Chris Dreja, the co-founding rhythm guitarist and later bassist of the Yardbirds, has died, reports The New York Times. On September 25, Dreja died of complications of multiple strokes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease while in a London nursing home, according to his daughter, Jacqueline Dreja Zamboni. He was 79.
Although the Yardbirds were best known for their trio of all-star guitarists—Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and the late Jeff Beck—sharing the leading spotlight, Dreja’s essential role on rhythm guitar helped create an essential backdrop for the group to shine, especially during their extended instrumental passages that would go on to influence countless pillars of classic rock. Dreja co-founded the group in 1963 as a rhythm guitarist until original bassist Paul Samwell-Smith left the band three years later, after which he picked up the instrument until the band’s dissolution in 1968.
After the Yardbirds split, Page invited Dreja to join Led Zeppelin, but he declined in favor of pursuing his photography career instead. Among his achievements behind the lens are, most notably, the band photo of Led Zeppelin on the back of their 1969 self-titled debut album. Dreja photographed numerous musicians, ranging from Bob Dylan to Ike and Tina Turner, and did a shooting session with Andy Warhol during Dreja’s years working in a New York-based photo studio.
Born in 1945, Dreja grew up in Kingston Upon Thames, England, and was drawn to rock ‘n’ roll as a teenager. Dreja met original Yardbirds lead guitarist Anthony “Top” Topham in a pre-college art program and the two formed an early rock band together. Once singer Keith Relf, bassist Samwell-Smith, and drummer Jim McCarty joined them in 1963, they officially formed the Metropolitan Blues Quartet before quickly renaming themselves as the Yardbirds. When Topham left several weeks into the band’s practices, he was replaced by Clapton, who played with a bold, confident approach that won over London club attendees. Come 1963, the Yardbirds took over the Rolling Stones’ residency at London’s Crawdaddy.
After recording their debut live album Five Live Yardbirds at the end of 1964, the Yardbirds formally introduced themselves to the world with their studio effort For Your Love that following year, which earned them their first chart entry on the back of their classic rock staple “For Your Love.” They went on to release four more studio LPs: 1965’s Heart Full of Soul, 1966’s Yardbirds and Over Under Sideways Down, and 1967’s Little Games.
In a 2009 interview with told Vintage Guitar, Dreja explained that he contributed to the Yardbirds’ music more often than listeners realize, in terms of guitar parts as well as the band’s lyrics, arrangements, and other “crazy ideas” in between. “The Yardbirds were a democratic band, and if somebody came up with something interesting, we would all work on it and see how it developed. Breaking the rules of accepted pop songcraft at the time was always good fun,” said Dreja. “Back then there was no road map for the music, or even the business and touring side that came later. The Yardbirds had a tremendous energy and in the five years we were together (it felt more like 20), we embarked on a lot of experimentation and eclectic sounds; I’m glad we did. To be cited as influential on later rock artists is a great honor for us.”
In the 1980s, Dreja found his way back to the music scene in Box of Frogs, a rock project with his former bandmates McCarty and Samwell-Smith. In 1992, Dreja and the rest of the Yardbirds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That helped inspire Dreja to reform the Yardbirds that year and resume his role on bass on through to 2013, when he retired to address his health following a series of strokes. The reformed version of the Yardbirds released their lone reunion album of original material, Birdland, in 2003, featuring guest appearances by Queen’s Brian May, Guns N’ Roses’ Slash, Steve Vai, and others.
