List of the Yardbirds members

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Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Multiple image". The Yardbirds are an English blues rock band from London. Formed in May 1963, the group originally included lead vocalist Keith Relf, lead guitarist Anthony "Top" Topham, rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja, bassist Paul Samwell-Smith, and drummer Jim McCarty.[1] In October, Topham was replaced by Eric Clapton.[2] He remained until 13 March 1965, when he left due to creative disagreements.[3] Clapton recommended Jimmy Page to replace him, but he declined and Jeff Beck took over.[4] Page later joined on bass the following June, after Samwell-Smith abruptly quit; Dreja later took over the role, allowing Page to join Beck on guitar.[5] This lineup was short-lived, however, as Beck left in November 1966.[6] The group continued as a four-piece until July 1968, when Relf and McCarty left due to creative differences, primarily with Page.[7] Dreja initially remained, but by August, Page formed a new group under the name The New Yardbirds, with vocalist Robert Plant, bassist John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham, who later renamed themselves Led Zeppelin.[8]

McCarty and Dreja reformed the Yardbirds in 1992, adding new members "Detroit" John Idan (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Rod Demick (bass, harmonica, backing vocals) from the drummer's eponymous band. Months later Demick left the band, Ray Majors joined on lead guitar, and Idan moved to bass,[9] Laurie Garman also joined on harmonica. A recording of the Jim McCarty Band featuring Demick and Idan was released under the Yardbirds name as Reunion Jam.[10][9] In 1996, Majors was replaced by Gypie Mayo,[11] and later Garman was replaced by Alan Glen.[12] This lineup remained stable for seven years, releasing the band's first new studio album since 1967, Birdland, in 2003.[13] Shortly after the album's touring cycle, Glen left the Yardbirds and was replaced by Billy Boy Miskimmin.[14] Mayo also left the band at the end of 2004,[15] with Jerry Donahue taking his place.[16][17] Donahue remained for a year, before he was replaced by Ben King.[18]

In 2008, Glen returned to replace Miskimmin, although only remained for a year before leaving again.[19] Also in 2009, Idan left the Yardbirds after 14 years as the band's frontman. To replace Glen and Idan, the group added Andy Mitchell on lead vocals, acoustic guitar and harmonica, with David Smale joining on bass.[20] The band's lineup remained stable until early 2012, when Dreja was forced to stop performing after suffering two strokes.[21][22] The following July, it was announced that Dreja would be leaving the band, with original member Top Topham taking his place.[23] On 30 January 2015, this lineup played its final show at the 100 Club in London.[24] A few days later, it was announced that McCarty and Topham would return with former lead singer and guitarist Idan, bassist Kenny Aaronson and Myke Scavone on harmonica and percussion.[25]

Within a month of announcing a new lineup in February 2015, the Yardbirds postponed all tour dates due to "health concerns and extenuating circumstances".[26] In May, guitarist Earl Slick was added to the band's lineup in place of Topham, and the shows were rescheduled for later in the year.[27] However, due to "scheduling conflicts" Slick was unable to tour with the group, and on 12 August 2015 Johnny A. was announced as the band's new lead guitarist.[28] Johnny A. remained until July 2018, when he was replaced by Godfrey Townsend.[29]

Members

Current members

Image Name Years active Instruments Release contributions
Jim McCarty Template:Hlist Template:Hlist all Yardbirds releases
John Idan Template:Hlist Template:Hlist Template:Hlist
Kenny Aaronson 2015–present bass none to date
Myke Scavone Template:Hlist
Godfrey Townsend 2018–present Template:Hlist

Former members

Image Name Years active Instruments Release contributions
Chris Dreja Template:Hlist (died 2025)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Template:Hlist all Yardbirds releases
Keith Relf 1963–1968 (died 1976)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Template:Hlist Template:Hlist
Paul Samwell-Smith 1963–1966 Template:Hlist Template:Hlist
Anthony "Top" Topham Template:Hlist (died 2023)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Template:Hlist none
Eric Clapton 1963–1965 Template:Hlist Template:Hlist
Jeff Beck 1965–1966 (died 2023)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Template:Hlist
Jimmy Page 1966–1968 Template:Hlist Template:Hlist
Rod Demick 1992–1995 Template:Hlist none
Laurie Garman 1995–1996 harmonica
Ray Majors 1995–1996 (died 2022)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Template:Hlist
Gypie Mayo (John Cawthra)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 1996–2004 (died 2013)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Template:Hlist
Alan Glen Template:Hlist Template:Hlist
Billy Boy Miskimmin 2003–2008 Live at B.B. King Blues Club (2007)
Jerry Donahue 2004–2005 lead guitar none
Ben King 2005–2015 Template:Hlist
Andy Mitchell 2009–2015 Template:Hlist Making Tracks (2012)
David Smale Template:Hlist
Earl Slick (Frank Madeloni)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 2015 lead guitar none
Johnny A. (John Antonopoulos)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 2015–2018

