YOU ARE HERE: zharth.net / Zharth's Music Log / Week 99 (Band Connections)
(Originally finalized on September 30, 2024)
Preface: It's no secret that I'm fascinated by the incredible fact that three of the most celebrated guitarists in the British blues tradition - Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page - all spent time in the same band early in their careers. And the fact that Eric Clapton left this band, The Yardbirds, to play for John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, which itself became a breeding ground for much talent - including Peter Green (who formed Fleetwood Mac) and Mick Taylor (who later joined The Rolling Stones), among many others - astounds me! The music scene is a remarkably fertile environment, and in this series, we're going to explore some of the band connections that exist in the fraternity of rock - starting with British blues!
Monday: The Yardbirds - Happenings Ten Years Time Ago [released as a single, 1966]
Comments: The Yardbirds were a British blues band initially recognized for introducing the world to a young Eric Clapton (who got his nickname "Slowhand" during this period). But when the group started experimenting beyond the blues genre, Clapton made tracks, and Jeff Beck was brought in to fill his place. But soon even Beck started to tire of the group. Luckily, Jimmy Page was growing bored of doing nothing but session work, and was available to join the band. This is one of the few tracks that was recorded during the brief period when Beck and Page were both in the band concurrently. What makes it even more intriguing is that the band was in the process of switching bass players, so a fellow session musician of Page's acquaintance filled in - who just happened to be John Paul Jones, future member of Led Zeppelin!
Tuesday: Jeff Beck - Beck's Bolero [released as a single, 1967]
Comments: The Beck/Page/Jones partnership didn't end there. Initially released as a single in 1967, but later appearing on Jeff Beck's solo debut album Truth in 1969 (after leaving the Yardbirds), all three musicians were involved in the recording of this groundbreaking rock instrumental. But, once again, there's more to the story. Playing drums on this track is Keith Moon of The Who (John Entwistle was scheduled to join, but couldn't make the session), who famously gave Led Zeppelin their name when he quipped that such a supergroup would "go down like a lead balloon."
Wednesday: Led Zeppelin - Dazed and Confused [Led Zeppelin, 1969]
Comments: Led Zeppelin's connection to The Yardbirds should be well-established by now, but it cannot be overstated, given that the new band (which joined Page and Jones with singer Robert Plant, who recommended drummer John Bonham) originally began touring for a brief period as The New Yardbirds. What some people might not know is that Dazed and Confused was a song Page had already been performing with The Yardbirds (ever since they nicked it from acid folkie Jake Holmes in 1967 - the original version, which I featured on my Pre-Ledded theme, is worth listening to).
Thursday: John Mayall - All Your Love [Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton, 1966]
Comments: Moving on from The Yardbirds, Eric Clapton was recruited by the godfather of British blues, John Mayall, to form The Bluesbreakers; together they released a landmark album that was highly influential within the British blues circle. Clapton wouldn't stay long, initiating a precedent among the Bluesbreakers, which would feature a revolving door of up and coming musicians. Almost as impressive as John Mayall's ability to sniff out and nurture talent was his willingness (even encouragement) to let good musicians go, when it was time for them to spread their wings - the first prominent example of this pattern being the birth of Cream!
Friday: Cream - Spoonful [Fresh Cream, 1966]
Comments: Clapton had become acquainted with bass player and singer Jack Bruce from a brief and early incarnation of the Bluesbreakers. On Primal Solos, you can hear them live, playing Have You Ever Loved A Woman - a song Clapton would later record with Duane Allman (of the Allman Brothers Band) on Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs, which echoes Clapton's feelings for Patti Boyd, wife of his friend George Harrison - for whom he provided the guitar solo to The Beatles' While My Guitar Gently Weeps. Bruce had himself played with drummer Ginger Baker in the Graham Bond Organisation, and together, the three of them formed a self-described "supergroup", popularizing the power trio format that would similarly inspire the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Saturday: Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac [The Original Fleetwood Mac, 1971 (this track recorded in 1967)]
Comments: Any trepidation about who could fill Clapton's shoes in the Bluesbreakers was silenced the moment Peter Green plugged in his guitar. But he, too, was not long for the band, as musical chemistry developed in the studio between him and longtime bass player John McVie, along with new drummer Mick Fleetwood. They splintered off into a new group, named after the rhythm section - which Peter said sounded like a freight train. The band would go on to tour America with the Grateful Dead, pen one of Santana's biggest hits, and after a series of personnel changes, find mainstream success with the addition of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Meanwhile, Peter's legendary guitar "Greeny" (which features a distinctive tone due to a reversed pickup) was sold to Irish bluesman Gary Moore, and eventually passed into the hands of Metallica's Kirk Hammett.
Sunday: The Rolling Stones - Can't You Hear Me Knocking? [Sticky Fingers, 1971]
Comments: In 1969, when The Rolling Stones lost founding member Brian Jones (to drugs and drowning), Mick Taylor was recruited from the Bluesbreakers (in which he had taken Peter Green's place - hear him on Primal Solos, channeling a similar energy to Jimmy Page when he plays Start Walkin'). He spent a few years with the Stones during their heyday, then left in 1974. In a final twist in the interloping threads of this musical family, the Stones hired Ronnie Wood to replace Mick Taylor, who had - along with singer Rod Stewart with whom he had been playing in the band The Faces (which itself evolved from The Small Faces after Steve Marriott left to form Humble Pie with Peter Frampton) - were featured in the original incarnation of the Jeff Beck Group that released Truth in 1969. It's all connected!
Honorable Mention: Armageddon - Paths and Planes and Future Gains [Armageddon, 1975]
Comments: I've been predominantly focused on guitarists this week, but it's worth noting that Yardbirds singer Keith Relf later joined the band Armageddon - a short-lived heavy rock outfit that we've heard from a couple times already. It featured former members of two somewhat obscure - but well worth hearing - bands by the names of Captain Beyond and Steamhammer. Unfortunately, they only released one album, before Relf died of a tragic accident involving electrocution.