sun'-founder Sam Phillips in Memphis.
  • Jimmy Page worked on eponymous albums for the Kinks, the Rolling Stones, the Pretty Things and Them.
  • Page was asked to join after Clapton left - but instead recommended Beck. It was only after Samwell-Smith left that he eventually joined.
  • The Yardbirds met Lou Reed on a number of occasions whilst in New York.
  • David Bowie covered Yardbirds-original "Shapes of Things", plus "I Wish You Would" with a Yardbirds-style arrangement, on his Pinups album.
  • Jimmy Page wasn't the only member of Led Zeppelin to appear on Yardbirds recordings - John Paul Jones played on "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago", among others.
  • The band appeared in Michelangelo Antonioni's 1966 film Blow-Up. They played Stroll On in a scene set in a club, featuring Jeff Beck smashing his guitar.