Timeline

Original run (1963–1968)

<timeline> ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:110 bottom:120 top:0 right:0 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/05/1963 till:07/07/1968 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = columns:3 position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:1 start:1964 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1964

Colors = 

 id:lvocals value:red         legend:Lead_vocals,_harmonica
 id:ovocals value:coral       legend:Occasional_lead_vocals
 id:bvocals value:pink        legend:Backing_vocals
 id:lguitar value:teal        legend:Lead_guitar
 id:rguitar value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar
 id:bass    value:blue        legend:Bass
 id:drums   value:orange      legend:Drums,_percussion
 id:studio  value:black       legend:Studio_albums
 id:live    value:gray(0.75)  legend:Live_release_recordings
 id:bars    value:gray(0.95)

BackgroundColors = bars:bars

BarData = 

 bar:Keith   text:"Keith Relf"
 bar:Top     text:"Top Topham"
 bar:Eric    text:"Eric Clapton"
 bar:Jeff    text:"Jeff Beck"
 bar:Chris   text:"Chris Dreja"
 bar:Paul    text:"Paul Samwell-Smith"
 bar:Jimmy   text:"Jimmy Page"
 bar:Jim     text:"Jim McCarty"

PlotData = 

width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(11,-4)

 color:lvocals
 bar:Keith   from:start      till:07/07/1968

 color:lguitar
 bar:Top     from:start      till:04/10/1963
 bar:Eric    from:04/10/1963 till:25/03/1965
 bar:Jeff    from:25/03/1965 till:30/11/1966
 bar:Jimmy   from:24/08/1966 till:07/07/1968

 color:rguitar
 bar:Chris   from:start      till:24/08/1966
 bar:Jeff    from:24/08/1966 till:30/11/1966 width:3
 bar:Jimmy   from:24/08/1966 till:30/11/1966 width:3
 bar:Keith   from:30/11/1966 till:07/07/1968 width:3

 color:bass
 bar:Paul    from:start      till:18/06/1966
 bar:Jimmy   from:18/06/1966 till:23/08/1966
 bar:Chris   from:24/08/1966 till:07/07/1968

 color:drums
 bar:Jim     from:start      till:07/07/1968

 color:bvocals
 bar:Paul    from:start      till:18/06/1966 width:3
 bar:Jim     from:start      till:07/07/1968 width:3
 bar:Chris   from:start      till:07/07/1968 width:3

 color:ovocals
 bar:Eric    from:04/10/1963 till:25/03/1965 width:3
 bar:Jeff    from:01/04/1966 till:30/06/1966 width:3

LineData = 

layer:back
color:studio
 at:13/06/1965
 at:15/11/1965
 at:15/07/1966
 at:10/07/1967
color:live
 at:07/12/1963
 at:20/03/1964
 at:01/07/1964
 at:04/04/1967
 at:30/03/1968

</timeline>

Reunion (1992–present)

<timeline> ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:110 bottom:120 top:0 right:0 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1992 till:24/10/2026 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = columns:3 position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:5 start:1992 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1992

Colors = 

 id:lvocals value:red         legend:Lead_vocals
 id:lguitar value:teal        legend:Lead_guitar
 id:rguitar value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar
 id:bass    value:blue        legend:Bass
 id:drums   value:orange      legend:Drums
 id:perc    value:claret      legend:Percussion
 id:harm    value:tan2        legend:Harmonica
 id:bvocals value:pink        legend:Backing_vocals
 id:studio  value:black       legend:Studio_albums
 id:live    value:gray(0.75)  legend:Live_release_recordings
 id:bars    value:gray(0.95)

BackgroundColors = bars:bars

BarData = 

 bar:JohnI   text:"John Idan"
 bar:Andy    text:"Andy Mitchell"
 bar:Ray     text:"Ray Majors"
 bar:Gypie   text:"Gypie Mayo"
 bar:Jerry   text:"Jerry Donahue"
 bar:Ben     text:"Ben King"
 bar:Earl    text:"Earl Slick"
 bar:Johnny  text:"Johnny A."
 bar:Godfrey text:"Godfrey Townsend"
 bar:Chris   text:"Chris Dreja"
 bar:Top     text:"Top Topham"
 bar:Ron     text:"Ron Demrick"
 bar:David   text:"David Smale" 
 bar:Kenny   text:"Kenny Aaronson"
 bar:Laurie  text:"Laurie Garman"
 bar:Alan    text:"Alan Glen"
 bar:Billy   text:"Billy Boy Miskimmin"
 bar:Myke    text:"Myke Scavone"
 bar:Jim     text:"Jim McCarty"

