The Yardbirds’ Chris Dreja dies at age 79

Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page is paying tribute to Chris Dreja, his former bandmate in the Yardbirds, who has passed away at age 79.

“I heard today of the passing of musician Chris Dreja, who passionately played with the iconic Yardbirds, on rhythm guitar and then the bass,” Page wrote on Instagram. “I hadn’t seen him in a while, and I wish I had. RIP Chris.”

Dreja was a co-founder of the Yardbirds, which formed in London in 1963. In addition to Page, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck were early members of the group, although they both eventually left. Other members included vocalist/harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty and bassist Paul Samwell-Smith.

For Your Love, the band’s debut album in the U.S., was released in 1965. The title track became a top-10 hit. Other hit songs by the band include “Heart Full of Soul,” “Shapes of Things” and “Over Under Sideways Down.”

Dreja, who co-authored several of the band’s songs, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Yardbirds in 1992. He was part of the reformation of the group in 1992 and continued to perform with them until 2012, when he suffered a series of strokes that left him unable to perform.

Outside of music, Dreja had a career as a photographer. He is responsible for the photo on the back cover of Led Zeppelin’s debut album. He also worked with Andy Warhol, and photographed such artists as Bob Dylan, the Righteous Brothers, and Ike and Tina Turner.

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