In 1966, Paul
Samwell-Smith, the Yardbirds' bassist, decided to leave the group to work as a
producer. Jimmy Page was already a well-established studio session man, having
played on The Kinks' "I’m a Lover Not a Fighter," The Who's "I Can’t Explain," The Rolling Stones' "Heart of Stone," Them's "Baby Please Don’t Go" and Petula
Clark’s "Downtown." Page agreed to play bass in The Yardbirds until rhythm
guitarist Chris Dreja transitioned to that instrument. Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page
can be heard together on a number of Yardbirds tracks. The most notable is
psychedelic classic, "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" – not only because it
features both Page and Beck on lead, but because session bassist John Paul
Jones was brought in to play in Page's stead. In addition, for Michelangelo
Antonioni’s film noir, Blowup, The Yardbirds, with double leads by Page and
Beck, performed "Stroll On," an electric rendition of "Train Keeps a Rollin." Aside from a TV spot for a milkshake product called "Great Shakes," there is
only one other Beck/Page track, with John Paul Jones on bass, Keith Moon on
drums and Nicky Hopkins on piano—"Beck's Bolero," a piece inspired by Ravel's "Bolero", credited to Page
(Beck also claims to have written the song). "Beck's Bolero" was
first released as the B-side of Beck's first solo single, "Hi Ho Silver Lining" and was included on Truth.
Beck would leave the band (or was fired from the band) in
October 1966 leaving Page the sole lead guitar. The band’s early success as a
singles band was never repeated and The Yardbirds would spend the remainder of
their time together as a heavier, more experimental unit, rarely playing the
hits. One such tune was folk singer, Jake Holmes' "Dazed and Confused." Whether
intended or not, Page was grooming himself for his next step. The band would
stay together until July 1968 when Rolling Stone announced that Page intended
to "go solo." Relf and McCarty would leave the band shortly thereafter to
ultimately form Renaissance.
Rather than a solo career, though, Page recruited John
Paul Jones and (along with the input of Keith Moon who said their sound would
take off like a "lead zeppelin"), the impetus for Led Zeppelin (despite Moonie's skepticism), was established. Page plucked Robert
Plant from the folk-rock Band of Joy and Plant, in turn, convinced Page to use
his estimable rhythmic foil in that group, John Bonham, on drums. In 1968, The New Yardbirds were formed (minus Dreja), soon to change the name to Led Zeppelin.