"The Yardbirds spawned some of casual rock's greatest assets like Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. The short lived ‘60s rock group made a profound effect on rock's psychedelic and electronic rock sound that allowed their sound to outlive the group itself.The early Yardbirds formed in the ‘60s in London as the Metropolis Blues Quartet. The years later and with a new name, the group consisted of Keith Relf (vocals), Paul Samwell-Smith (bass), Chris Dreja (rhythm guitar), Jim McCarty (drums) and Eric Clapton, or ""Slowhand,"" who rounded out the group as the 16-year-old lead guitarist.Replacing the Rolling Stones at the famed Crawdaddy Club, The Yardbirds strong guitar riffs and frenetic blues approach to R&B made them stand apart. The group worked hard on revamping the classic blues and found it in 1964 with their heavy electric base and fiery hits. Their most raw album was their live Five Live Yardbirds, which appeared in '64 and showed Clapton's smooth ""slow hand.""Initially the group focused on covering pop R&B singles that had made the top of the charts, but hungry for stardom of their own, they released a new single, ""For Your Love"" (it wasn't until 1966's Roger the Engineer that saw the Yardbirds first completely original records). The strange concoction that came out of the Graham Gouldman penned piece made waves in both Britain,making the second spot on their charts, and in the US, making number six. Though the single was deemed successful, the separation from the blues sound spearheaded Clapton's departure from the band. Clapton was replaced by Jimmy Page, a hot British session player, though Page turned it down and offered up the services of Jeff Beck.Beck's short 18-month stint with the group did more for the Yardbirds than any other time period, drastically and positively changing their sound via his rock guitar influence. When Samwell-Smith left, Page joined in on the up-and-coming group as bassist. Though only one single was recorded with this all-star lineup (""Happenings Ten Years Time Ago""), the group failed to fare well on the charts once Beck departed later that year."