"After Yardbirds, I did other music," Jeff Baker said when it was his turn to speak during the band's 1992 inductance into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. "Anyway, someone told me I should be proud tonight, but I didn't—because they kicked me out. They did it! Fuck them!" If you see Jimmy Page standing behind Baker in the camera Laugh, that moment may be taken seriously because it exposes one of the toughest moments in Baker's career.

He is the second of three world-class guitarists to be the lead singer in a British band. After Page rejected the opportunity and recommended his friend, he replaced Eric Clapton in 1965. Soon, Page will also become a member and change the direction of the band, because it became New Yardbirds and then Led Zeppelin.

Baker’s tenure is short, but it’s still worth noting on three things: his experimental influence pushed the Yardbirds to become pioneers in psychedelic movement, they had most of their success when he was there, and his time in the group almost Ended his career. On paper, replacing Clapton seemed like a great move, and Beck’s more experimental approach to playing had a huge impact on the band’s sound, as demonstrated in Over Under Sideways Down (named Roger the Engineer in UK) In that way, this is the only one that contains his work.

Baker said to Classic Rock in 2021: "The general buzz of the band is that they were over when Eric left." There was a standing applause, so this is the end. Two months later, things took off in the United States, which annoyed Eric. I think he yearned after going there-just like all of us. That is our holy grail, go to the United States to see the blues players. Within a week, we went to Chicago to see Howlin' Wolf. "

Watch Jeff Beck at Yardbirds' Rock Hall Induction

At that moment, everything started to go wrong. Although Baker’s style is different from Clapton, they both regard blues as a respectable form of music. However, although Clapton retained the classic method, Baker was more experimental. "I vaguely remember [singer] Keith [Relf] as a purist," he told Rolling Stone Magazine in 2018. "I thought,'You can be a purist, or you can be poor. I will do what I think is the best thing.... The mechanism of what I'm doing is to make the strangest sound possible. ."

But in the United States, Yardbirds was considered a popular band that was part of the British invasion and was forced to use it in this way. Drummer Jim McCarty said that this "very nervous and unpredictable" guitarist was difficult to deal with. "After Eric left, Jeff Baker was a great addition to the band, mainly because he was responsible for bringing these blues ideas into a different world full of crazy voices, feedback, and rudeness," McCarty told "Other "! In 2015.

"We signed a contract with Dick Clark to tour, which meant performing for about 30 nights in a row, maybe more than one show every night, riding the bus with all the other bands. It was not the best decision for us, because other bands It’s all very different—Gary Lewis, Sam the Sham? Jeff couldn’t stand it and disappeared after the first performance. As far as all of us are concerned, that’s it."

"We all experienced a lot of exhaustion; it was a very hard job," McCarty explained later. "Every night we play somewhere, travel or record or conduct interviews or take pictures.... Of course, we are all really tired, and some people are better at coping than others."

By the end of October 1966, after many absences and arguments, it was over. The accounts of what actually happened vary. The point that most people agree with is that Beck broke abruptly after the fourth night of the star caravan tour, which may include up to three shows in different cities every night, because the other group just finished one. After the performance, the band has to shuttle back and forth in the venue. put. He expressed his frustration in an outburst of anger backstage in Texas — as everyone knows, he does this sometimes — which made his band members feel that they can no longer handle such incidents. Baker got off the bus at Corpus Christi Airport on October 31 and flew to Los Angeles to meet his girlfriend. According to reports, before it was announced on November 30 that he was no longer a member, there was a discussion about his position in the band—whether or not Baker was unclear. Page, who joined Yardbirds as a bassist, was promoted to lead guitarist, and the band’s third era began.

Watch Yardbirds perform "Train Kept A Rollin"

A later story in KRLA Beat magazine reported on a "source" stating that Baker "will never return to the group. Yardbirds will continue to be with four boys-Keith Relf, ​​Chris Dreja, Jim McCarty and Jimmy Page. In fact, Jeff has formed his own team.” The explanation is that the other members “just disagree with his point of view, because they feel that although he has mental and physical problems, the performance must continue.... They feel that Jeff did not insist. His position. So, they somewhat agreed not. Jeff has made up his mind that he will not go back with this group of people. The source added, perhaps optimistic: “I don’t think this will have any impact on the success of the group. Influence. ...I think it will continue to do bigger and better things...and in many ways Jimmy is as good as Jeff. "

At the same time, Baker finds himself at a loss and unwelcome at his girlfriend's home. "This is the best thing," he said in 2018, while noting that this change has paid a "huge price." "I didn't realize that I didn't know where I was going after leaving the band," he said. "I went back to the girl in Los Angeles. Big mistake. I got a lukewarm reception. I thought,'Well, I'm limiting her style. When she knew I was coming to town, it was good . Then my visa ran out, so I had to go home, which was probably the worst because I had nothing. I gave my guitar to Jim [Page]. I lived with my mother and had no money.

"But I don't want to call and say,'Do you think I can come back? I feel better now.' I don't have the courage to do this. Even if they ask me, I might not. When you get kicked so hard, you Realizing that there is a serious wake-up call, then you stand up and do something. I thought,'Well, you need to start cracking now.'"

Watch Yardbirds perform "What Happened Ten Years ago"

When the Yardbirds gradually declined and eventually went bankrupt, Page was able to reshape the remnants into Led Zeppelin, Baker was able to re-establish contacts in the UK and was named the guitarist of the year by the leading music newspaper Melody Maker in 1966.

"I remember I wanted to know if there were any leftovers left for me in the music industry. That was the lowest point in my life," Baker recalled in 2013. "I went to a club where Yardbirds used to go, and Rod Stewart was sitting in the bar. He was just fired from John Baudley's band. I said to him,'Hey, this is my phone number. Call tomorrow. Me.' He gave me a big hug, that's it. The next day we met and we all went to the Science Museum-just like you! That was because we were angry with the steam train. When we came out of the museum At that time, we had planned a band."

That band became the Jeff Beck Group, which also included the future Rolling Stones member Ronnie Wood-the rest is history. Looking back on 2018, Baker reflected: “I could have easily never played again. I was lucky enough to bring Rhodes back.”