PlotData = 

width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(11,-4)

 color:lvocals
 bar:JohnI   from:01/01/1992 till:30/04/2009
 bar:Andy    from:30/04/2009 till:01/02/2015
 bar:JohnI   from:01/02/2015 till:end

 color:lguitar
 bar:JohnI   from:01/01/1992 till:01/06/1995 width:3
 bar:Ray     from:01/06/1995 till:30/05/1996
 bar:Gypie   from:30/05/1996 till:31/10/2004
 bar:Jerry   from:31/10/2004 till:22/10/2005
 bar:Ben     from:22/10/2005 till:31/01/2015
 bar:Chris   from:01/05/2009 till:09/07/2013 width:7
 bar:Top     from:09/07/2013 till:31/01/2015 width:7
 bar:Top     from:31/01/2015 till:30/04/2015
 bar:Earl    from:30/04/2015 till:11/08/2015
 bar:Johnny  from:11/08/2015 till:24/07/2018
 bar:Godfrey from:24/07/2018 till:end

 color:rguitar
 bar:Chris   from:01/01/1992 till:09/07/2013
 bar:Andy    from:01/05/2009 till:01/02/2015 width:7
 bar:Top     from:09/07/2013 till:31/01/2015
 bar:JohnI   from:01/02/2015 till:end        width:3

 color:bass
 bar:Ron     from:01/01/1992 till:01/06/1995
 bar:JohnI   from:01/06/1995 till:30/04/2009 width:3
 bar:David   from:30/04/2009 till:31/01/2015
 bar:Kenny   from:31/01/2015 till:end

 color:drums
 bar:Jim     from:01/01/1992 till:end

 color:perc
 bar:Jim     from:01/01/1992 till:01/12/1996 width:7
 bar:Alan    from:01/12/1996 till:30/09/2003 width:3
 bar:Billy   from:30/09/2003 till:30/05/2008 width:7
 bar:Alan    from:30/05/2008 till:30/04/2009 width:3
 bar:Andy    from:30/04/2009 till:01/02/2015 width:3
 bar:Myke    from:31/01/2015 till:end        width:7

 color:harm
 bar:Ron     from:01/01/1992 till:01/06/1995 width:7
 bar:Laurie  from:01/06/1995 till:30/11/1996
 bar:Alan    from:30/11/1996 till:30/09/2003
 bar:Billy   from:30/09/2003 till:30/05/2008
 bar:Alan    from:30/05/2008 till:30/04/2009
 bar:Andy    from:30/04/2009 till:01/02/2015 width:5
 bar:Myke    from:31/01/2015 till:end

 color:bvocals
 bar:Jim     from:01/01/1992 till:end        width:3
 bar:Chris   from:01/01/1992 till:09/07/2013 width:3
 bar:Ron     from:01/01/1992 till:01/06/1995 width:3
 bar:Ray     from:01/06/1995 till:30/05/1996 width:3
 bar:Gypie   from:30/05/1996 till:31/10/2004 width:3
 bar:Billy   from:30/09/2003 till:30/05/2008 width:3
 bar:David   from:30/04/2009 till:31/01/2015 width:3
 bar:Top     from:09/07/2013 till:30/04/2015 width:3
 bar:Myke    from:31/01/2015 till:end        width:3
 bar:Godfrey from:24/07/2018 till:end        width:3

LineData = 

layer:back
color:studio
 at:22/04/2003
color:live
 at:19/07/2006
 at:28/05/2010
 at:01/09/2011
 at:02/05/2012

</timeline>

Line-ups

Period Members Releases
May–October 1963 none
October 1963 – March 1965
  • Keith Relf – lead vocals, harmonica
  • Chris Dreja – rhythm guitar
  • Paul Samwell-Smith – bass, backing vocals
  • Jim McCarty – drums, percussion, backing vocals
  • Eric Clapton – lead guitar, occasional lead vocals
March 1965 – June 1966
  • Keith Relf – lead vocals, harmonica
  • Chris Dreja – rhythm guitar, piano
  • Paul Samwell-Smith – bass, backing vocals
  • Jim McCarty – drums, percussion, backing vocals
  • Jeff Beck – lead guitar, occasional lead vocals
  • For Your Love (1965)
  • Having a Rave Up (1965)
  • Roger the Engineer (1966)
  • Glimpses 1963–1968 (2011)
June–August 1966
  • Keith Relf – lead vocals, harmonica
  • Chris Dreja – rhythm guitar
  • Jim McCarty – drums, percussion, backing vocals
  • Jeff Beck – lead guitar
  • Jimmy Page – bass
  • "Psycho Daisies" (1966) (Beck, Page, & McCarty only)
  • Glimpses 1963–1968 (2011) (3 live tracks from 27/6/1966)
August–November 1966
  • Keith Relf – lead vocals, harmonica
  • Chris Dreja – bass, backing vocals
  • Jim McCarty – drums, percussion, backing vocals
  • Jeff Beck – lead and rhythm guitars
  • Jimmy Page – lead and rhythm guitars
November 1966 – July 1968
  • Keith Relf – lead vocals, harmonica, rhythm guitar
  • Chris Dreja – bass, backing vocals
  • Jim McCarty – drums, percussion, backing vocals
  • Jimmy Page – lead guitar
Band inactive 1969–1992
1984 – 1986

(Partial comeback as Box of Frogs)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

  • Chris Dreja – rhythm guitar, percussion, backing vocals
  • Jim McCarty – drums, backing vocals, percussion, keyboards
  • Paul Samwell-Smith – bass, backing vocals percussion, synthesizer
  • John Fiddler – lead vocals, guitars, percussion, synthesizers

Notable session contributors

1992–1995
  • Chris Dreja – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
  • Jim McCarty – drums, percussion, backing vocals
  • Rod Demick – bass, harmonica, backing vocals
  • John Idan – lead vocals, lead guitar
 none
1995–1996
  • Chris Dreja – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
  • Jim McCarty – drums, percussion, backing vocals
  • John Idan – lead vocals, bass
  • Ray Majors – lead guitar, backing vocals
  • Laurie Garman – harmonica
1996
  • Chris Dreja – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
  • Jim McCarty – drums, percussion, backing vocals
  • John Idan – lead vocals, bass
  • Laurie Garman – harmonica
  • Gypie Mayo – lead guitar, backing vocals
1996–2003
  • Chris Dreja – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
  • Jim McCarty – drums, backing vocals
  • John Idan – lead vocals, bass
  • Gypie Mayo – lead guitar, backing vocals
  • Alan Glen – harmonica, percussion
2003 – November 2004
  • Chris Dreja – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
  • Jim McCarty – drums, backing vocals
  • John Idan – lead vocals, bass
  • Gypie Mayo – lead guitar, backing vocals
  • Billy Boy Miskimmin – harmonica, percussion, backing vocals
 none
November 2004 – October 2005
  • Chris Dreja – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
  • Jim McCarty – drums, backing vocals
  • John Idan – lead vocals, bass
  • Billy Boy Miskimmin – harmonica, percussion, backing vocals
  • Jerry Donahue – lead guitar
October 2005 – 2008
  • Chris Dreja – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
  • Jim McCarty – drums, backing vocals
  • John Idan – lead vocals, bass
  • Billy Boy Miskimmin – harmonica, percussion, backing vocals
  • Ben King – lead guitar, percussion
2008 – May 2009
  • Chris Dreja – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
  • Jim McCarty – drums, backing vocals
  • John Idan – lead vocals, bass
  • Ben King – lead guitar, percussion
  • Alan Glen – harmonica, percussion
 none
May 2009 – July 2013
  • Chris Dreja – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
  • Jim McCarty – drums, backing vocals
  • Ben King – lead guitar, percussion
  • Andy Mitchell – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica, percussion
  • David Smale – bass, backing vocals
July 2013 – January 2015
  • Jim McCarty – drums, backing vocals
  • Ben King – lead guitar, percussion
  • Andy Mitchell – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica, percussion
  • David Smale – bass, backing vocals
  • Top Topham – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
 none
February–May 2015
  • Jim McCarty – drums, backing vocals
  • Top Topham – lead guitar, backing vocals
  • John Idan – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
  • Kenny Aaronson – bass
  • Myke Scavone – harmonica, percussion, backing vocals
May–August 2015
  • Jim McCarty – drums, backing vocals
  • John Idan – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
  • Kenny Aaronson – bass
  • Myke Scavone – harmonica, percussion, backing vocals
  • Earl Slick – lead guitar
August 2015 – July 2018
  • Jim McCarty – drums, backing vocals
  • John Idan – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
  • Kenny Aaronson – bass
  • Myke Scavone – harmonica, percussion, backing vocals
  • Johnny A. – lead guitar
July 2018 – present
  • Jim McCarty – drums, vocals
  • John Idan – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
  • Kenny Aaronson – bass
  • Myke Scavone – harmonica, percussion, backing vocals
  • Godfrey Townsend – lead guitar, backing vocals

References

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  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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External links

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